This blog is mostly about the ethical standards of journalism in Swaziland.
It is necessary to have a blog like this because media academics and commentators both in Swaziland and in Africa generally have identified many shortcomings in journalism. In Swaziland senior media practitioners identify the kingdom’s media as partisan, inaccurate and generally unprofessional.
A workshop of civic society stakeholders held in September 2005, which attempted to measure the performance of the media in Swaziland reported that news media lacked credibility and many people saw journalists as lacking in education and experience.
In Africa more generally newspapers have been described as very unprofessional, highly biased, and sensational with exaggerated reports published out of context. This situation has driven one senior media academic to conclude that the independent press in Africa has apparently thrown all ethical norms overboard. Therefore, codes of ethics are necessary so that journalists can stay on the right track.
Swaziland is not unique in Africa in having a code of ethics, nor do the clauses that make up the code differ much from those in existence elsewhere in Africa. Most codes cover truthfulness, fairness, impartiality, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, invasion of privacy, trauma, stereotyping and social responsibility.
Leading the campaign to improve ethical standards of journalism is the Swaziland National Association of Journalists (SNAJ), which has a membership of 150 of the estimated 200 journalists working in the kingdom.
In 2002, SNAJ developed and approved a code of conduct to try to ensure professional standards were maintained by all journalists practicing in the country.
The code was updated in 2005 to include clauses on the coverage of HIV/AIDS and gender issues. However, no organisation has been created to ensure the code of ethics is adhered to, so SNAJ currently relies on willing editors in newsrooms to sensitise journalists about the code. SNAJ has also embarked on an awareness campaign to educate its members about the code.
The code is meant to ensure that members adhere to the highest ethical standards, professional competence and good behaviour in carrying out their duties. Its overriding concern is that members of the media should conduct themselves with a high sense of responsibility without infringing the rights of individuals and society in general.
There are eight articles of the code which concern themselves with the personal responsibility of the journalist and these cover such matters as conflict of interest (do not accept bribes), plagiarism; protecting confidential sources; under no circumstances suppressing news (unless it borders on issues of national security); allowing a fair opportunity for organizations or individuals to respond to issues raised in publications; using ethical means to secure information and photographs; respecting embargoes and encouraging journalists to advise a survivor of a sexual offence to go for counselling.
The remaining nine articles cover areas including the public’s right to information (which is unbiased, accurate, balanced and comprehensive); respect for privacy; respect for national and ethnic values (not originating material which encourages discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity, colour, creed, gender or sexual orientation); publishing corrections to inaccurate or misleading reports; separating comment from fact; avoiding the publication of speech that might promote hatred; avoiding the identification of survivors of sexual assault; protecting the rights of minors; exercising tact and sensitivity when dealing with people in grief.; avoiding misleading and sensational headlines and the reporting of people with HIV and AIDS.
In Swaziland there is not yet one single body that exists to enforce the code and each media house has developed its own professional standards. For instance, the Times of Swaziland has created an internal ombudsman to address concerns of readers and sanction offending journalists. The Swazi Observer has its own internal structures to address concerns raised by readers.
But the experiences of working with the code of conduct are not good. In a survey I did of the Swazi press in 2006 I discovered constant breaches of the SNAJ code of conduct. These breaches were in every one of SNAJ’s 19 clauses. They ranged in intensity from relatively minor infringements of fairness (apportioning blame in reports of traffic accidents), and clear bias in reporting on activities of MPs, to very severe examples of hate speech (homosexuals should be considered lower than animals).
The most striking aspect of the infringements was the almost casual disregard for the codes. For example, Article 5, which deals with privacy, states clearly that ‘intrusions into a person’s private life can only be justified when done in the public interest’. The ‘public interest defined as ‘all matters pertaining to and promoting public safety, security, health and general well being of society’ (SNAJ Code Definitions). This article of the code was casually disregarded all the time.
For example there was a report of a school student who was forced to drop out of school; another report that was conjecture on why a man committed suicide, speculation over the reasons for a possible suicide (with a photograph of a woman sobbing as she narrates her ordeal); a woman who spoke to reporter on condition of anonymity has her photograph published (she has her eyes backed out but she is clearly identifiable by her clothes and her location. It is impossible to justify any of these reports on the grounds of public interest as defined above.
My survey is not the only evidence that ethical journalism in Swaziland is poor.
A News Diet Study of the Swazi newspapers conducted by the Media Institute of Southern Africa – Swaziland Chapter (MISA) in 2006 discovered ‘serious ethical violations’ taking place in newspapers.
