Comments on: You were wrong. Admit it!

By: BARRY AARON

BARRY AARON — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 01:49:16 +0000

my typing is too shocking, but i’d love to chat.
buzz me at my mail adress and we can exchange details. i wait on u.
regrds

By: James

James — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 20:37:00 +0000

The Sunday Times claimed Qunta “was one of 12 signatories who supported President Thabo Mbeki at the outset of the HIV/Aids denial debate. The signatories included such loathed personalities as Anthony Brink, Anita Allen, Matthias Rath, David Rasnick, Roberto Giraldo and Ronald Suresh Roberts.”
You say “In fact, none of the names mentioned by the paper ever signed such a document.”
It seems to me that both of you are wrong. The Sunday Times certainly cocked-up. But there is an online petition of HIV-AIDS “re-thinkers.” See here: http://www.rethinkingaids.com/quotes/rethinkers.htm
Five of the six mentioned by the Sunday Times are signatories – or at least the site claims they are.

By: Janine

Janine — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:24:56 +0000

I agree with Rhulani and Monde. I feel that the media is not living up to it’s responsibility to society. That’s fine, in and of itself, but I think readers and audiences are being duped into believing that the news we receive is completely unbiased and objective.

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 09:57:29 +0000

Rhulani: “I’ve no doubt in my mind that building a successful democracy demands selflessness and commitment from all to building a better nation.” … exactly, but then isn’t it the duty of the media to point out when people act without the “selflessness and commitment” you refer to? And doesn’t that mean exposing corruption, abuse of power and failure to deliver?

By: rhulani

rhulani — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:35:42 +0000

I venture to say that irresponsible reporting does not exactly help our young democracy at all. Between all the claims and counter claims that the media bandy about, where does one find that most noble thing called the truth? We certainly are a free nation and our press (especially) has demonstrated that through senseless reporting and reckless character assassination. But what good (apart from the inflated egos of the pesky reporters themselves) are they serving?

I’m no politician, but I’ve no doubt in my mind that building a successful democracy demands selflessness and commitment from all to building a better nation. I very much doubt if the likes of the Sunday Times answer to that most admirable of causes!

By: Monde Nkasawe

Monde Nkasawe — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 19:25:21 +0000

Well I guess the quest to find what is wrong in what others are doing makes it difficult for the media to acknowledge its own mistakes. The notion that what is news is reality turned upside down defines the conduct of our media. It’s better to manufacture the sensationalist view that a tree is barking at the dog rather than to report on the mundane reality of a dog barking at a tree. You could almost hear the jackboots of the ‘authoritarian’ Thabo Mbeki in the Sunday Times’ report of the ‘impending arrest’ of its editor. Those other mundane facts about what the police and the NPA had done in reality would serve only to complicate matters. The SA media approaches reporting from a preconceived basis