Publication: City Press Issued: Date: 2005-10-22 Reporter: Tawana Kupe

Is Media Betraying Public Trust on Zuma Affair?

 

Publication 

City Press

Date

2005-10-22

Reporter

 Tawana Kupe

Web Link

www.news24.com

 

The Zuma affair is quite clearly one of the big stories of SA's new democracy.

The reason for this is that it involves a range of issues including corruption, and political players who traverse the entire social spectrum in SA, from workers in the trade union movement to the highest office in the land. Zuma's defence team and the prosecution have some of the finest legal minds in the country. *1

Zuma himself was until very recently number two in the land. He is still number two in the ruling and largest party in the country and his supporters are openly campaigning for him to be number one in the party and country within the next four years.

The stakes are undoubtedly very high.

The media, which is expected to be at the forefront of informing, explaining and opening up a debate on the issue, is being drawn daily and weekly into the eye of the storm.

In the past week at least two major newspapers have been driven into what can only be called speculative scaremongering *2. These papers have written articles which speculate that a Zuma presidency would be a disaster and the spectre of Zimbabwe would become a living nightmare.

According to these articles the rule of law and the democratic order that SA is renowned for will be trampled upon as Zuma takes revenge on those around President Thabo Mbeki who he believes want him out politically.

The articles also claim that as a populist, Zuma would throw out of the window the pragmatic economic policies that have stabilised the economy, and put the economy on a growth trajectory. Instead of there being economic prosperity and jobs for the jobless, the populist policies would lead to further unemployment and misery for the workers Zuma is allegedly champion of.

They further say SA's stature in Africa and the world would decline. Taken as a whole the statements suggest SA would become "another African basket case".

Media should not speculate but inform and be factual. If there is good reason to speculate, and there could indeed be some limited ground to do so, such speculation should not be turned into fact.

Media could and should present scenarios on what could happen if a certain set of events, the behaviour of individuals and processes go in a certain direction. Such scenarios would have to be heavily based on solid facts and backed up by getting the broadest possible range of views.

What it cannot do is to present one scenario, especially a doomsday scenario, because this becomes scaremongering and persuassion through evoking fear. It borders on "irresponsibility" *3.

Scaremongering also often borders on crossing the line between legitimate critique of an individual or social group into demonstrating personal animosity for him or them. It is a betrayal of public trust.

The doomsday scenarios about a future Zuma presidency do not shed light on what is actually happening today and its impact on society.

Here are some doses of undiluted facts:

Zuma is in the early stages of a trial, has assembled a defence team, shows up at court when he required to. He says after the trial he will reveal all. Well, we will see and there is no harm in waiting *4!

I am very confident that if a Zuma presidency happens South Africans will not allow Zuma to trample on their hard-won freedoms and there will be no Armageddon!

Meanwhile could the media return to a more thorough analysis for the benefit of those who want to know?

• Prof Kupe is head of the School of Literature, Languages and Media Studies at Wits

With acknowledgements to Tawana Kupe and City Press.


*1  Take some bows, Teams, and then let the games begin.

*2  No, it's called scenario analysis.

*3  Manure.

*4  Meanwhile, although not yet quite alight, the country is red-hot and in a pre-ignition state, all due to this dangerous brinkmanship.