It found almost half the violations occurred in stories about child abuse or gender-based violence where the report failed to protect the victim and / or trivialised the event. MISA concludes, ‘This raises questions about the level of awareness among journalists of the need to report these issues responsibly and sensitively and, in particular, the standard of editing in the newspapers.’
How do we improve the ethical standards of journalism in Swaziland? The answer is very difficult and cannot be answered in a single essay. – that will take an entire blog.
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query code of ethics. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query code of ethics. Sort by date Show all posts
Friday, 16 November 2007
Tuesday, 11 September 2007
JOURNALISM ETHICS IN SWAZILAND
One of the main reason for publishing this blog every day of the week is to monitor the ethical health of the Swazi news media. This is not because I have a personal vendetta against journalists, but rather it is done in the knowledge that media commentators both in Swaziland and in Africa generally have identified many shortcomings in African journalism. In Swaziland senior media practitioners identify the kingdom’s media as partisan, inaccurate and generally unprofessional.
A workshop of civic society stakeholders held in September 2005 which attempted to measure the performance of the media in Swaziland reported that news media lacked credibility and many people saw journalists as lacking in education and experience.
One criticism is that most of the reporters can hardly write a story and they only survive on handouts in the form of press releases and can hardly generate their own story ideas.
In Africa more generally newspapers have been described as very unprofessional, highly biased, sensational with exaggerated reports published out of context, driving Francis Kasoma, a media academic, to conclude that the independent press in Africa has apparently thrown all ethical norms overboard. Therefore, codes of ethics are necessary, he believes, so that journalists can stay on the right track.
Leading the campaign to improve ethical standards of journalism is the Swaziland National Association of Journalists (SNAJ), which has a membership of 150 of the estimated 200 journalists working in the kingdom.
In 2002, SNAJ developed and approved a code of conduct to ensure professional standards were maintained by all journalists practicing in the country.
The code was updated in 2005 to include clauses on the coverage of HIV/AIDS and gender issues. However, no organisation has been created to ensure the code of ethics is adhered to, so SNAJ currently relies on willing editors in newsrooms to sensitise journalists about the code. SNAJ has also embarked on an awareness campaign to educate its members about the code.
The code is meant to ensure that members adhere to the highest ethical standards, professional competence and good behaviour in carrying out their duties. Its overriding concern is that members of the media should conduct themselves with a high sense of responsibility without infringing the rights of individuals and society in general.
There are eight articles of the code which are about the personal responsibility of the journalist and these cover such matters as conflict of interest (do not accept bribes), plagiarism; protecting confidential sources; under no circumstances suppressing news (unless it borders on issues of national security); allowing a fair opportunity for organizations or individuals to respond to issues raised in publications; using ethical means to secure information and photographs; respecting embargoes and encouraging journalists to advise a survivor of a sexual offence to go for counselling.
The remaining nine articles cover areas including the public’s right to information (which is unbiased, accurate, balanced and comprehensive); respect for privacy; respect for national and ethnic values (not originating material which encourages discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity, colour, creed, gender or sexual orientation); publishing corrections to inaccurate or misleading reports; separating comment from fact; avoiding the publication of speech that might promote hatred; avoiding the identification of survivors of sexual assault; protecting the rights of minors; exercising tact and sensitivity when dealing with people in grief.; avoiding misleading and sensational headlines and the reporting of people with HIV and AIDS.
In the absence of an umbrella body to enforce the code, each newsroom has developed its own professional standards. For instance, the Times of Swaziland has created an internal ombudsman to address concerns of readers and sanction offending journalists. The Observer has its own internal structures to address concerns raised by readers.
In an as yet unpublished pilot survey of the Swazi press, which I undertook over a period of eight weeks in October to December 2006, I found constant breaches of the SNAJ code of conduct. These breaches were in every one of SNAJ’s 19 clauses. They ranged in intensity from relatively minor infringements of fairness (apportioning blame in reports of traffic accidents), and clear bias in reporting on activities of MPs, to very severe examples of hate speech.
The most striking aspect of the infringements was the almost casual disregard for the codes. For example, Article 5, which deals with privacy, states clearly that ‘intrusions into a person’s private life can only be justified when done in the public interest’. The ‘public interest defined as ‘all matters pertaining to and promoting public safety, security, health and general well being of society’ (SNAJ Code Definitions). This article of the code was casually disregarded during the period of the survey.
