“Hide nothing from the masses of our people. Tell no lies. Expose lies whenever they are told...”
These profound words attributed to Guinea-Bissau revolutionary leader Amílcar Cabral (1924-1973) offer the basis through which the Press Council of South Africa (PCSA) should have aligned their reasoning behind why Independent Media and IOL are no longer part of that once esteemed body.
Instead, the PCSA chose to save face and deliberately misrepresented the true reasons why the aforementioned companies are no longer members of the council.
Thankfully we have a platform such as this publication to correct this misrepresentation and give you, dear reader, the true reasons why Independent Media (owners of this publication) and its sister company IOL withdrew from this voluntary organisation with no legal standing or official regulatory authority.
This matter stems from a March 3, 2024, opinion penned by columnist Edmond Phiri in which he compares News24 journalist Karyn Maughan with Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl.
Maughan and News24 filed a complaint with the PCSA against the Sunday Independent following the publication of the opinion piece.
The PCSA bizarrely ruled in favour of News24.
Considerable deliberation and the company’s efforts to engage with the Press Council on what it described as a flawed decision which lacked impartiality, came to naught.
The mishandling of this case triggered Independent Media and IOL to pull out of the PCSA as it became evident that it was not in their best interest to remain part of the council.
This view is premised on the fact that the PCSA’s decision suppresses the constitutional right of our writers to express opinions.
Furthermore it proves that the PCSA has become weaponised against those who seek to uphold the true values of journalism.
The PCSA itself has given the public enough reason to see why its credibility is questionable, by claiming it expelled the two companies.
Maughan’s own social media exposes the PCSA lies when she states: “Independent Newspapers and IOL have withdrawn from the Press Council after being ordered to retract, apologise for and delete an opinion piece they published about me, in which they compared me to a Nazi propagandist.” Withdrawn, not expelled.
Our commitment to fair, balanced and ethical journalism demands that we disassociate ourselves from organisations with ulterior motives.
That is why we have set up an independent ombudsman office to adjudicate on all complaints.
This office can be reached via: editorialcomplaints@inl.co.za
Cape Times