• Home
  • Perspectives
  • Articles
  • Columns
  • Platform
  • Poetry
    • Literature
  • Shop
    • Cart
    • My account
  • Support
    • Donation Confirmation
  • Write for us
Search
67.4 F
Los Angeles
Thursday, February 2, 2023
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Privacy Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Media Monitors Network (MMN)
  • Home
  • Perspectives
    • Jerusalem Israel Palestine Dome of The Rock Golden Dome

      The Abraham Accords undermined much-needed peace with Palestinians

      World Map

      Global disturbing disparities

      Globe Algeria Niger Mali Africa

      There is always a price to pay for befriending the Zionists

      Illegal Israeli Settlements

      Antisemitism claims mask a reign of political and cultural terror across…

      The Flower - Pakistan Monument at Night

      Israel in the vanguard of India’s mounting conflict with Pakistan

  • Articles
    • Man studying religious book

      Ishmael and Isaac: An Essay on the Divergent Moral Economies of…

      Mahmoud Abbas

      May Your Home Be Destroyed

      Netanyahu Lighting Hanukah Candles with His Wife and Sons

      Bibi’s Son or: Three Men in a Car

      The Map of Greater Israel

      The Man Who Jumped

      West Bank - Palestine

      Cry, Beloved Country

  • Columns
    • Progressives Must Fight With -- and In -- the Democratic Party

      Steps Left for Electing Progressives and Defeating Republicans in the Midterms

      Tax Revelations and Corporate Media Won’t Defeat Trump

      Nancy Pelosi Could Get Us All Killed

      Tax Revelations and Corporate Media Won’t Defeat Trump

      ‘Fortress Mentality’ Among U.S. Leaders Has Trapped Us in a Cycle…

      Progressives Must Fight With -- and In -- the Democratic Party

      Grassroots Organizing Should Dump Biden and Clear the Path for a…

      Corporate Media Are Focusing on Race -- and Dodging Class

      Biden Refuses to Mention the Worsening Dangers of Nuclear War. Media…

  • Platform
    • Hanukkah Lights

      Hanukkah is not hypocrisy

      The Washington Post

      “Preemptive war could risk millions of casualties. But….”

      When they shout: "We strongly condemn…"

      68

      Why Iran won’t attack Israel

      Is One Iraqi’s Self-Hatred Newsworthy?

  • Poetry
    • Literature
  • Shop
    • Cart
    • My account
  • Support
    • Donation Confirmation
  • Write for us
Home Perspectives Is the media guilty of anti-Zuma bias?
  • Perspectives

Is the media guilty of anti-Zuma bias?

By
Iqbal Jassat
-
May 16, 2006
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
WhatsApp
Linkedin
ReddIt
Email
Print
Tumblr
Telegram
Mix
VK
Digg
LINE
Viber
Naver

    Jacob Zuma has been found not guilty on charges of rape.

    Minutes after being acquitted, in an address to thousands of supporters at the Beyers Naude Square in Johannesburg, Zuma launched a scathing attack on the media. Speaking in isiZulu, he told the jubilant crowd that despite his denials, the media "tried me in the court of public opinion and found me guilty".

    His experience at the hands of the media deserves a thorough investigation of the conduct of journalists in order to establish whether indeed they have been guilty of violating media ethics.

    Any discussion or crit on the role of the media would necessitate a comprehensive analysis of its various arms and institutions. Also, appropriate benchmarks under specific themes would be essential to subject such assessments to close scrutiny.

    As an example, may I point out that our experience over the last decade informs us that using the acronym "DABBLE" has been and remains a useful means to determine specific media reports.

    • "D" – Depth or Distortion
    • "A" – Accuracy
    • "B" – Bias
    • "B" – Balance
    • "L" – Lies
    • "E" – Ethics

    A recent probe into impartiality of BBC coverage of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict found that its output "does not consistently give a full and fair account of the conflict".

    Since this is a fresh study – report being released in April 2006 – it is significant to note that the BBC’s coverage lacked "analysis, context and perspective". These glaring gaps inevitably result in an incomplete and misleading picture.

    I wish to briefly share with you some contentious issues which usually escape public debate. These are nevertheless significant enough to warrant our attention and constant agitation.