Illustrations of this were a report of a school student who was forced to drop out of school; another report that was conjecture on why a man committed suicide, speculation over the reasons for a possible suicide (with a photograph of a woman sobbing as she narrates her ordeal); a woman who spoke to reporter on condition of anonymity has her photograph published (she has her eyes backed out but she is clearly identifiable by her clothes and her location). It is impossible to justify any of these reports on the grounds of public interest as defined above.
On the evidence presented here there is still along way to before the Swazi media can consider themselves ethically healthy.
A workshop of civic society stakeholders held in September 2005 which attempted to measure the performance of the media in Swaziland reported that news media lacked credibility and many people saw journalists as lacking in education and experience.
One criticism is that most of the reporters can hardly write a story and they only survive on handouts in the form of press releases and can hardly generate their own story ideas.
In Africa more generally newspapers have been described as very unprofessional, highly biased, sensational with exaggerated reports published out of context, driving Francis Kasoma, a media academic, to conclude that the independent press in Africa has apparently thrown all ethical norms overboard. Therefore, codes of ethics are necessary, he believes, so that journalists can stay on the right track.
Leading the campaign to improve ethical standards of journalism is the Swaziland National Association of Journalists (SNAJ), which has a membership of 150 of the estimated 200 journalists working in the kingdom.
In 2002, SNAJ developed and approved a code of conduct to ensure professional standards were maintained by all journalists practicing in the country.
The code was updated in 2005 to include clauses on the coverage of HIV/AIDS and gender issues. However, no organisation has been created to ensure the code of ethics is adhered to, so SNAJ currently relies on willing editors in newsrooms to sensitise journalists about the code. SNAJ has also embarked on an awareness campaign to educate its members about the code.
The code is meant to ensure that members adhere to the highest ethical standards, professional competence and good behaviour in carrying out their duties. Its overriding concern is that members of the media should conduct themselves with a high sense of responsibility without infringing the rights of individuals and society in general.
There are eight articles of the code which are about the personal responsibility of the journalist and these cover such matters as conflict of interest (do not accept bribes), plagiarism; protecting confidential sources; under no circumstances suppressing news (unless it borders on issues of national security); allowing a fair opportunity for organizations or individuals to respond to issues raised in publications; using ethical means to secure information and photographs; respecting embargoes and encouraging journalists to advise a survivor of a sexual offence to go for counselling.
The remaining nine articles cover areas including the public’s right to information (which is unbiased, accurate, balanced and comprehensive); respect for privacy; respect for national and ethnic values (not originating material which encourages discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity, colour, creed, gender or sexual orientation); publishing corrections to inaccurate or misleading reports; separating comment from fact; avoiding the publication of speech that might promote hatred; avoiding the identification of survivors of sexual assault; protecting the rights of minors; exercising tact and sensitivity when dealing with people in grief.; avoiding misleading and sensational headlines and the reporting of people with HIV and AIDS.
In the absence of an umbrella body to enforce the code, each newsroom has developed its own professional standards. For instance, the Times of Swaziland has created an internal ombudsman to address concerns of readers and sanction offending journalists. The Observer has its own internal structures to address concerns raised by readers.
In an as yet unpublished pilot survey of the Swazi press, which I undertook over a period of eight weeks in October to December 2006, I found constant breaches of the SNAJ code of conduct. These breaches were in every one of SNAJ’s 19 clauses. They ranged in intensity from relatively minor infringements of fairness (apportioning blame in reports of traffic accidents), and clear bias in reporting on activities of MPs, to very severe examples of hate speech.
The most striking aspect of the infringements was the almost casual disregard for the codes. For example, Article 5, which deals with privacy, states clearly that ‘intrusions into a person’s private life can only be justified when done in the public interest’. The ‘public interest defined as ‘all matters pertaining to and promoting public safety, security, health and general well being of society’ (SNAJ Code Definitions). This article of the code was casually disregarded during the period of the survey.
Illustrations of this were a report of a school student who was forced to drop out of school; another report that was conjecture on why a man committed suicide, speculation over the reasons for a possible suicide (with a photograph of a woman sobbing as she narrates her ordeal); a woman who spoke to reporter on condition of anonymity has her photograph published (she has her eyes backed out but she is clearly identifiable by her clothes and her location). It is impossible to justify any of these reports on the grounds of public interest as defined above.
On the evidence presented here there is still along way to before the Swazi media can consider themselves ethically healthy.
Monday, 4 February 2013
‘TIMES’ ATTACKED OVER NUDE PHOTO
The
Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) has joined the growing chorus of
condemnation of the Times Sunday newspaper
after it published a nude picture of a woman blackmail victim.
