By Ilham Rawoot
Writing a good investigative story is hard work. It’s not a matter of sitting down at a computer and typing away. It takes a lot of time, talking to many sources, going through documents, research and asking questions to people implicated or involved.
This includes putting allegations to people and getting a response. What’s scary, however, is the lack of co-operation we so often have to face from government spokespeople and departments.
This week alone, we had to beg for responses from two government entities, one of which responded two days later, long after deadline, their response followed by an email threatening to sue if we got any information wrong due to us not being able to include their responses.
The spokesperson had not taken my calls during the week, nor responded to my emails and text messages. The other entity didn’t bother to respond at all.
They did, however, put their PR people onto me, who passed on the message that they insisted on meeting with not only me, but my news editor or deputy editor, if we wanted a response from them. It is not practice for editors to attend meetings with the people we write about, unless their surnames are, say, Obama or Zuma. When I told my subjects my editors couldn’t attend, they refused to meet.
What these spokespeople don’t understand is that it’s their job to meet with us. Taxpayers pay them to be the mouthpiece for government, and if they avoid the media or make us feel like they’re doing us a favour so much of the time, then who else is going to tell us what’s going on?
Secondly, they should want to respond. It’s a good thing to be given the opportunity to have your say, to justify yourself, explain allegations or even convince us with hard facts that there’s no story! Yet they run from us like we’re blood-dripping hounds.
This week’s problems are merely symptomatic of the government’s general adversity to the media.
At the same time that I was facing difficult spokespeople, our editor-in-chief, Nic Dawes, and colleagues, Stefaans Brümmer and Sam Sole, were in Parliament, making representations about the consequences of passing the draconian Protection of Information Bill, which will make it harder for investigative journalists to obtain information and easier for government to classify documents they wish to.
And on Thursday evening former minister Essop Pahad and the Gupta family launched their newspaper, The New Age, and said it would report more on the “positive” side of South Africa and less on investigative journalism.
What does all of this mean? It is our job as journalists to uncover the truth, warts and all. It is obvious the government wants to make life harder for us to do just that.
Where will this all end? Hopefully around a coffee table, and not in the trenches.
No, not a hug but a wake-up call.
This new newspaper is a good faith attempt at creating more competition in our present media who is owned and controlled by a single media conglomerate – a spin-off from apartheid’s propaganda machine.
“The New Age, and said it would report more on the “positive” side of South Africa and less on investigative journalism.”
This is the kind of biased reporting that saddens me.
If you understand the power of the media you have to ask who bears responsibility for:
- the gutter politics during the last election indulged in slander and personal attacks
- the hysteria about crime before the World Cup that dampened international tourism to SA
- the fear based politics of xenophobia after the World Cup to destabilize our nascent democracy
Ilham, the Times of India has a DOUBLE DIGIT stake in the New Age. Hopefully the Gupta group with their strong ties to India will usher in a new era of competition in the media world that will gradually improve our journalist standards once again to that of a world class newspaper like the Times of India.
If the Pahads have anything to do with it, it will be pure propaganda.
We be rooting for you! Go amaBhungane, go!
If you can get government employees to answer their telephones you’ve achieved a lot. It’s laughable how quickly Batho pele has turned into the Protection of Information Bill.
..Oh Harris..you are really a sorry little puppy, arent you. The only fortunate thing, thank goodness is…is that your incessant yapping, like most irritants..one eventually grows used to it..and then with time, ignores it. In the meantime, Ilham..strength to you and your colleagues ..and continue to keep the hope alive. Have no doubt about it..You are on the winning side .
@dave harris, Why then do you not write reponses to other items that show the reality of SA instead items such as this? Where are your comments on the situations in Squatter camps and other news items such as a brutal murder or those on Selebi?
A good thing is that you will be so busy praising New Age once it comes online that we will be saved from your poppycock.
Uncover the truth, absolutely. But uncover ALL the truth, ALL the warts. Include corporate shenanigans and practises. For example, last year around Christmas MTN in spite of continued healthy profits added 400 people to the 800 thousand odd who lost their jobs last year. I have seen little to no criticism of the greed and inequality in the Private sector. Limiting criticism to government created the impression that government are the only power in our society. This is ultimately a profoundly regressive stance that cannot be supported in good conscience. But I suppose there’s all that advertising revenue to worry about. Pretending the press are pure and angelic and nothing else insults the intelligence of the public.
Dave Harris must have Irish roots. He doesn’t know what he wants but he will fight to the death to get it. Like many blind ANC enthusiasts, he is strangely lacking in justification for what he says. No exmples, just hysterical gainsaying. But then, empty vessels make the most noise.
Well all I can say is that, atleast you are making an effort and hope that you will atleast uncover some truth.
Hugs to you, amaBhungane. You’re doing a great job.