Comments on: The Sunday Times has lost all its credibility

By: T. Kwetane

T. Kwetane — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:44:06 +0000

@ Len van Heerden

“It is a well known pyschological response to trying to be seen to be fair, but putting down your own, while protecting others.”

You are just making up excuses for Makhanya. Makhanya is unable to do his job because he is incompetent, nothing more nothing less. If anything it should be harder for white managers as they are part of the minority group and can very easily be labeled racist.

The problem with Makhanya and his Sunday Times is that they publish lies, half-truths, false news, propaganda, poisoned opinions, and other evils week in week out. Publishing falsehoods has nothing to do with race but it has everything to do with someone who is not doing his or her job well. Hence the whole talk about strengthening up their systems etc. No more excuses for Mondli please.

“In this regard we will be embarking on a process of reviewing the way we do our journalism, and strengthening our verification and authentication mechanisms. This will be an honest, critical look at ourselves.

We will be commissioning a panel of eminent individuals who will help us through this process.” [http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Insight/Article.aspx?id=838152 ]

By: Len van Heerden

Len van Heerden — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:37:23 +0000

@Lyndall Beddy
With due respect, we often find comments that favour our side to be fair, whereas any of those that look critically at us we always find unfair and biased.
Take Bullard’s comments. You will most likely find them spot on, while a black person might consider them racist. The constant harping on any claims of corruption involving black people in parastals and linking a black person to private sector corruption would be seen by others as pandering to a certain segment of society to prove that they are incompetent or corrupt.
Mondli, as a black editor, might feel the need to be seen to be fair and hence ensure that all stories portraying black people as criminal, corrupt and incompetent (Manto, Bullard on black people, Zapiro on Zuma, Mbeki, Land Bank, Transnet, etc) pass while stories dealing with white individuals might need vetting and approval. It is a well known pyschological response to trying to be seen to be fair, but putting down your own, while protecting others.

By: Lyndall Beddy

Lyndall Beddy — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:55:06 +0000

Len van Heerden

IF you could access my blog on Amagama which is ALWAYS down you would see that I have a regular blog that I update called “Monitoring The Sunday Times”

I just don’t think they have a pro-white bias.

By: Len van Heerden

Len van Heerden — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:54:15 +0000

@Lyndall Beddy
The Sunday Times is the enemy of decent and reasonable reporting. It is run by agendas instead of principles of reporting what is and leave speculations to their readers. Does it impress you that the Sunday Times continues to misfire and is turned into a tabloid by an incompetent editor? Never mind who is favoured by that paper, rather look at its quality. Does it satisfay you?

By: Lyndall Beddy

Lyndall Beddy — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:58:19 +0000

For Heavens Sake! Surely the main advertisers in the Sunday Times are now black – specifically the government? AND I read somewhere that this paper was once part of Cyril Ramaphosa’s empire, and somewhere else that Tokyo has shares.

If the Sunday Times is anti-Mbeki – this does not make it white! Mbeki has many black enemies as well!

By: Sipho

Sipho — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:37:40 +0000

The fact that no one has sued them so far is telling. Why do the offended parties resort to complaining to the ineffective press ombudsman instead of suing Mondli his pants off.

@Sentletse
The City Press was recently ordered by the court to pay Zweli Mkhize in damages.I said the court not the press ombudsman.The Mail & Guardian had to make retraction of their story on the cars in Blade Nzimande’s garage.

By: David Bullard

David Bullard — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:14:57 +0000

I’m to be found on http://www.freeracer.co za every thursday.

By: Len van Heerden

Len van Heerden — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:34:45 +0000

I have to say I agree with David Bullard (a first) on the Sunday Times Management. Mondli Makhanya is incompetent. While David Bullard has written many articles that some saw as racist (myself included), the article he was fired for was not his worst, which suggests to me that Makhanya was being pushed to make the decisions. He has already shown that perhaps as allowing for the publication of some of Bullard’s comments, he simply has no power in what is published or not. This would explain why the paper publishes such bad work.
As David Bullard suggests, often what sell is not real intellect, rather controversy or even sensation. Bullard’s column created the right vibe for the sector that subscribes to papers which tend to be middle-aged whites with money (LSM10, in other words). These individuals would appreciate any comments that insult black people, the government or anything African. So, the fact that David Bullard satisfied this class of people is indeed significant. What is also significant is that the stories that the Sunday Times published and are proving to be true are indeed the sort of story that would put tears of joy in the same audience that David Bullard owned. The story on the Land Bank is a demonstration of how corrupt and incompetent black directors are. The Transnet deal shows government incompetence in agreeing to sell something when they do not know the full facts. Of course, we know the rumours between Trevor and the white lady head of Transnet. The Thabo Mbeki story is once again proof that black people are corrupt whether in government or parastals. There was the Manto story. It is as if the Sunday Times is doing Bullard’s job for him and yet fired him for simply following the example set by Mondli Makhanya.

So, yes the circulation of the paper might increase because the right audience is too gullible to have independent thought and those that do (LSM10) enjoy the black on black media violence we see out there.
The controversy about the Zapiro cartoon once again demonstrate the angle the Sunday Times wishes to address its readership. Both the cartoon and the PDV story were designed to divert attention from the retraction.
As someone said, I buy the Sunday Times for the puzzles, sports (not sports opinion as that is also biased and often stupid) and the career section. Business section is not bad either, but I suspect that Mondli has nothing to do with it.

By: Luddite

Luddite — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:32:38 +0000

Lyndall
I didn’t say anything about Mondi hiring Bullard, I said the Sunday Times. Even 20 years ago it was nothing more than a very thick tabloid, with cheap sensationalism and lazy journalism. I think I only paid money for it 3 times when I was applying for jobs.

By: T. Kwetane

T. Kwetane — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 08:10:33 +0000

Wow Bullard, nice to see a posting from you. Make no mistake I have always thought of you as a racist and still do. But damn, you are the best columnist there is in the country (Yah yah, Sentletse is brilliant too and I enjoy his writing). So I read your columns for the fun of it and always looked forward to them. You apparently have a blog, may you please provide a link or would you consider posting on TL.

Yes people some of us read the stuff we do not agree with. For-instance I have checked out the “Friends of JZ” many times and sometimes enjoyed their rants and ill informed opinions.

I like Zapiro for the same reasons, he disses people I like but he is good at it. I like that.

Mbeki and the ANC Today editor who use to work with him and Robert Suresh were the other people I enjoyed and yes almost always agreed with them. Miss their postings.

You cannot say the same thing about Mondli, Malala, Xolela, Sipho and other poor sods in their circles. They are just poor, sleep inducing and boring writers.