The
woman’s former boyfriend had published naked pictures of her on social network
sites and had sent them to her work colleagues and others who knew her. This
was after their relationship broke down and the couple argued over money.
The
Times Sunday interviewed the
Zimbabwean man at length and published his story and included one of the
pictures he was circulating. It blurred out the woman’s face, breasts and
private parts, but published a second picture of her in which she could be
clearly identified (despite a small black strip printed across her eyes) and
gave enough details of her workplace to make identification easy.
Now,
SWAGAA has said in a letter published by the newspaper, ‘The Times
Sunday stooped to a new low by publishing the blackmail picture of the
Swazi UK Embassy employee last Sunday.
‘The
methods the “Spiteful Zimbabwean” used to retaliate against a girlfriend over
financial disagreements were certainly distasteful but what was even more
distasteful was the fact the newspaper played right into his hands.
‘By
publishing a private photo, the newspaper helped to spread his evil intent – to
damage this woman’s reputation - and her life. SWAGAA is extremely disappointed
in the newspaper’s decision to publish this photo.
‘The
Times Sunday is guilty of
thoughtlessly inflicting pain for a brief moment of titillation and has breached
the ethics of responsible journalism. Citizens of Swaziland deserve better than
this.’
SWAGAA
joins the Swazi Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT),
the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Swaziland chapter, and numerous readers
of the newspaper in attacking the newspaper for its sensationalist journalism.
The
ICT Ministry in a statement said it was ‘horrified’ by the publication of an
‘indecent’ photograph.
It
went on, ‘Chapter Three of the Constitution protects Swazi Citizens from
“inhuman or degrading treatment,” and further confers “respect for rights of
family, women and children”.
‘The
Preamble of the Code of Ethics as adopted by Swaziland National Association of
Journalists, clearly states that its members must “adhere to highest ethical
standards, professional competence and good behaviour, in carrying out their
duties.”
‘It
further states that while “the public expects the media to play their watchdog
role, they shall do this with a high sense of responsibility, without
infringing on the rights of individuals and society in general”.’
MISAsupported the Ministry stance. It said in a statement, ‘MISA-Swaziland is the
first to decry the endemic censorship in the kingdom, however on this issue, we
acknowledge the position of government.
‘The
ICT ministry may not have the finest record on matters of freedom
of speech, but MISA-Swaziland must give credit where it is due. The government
is invoking the media code of ethics and the Constitution as it was meant to be
invoked: to protect people from degrading and inhuman treatment.’
The Swazi Observer newspaperalso reported University of Swaziland journalism lecturer
Maxwell Mthembu and Swaziland Consumers Association Chairman Bongani Mdluli had
called for the Sunday
Times to issue an apology.
The
Times Sunday told its readers in a
statement published in the newspaper yesterday (3 February 2013), ‘Publication
of the story and blocked picture in question was a result of a decision to show
what some people will do in the name of love.
‘The
story was meant to be a warning to both men and women to be careful, even if
they are in love.’
It
made no reference to criticisms that it had broken the code of ethical conduct
and the Swazi Constitution.
See
also
‘TIMES
SUNDAY’ ENCOURAGES BLACKMAIL
Wednesday, 25 October 2017
‘OBSERVER’ NAMES ANOTHER RAPE VICTIM
The Swazi
Observer newspaper has once again named a rape victim in violation of her
human rights and journalism ethical codes.
It also disclosed her HIV-positive status.
The Sunday
Observer (22 October 2017) reported on a woman it called ‘mentally
unstable’. It named her and published two photographs of her as well as a
picture of where she lived and of her aunt. It also published a photograph of
her youngest daughter. This had her face blanked out but she would be easily
recognisable to people in her community.
The newspaper said the woman had been repeatedly raped
by men in her community and was now HIV-positive.
By publishing the name of the women, the Observer broke Article 15 of the Swaziland
National Association of Journalists (SNAJ) code of ethics on
Survivors of Sexual Assault which states, ‘Journalists shall avoid identifying
survivors of sexual assault or any information that may lead to the
identification of the survivor.’
Journalists across the world generally agree that it violates the rights
of rape victims to publish their names without their consent.
This is not the first time the Swazi
Observer has named alleged rape victims. In
February 2015, it published the names of eight alleged rape victims without
their consent.
The Observer published the
names as part of a report on the start of a trial of an alleged serial rapist.
In its report the Observer listed the
women’s names and details of their attacks in what it called ‘a sneak preview’
of the case. It gave their names and details of how each attack took place. The
newspaper named one woman and revealed she was a virgin.