    I refer specifically to the questions of media ownership, transformation and diversity. Have the playing fields been levelled? Has the concentration of ownership been unbundelled?

    According to SANEF [SA National Editors Forum] the facts are that all the major daily and weekly newspapers, an increasing number of community newspapers and many of the magazines are totally or substantially owned by three companies: Media 24 [formerly Nasionale Pers], Independent Newspapers and Johncom. With Caxtons, which is closely linked to Johncom, these companies also own most of the profitable community newspapers.

    Has transformation made any qualitative changes in regard to a wider range of views and opinions? Or are we still saddled with a media that is struggling to emerge from Euro-centrism?

    It is also appropriate to refer to Prof Adam Habib’s concern about the corporate threat to journalism: "…frankly the bigger threat to journalism freedom in the current era is not government, but corporate control. And there is insufficient awareness of discussion of this threat, partly because corporate control is often not obvious". [This Day – Oct 22, 04]

    After all, this imbalance of power –” between the producers of information and its consumers –” lies at the heart of an important debate which to-date has not been adequately addressed.

    Habib also points to this very eloquently when he says that some voices get heard and others get marginalised through more subtle processes of segmenting the public, finding niche markets, focussing the magazine or newspaper to one or other audience.

    To illustrate this point further, let’s look at the role of media “gatekeepers”.

    Who are they?

    These are a group of people who in their capacity as producers/sub-editors determine what is newsworthy and what is not. The power residing in them allows them to exercise judgment over news, stories, comments and analysis which inevitably shape public opinions.

    The same is true regarding the elitist functions of those ensconsed within the corridors of power at the SABC who control the selection of films and documentaries. The public broadcaster has a moral obligation to allow a process to unfold which will not only permit civil society to play an inter-active role, but also ensure that the necessary transparency will eliminate any opportunity for "influence peddlars" to become entrenched.

    Any appraisal of the media and its role in society would therefore be incomplete without a thorough investigation of this tilted balance of power. Indeed, such a probe will allow the media to increase its capacity to be responsive to the needs of people.

    These needs in relation to communication are hopelessly inadequate given the current divide between media and its consumers.

    People’s ability to access information as passive consumers is relatively easier than their ability to transmit it. For instance, readers of newspapers and magazines are acutely aware of the limitations of space which apart from restricting their responses, also render it impossible to have their views published at all!

    Does it not raise questions about how masses of people are restricted from communicating when the Bill of Rights, Section 16[1b] clearly supports the right to "freedom to receive or impart information of ideas"?

    Since mass-media such as television, newspapers, books, magazines, radio, films and the internet have a direct role in influencing and shaping public perceptions, factors such as the power and authority of these media cannot be ignored.

    Well known legal personality Christine Qunta is therefore correct in raising the following question: "Who watches the watchdogs?" [B/Day 10 June 05].

    In addition and more importantly is the confirmation she provides that apart from the "few who do manage to get access to the radio talk shows and the letters pages of newspapers", many thinking black persons are questioning the role of the media.

    Like all organizations that create a product, the media have basic steps in their manufacturing and distribution processes. The chain from the publisher runs through the news/editorial dept to the advertising and circulation before reaching the final link: the consumer.

    The emphasis placed on profits by the publishers has therefore placed additional burdens upon the editorial team, which raises more questions about the nature of the role of the media.

    Indeed in his "The End of News?", Michael Massing alludes to this phenomena which he describes as "paring of editorial budgets and ‘harmonising’ of corporate interests to augment profits". [New York Review of Books, Dec 1 and 15, 05]

    In addition, the move to tabloids or “tablodisation” of the print media has served to reinforce the perception that media owners’ bottom line remains profits.

    In the decade following the Human Rights Commission’s inquiry into racism in the media, despite huge strides made by media practitioners, many issues related to the faultlines probed at the time, seem to pop up all the time:

    • Stereotyping
    • Islamophobia
    • Dispersonalising
    • Propaganda

    This begs the question whether South Africa’s media institutions have made sufficient progress in pursuing transformation and embracing diversity.

    In surveying the current media landscape, especially in the aftermath of the cartoon controversy, it is evident that many media houses have yet to display a desire to reach out to their target audiences in order to meaningfully deal with any existing disparities.

