Publication: Business Day
Issued:
Date: 2006-11-15
Reporter: HG Squires
Reporter:
You say the alleged "political storm" that erupted "follows a letter
written by Squires to Business Day's sister publication The Weekender", Storm
over remark Squires never made (November 14).
It is wrong to say that I wrote any letter to The Weekender. The letter in
question pointing out the error in attributing the phrase "a generally corrupt
relationship" to me was addressed to Ernest Mabuza, Legal Affairs Correspondent
of Business Day, in his personal capacity.
Moreover it was written on October 10, before the Supreme Court of Appeal
judgment in the appeal of Shaik and Others vs. The State, and not in response to
that judgment as the article infers.
As you will note in this letter to Mabuza, it was the second time I had
written to this newspaper to try to rectify the misquotation.
The decision to use the letter as a lead headline (also inaccurate ) in The
Weekender and in a manner such that it appeared to have been written to The
Weekender was presumably taken by the journalist and her editor, but it was not
intended for that purpose. *1
If Business Day is going to write articles criticising others for
inaccuracies of fact, these might carry more weight if the newspaper set a
better example.
HG Squires
Judge of High Court Natal Provincial Division
With acknowledgements to HG Squires
and Business Day.
*1 The purpose of using the letter in the manner that it appeared in
the newspaper was clearly to make a big fuss over a small thing and thereby a
big new-grabbing headline.
It should have resulted in an immediate public apology to the author and a
published correction and later after the weekend a balanced analysis of the
facts and implications of the misattribution with input being invited from all
relevant role-players, especially the SCA.
But it only works that way in newspaper heaven.