Publication: Business Day
Date: 2005-11-25
Reporter: Richard Young
Reporter:
| Publication |
Business Day
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| Date |
2005-11-25
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|
Reporter
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Richard Young |
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Web Link
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www.bday.co.za
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Letters
Regarding
Jeremy Gordin’s letter, Not contrite (November 23), a reader’s first response
might be that the lady doth protest too much. But this reader says: “Come on,
journalists and kin, there are more than enough scoops out there for the
resourceful and the diligent.”
A journalist’s task is to report the
facts, and occasionally offer some insightful opinion, sometimes with a bit of
tasteful humour.
An option far better than media infighting is the
analogy of the rugby rolling maul: pick it up, break the gain line, pass it on
to someone else when the present advantage is exhausted, reposition and catch
one’s breath, and do it all over again. Every now and again every player scores
a scoop (try) and the readership scores all the time, while the do-badders will
always lose.
Media infighting is not a bore. It’s actually quite
satisfying for the people trying to foment it, and quite amusing for others
observing it.
During the Hefer commission the media mainly made asses of
themselves. Covering the arms deal the media made big, but not quite as obvious,
asses of themselves. Now there is another such situation pregnant with the same
possibility. The media is already at it once more.
The media is allowing
itself to be used and abused by famous old tricks, including the anonymous
manilla envelope; the off-the-record briefing; the unnamed expert; the false
pillow talk; the pathetic countertrack; the counterintelligence ploy, and the
late night top-level insider phone call.
The South African media has such
great potential, but just needs to break through those last few barriers to turn
potential into perennial greatness.
Cape Town
With acknowledgements to Richard Young and Business Day.