    As this week marks World Press Freedom Day when journalists throughout the world reflect on the state of press freedom, it would be tragic if such stock-taking excludes the devastation caused by the US driven “War on Terror”.

    Press freedom accorded to so-called analysts who exploit their opinion columns to perpetuate hate and bigotry in order to justify US hegemonic designs in different parts of the world is a travesty of freedom of expression.

    Also if it is accepted that media credibility is hinged on values such as accuracy and balance, the public’s expectation that such ethics not be compromised under any circumstances, is unfortunately not met with any degree of consistency.

    In summarizing this critique on the role of the media it is appropriate to conclude that the right to freedom of expression is exercised mainly by those associated with might and power.

    Unless drastic efforts are made to empower ordinary people with equal opportunities to exercise similar rights, press freedom will remain the preserve of an elite minority.

    Zuma’s woes regarding the allegations of rape may be over. It does not mean that allegations of media bias against him are over.

    • TAGS
    • about
    • according
    • account
    • address
    • addressed
    • Africa
    • after
    • aftermath
    • against
    • allegations
    • allow
    • allows
    • analysis
    • analysts
    • apart
    • appraisal
    • april
    • attack
    • attention
    • authority
    • balance
    • basic
    • BBC
    • because
    • become
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Pinterest
    WhatsApp
    Linkedin
    ReddIt
    Email
    Print
    Tumblr
    Telegram
    Mix
    VK
    Digg
    LINE
    Viber
    Naver
      Previous articleBush Uses FDA To Shield Big Pharma From Lawsuits
      Next articleOur liberties and sovereignty under assault as Harper remakes Canada in Bush’s image
      Iqbal Jassat
      Mr. Iqbal Jassat, Executive Member of Media Review Network (MRN), gets featured on Media Monitors Network (MMN) with the courtesy of MRN, which is an advocacy group based in Pretoria, South Africa.

      RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

      Jerusalem Israel Palestine Dome of The Rock Golden Dome

      The Abraham Accords undermined much-needed peace with Palestinians

      World Map

      Global disturbing disparities

      Globe Algeria Niger Mali Africa

      There is always a price to pay for befriending the Zionists

      Google Search

      MMN @ Google Play Store MMN @ Amazon Appstore

      MMN @ TwitterMMN @ FacebookMMN Feed

      EDITOR PICKS

      Progressives Must Fight With -- and In -- the Democratic Party

      Steps Left for Electing Progressives and Defeating Republicans in the Midterms

      August 31, 2022
      Tax Revelations and Corporate Media Won’t Defeat Trump

      Nancy Pelosi Could Get Us All Killed

      August 1, 2022
      Tax Revelations and Corporate Media Won’t Defeat Trump

      ‘Fortress Mentality’ Among U.S. Leaders Has Trapped Us in a Cycle...

      July 25, 2022

      POPULAR POSTS

      167

      The Origin of Freemasonry: The Crusaders & Templars

      April 23, 2003

      Sharon to Peres: We Control America

      November 20, 2001
      Qibla - Kaaba

      Direction of Al-Qiblah

      February 23, 2003

      POPULAR CATEGORY

      • Perspectives13563
      • News6696
      • World5885
      • Asia4839
      • Columns1370
      • Africa927
      • Articles786
      • Australasia612
      • Health600
      ABOUT US
      Media Monitors Network (MMN) is a non-profit, non-partial and non-political platform for those serious Media Contributors and Observers who crave to know and like to help to prevail the whole truth about current affairs, any disputed issue or any controversial issue by their voluntary contributions with logic, reason and rationality.
      Contact us: [email protected]
      FOLLOW US
      • About MMN
      • Disclaimer
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms and Conditions
      • Contact
      Copyright © 2000 - MMN International Inc. All rights reserved.
      Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
      All other brands, logos, and product names are registered
      trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.
      ResponsiveVoice-NonCommercial licensed under 95x15
      MORE STORIES
      OIC, King Salman Global Academy emphasize cooperation to strengthen Arabic use in international organizations

      OIC, King Salman Global Academy emphasize cooperation to strengthen Arabic use...

      February 2, 2023
      UNA honoured during World Arabic Day for Muslim Ummah

      UNA honoured during World Arabic Day for Muslim Ummah

      February 2, 2023