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THREAD: It is really NB for the names of all journalists who took cash bribes from the SSA to be revealed, and for them to explain themselves in an open forum. Practiced properly, journalism is a sacred trust that is a critical pillar of any democracy.
When ordinary people see news reporting they need to have confidence that the reporter is a person of the highest integrity, and has adequately researched and reflected on each news story they have chosen to put out there because it is going to be taken at face value.
When this sacred trust is abused, we must be absolutely brutal in punishing and ostracizing those who abuse public trust by accepting bribes and publishing stories they know not to be true or fair. It is not the job of journalists and editors to protect anyone from criticism.
I say this knowing that journalists make genuine mistakes. Journalism is tough. Every mistake made is public and can have irreversible consequences for those journalists tell stories about. This reality can be really rough on young reporters who still have to learn.
So I am not advocating the unfair punishment of honest mistakes, but there are far too many instances of abuse of journalism for various reasons. Journalists accepting bribes is not only corrupt but poses a real threat to our democratic project.
I keep coming back to the paragraph by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo in the M&G vs President judgment on the Khampepe/Moseneke Report on the Zim elections. In it, Judge Ngcobo said something along the lines of (can't remember exactly now):
"Ordinary citizens need full information in order to make informed political choices". Lying to readers and listeners, omitting information that is critical or distorting it is an egregious distortion of our democratic contract. It must not be tolerated.
We cannot have charlatans in the cloak of journalism sullying what is a critical profession to the very survival of our system of self-government. We must do this in order to protect those journalists who do their work with honor for little pay.
The work of journalists is already difficult as it is, with so much online bullying, insults and active disinformation on this and other platforms. The people who collaborated with evil forces to undermine this democracy must be outed soonest.