In all of the attacks violence including a knife was used. In all cases
the alleged rapist did not use a condom.
When the publication of the report caused an outcry the Observer gave a
half-hearted apology, saying it had made a ‘boo-boo’.
In its apology, the Observer
said, ‘Indeed, the only decent thing we could do after mixing up the rules is
to draw our own sword and hang ourselves.’
The editor nor any other journalist involved in the story was
disciplined and the women involved received no compensation. Now, the offence
has been repeated it remains to be seen what action will be taken.
The Swazi Observer newspapers
are in effect owned by King Mswati III who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan
Africa’s last absolute monarch. Its journalistic credentials have been called
into question many times. In a review
of press freedom in Swaziland, the Media Institute of Southern
Africa (MISA) called the Observer, a
‘pure propaganda machine for the royal family’.
The Observer regularly breaks
Article 1 of the SNAJ code Article 1which deals with people’s right to
information. The article says, ‘The duty of every journalist is to write and
report, adhere to and faithfully defend the truth. A journalist should make
adequate inquiries, do cross-checking of facts in order to provide the public
with unbiased, accurate, balanced and comprehensive information.’
The newspaper is on public
record to say that its ‘collective stand as a newspaper is that the integrity
of Swaziland as a democratic State and His Majesty King Mswati III as the
legitimate leader of the Swazi nation, must never be compromised in any way.’
It also publishes false reports about Asians in Swaziland that are
capable of string up racial hatred. In October 2016, it claimed
that 600,000 people in Swaziland are of Asian origin (14 October 2016). A
website called
countrymeters that constantly updates statistics
recorded Swaziland’s total population at that time as 1,312,881.
That would mean that about 45 percent of the entire Swazi
population were of Asian origin. In fact, every reputable source shows that about
97 percent of Swazi people are African. The sources include the CIA
factbook and indexmundi.
The Observer reported on 14 October 2016 that a parliamentary committee set up to investigate Asians in the kingdom was told Asian people had occupied, ‘every available space in the urban areas’. The newspaper did not name the source of this statement.
The Observer reported on 14 October 2016 that a parliamentary committee set up to investigate Asians in the kingdom was told Asian people had occupied, ‘every available space in the urban areas’. The newspaper did not name the source of this statement.
The Observer
reported as if fact that 90 percent of shops in the kingdom are owned by Asian
people (14 October 2016). It said, in Manzini, the main commercial city in Swaziland,
‘almost the entire city is reportedly in the hands of the Indians’ (14 October
2016).
Other reports it made without giving readers evidence
included: Asian people are rushing to acquire Swazi Nation Land to open up
small businesses (15 October 2016);
wealthy Asian businessmen are evicting Swazis in massive scales in the
areas of Manzini (17 October 2016); Asians are associating themselves with the
Swazi Royal Family because it would secure their investments (17 October
2016).
The constant trashing of Asian people runs against
Swazi journalists’ own code of ethics. It amounts to hate speech. The Swaziland
National Association of Journalists in Article
13 of its code states, ‘Hate speech. (Journalists shall
avoid by all means the publication of speech that might promote hatred, spite
and conflict amongst the Swazi or any other nation.)’
Richard
Rooney
See also
PRESSURE
ON ‘OBSERVER’ OVER RAPE
‘SWAZI
OBSERVER’ NAMES ‘RAPE VICTIMS’
‘OBSERVER’
SHRUGS OFF ITS RAPE OUTRAGE
SWAZI
KING’S PAPER ATTACKS ASIANS
UNREST
AT SWAZI KING’S NEWSPAPER
KING
KEEPS GRIP ON ‘SWAZI OBSERVER’
FALSE
CLAIM OF OBAMA SUPPORT FOR KING
KING’S
PAPER CALLS DEMOCRATS ‘HITLER’
AGOA
PROPAGANDA FROM KING’S PAPER
KING’S
PAPER AND ITS AIRPORT FANTASY
KING
FORCES NEWSPAPER APOLOGY
https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/king-forces-newspaper-apology.html
Saturday, 2 February 2013
MISA BACKS GOVT ATTACK ON ‘TIMES’
Media
Institute of Southern Africa - Swaziland Chapter
Media
Alert, February 1, 2013
Government tells media to sort
itself out
The
government of Swaziland is aware that the media is acting irresponsibly.
Principal
Secretary of the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology, Sikelela
Dlamini, issued a statement on 30 January 2013, in which he criticises the Times
of Swaziland Sunday, a weekly tabloid, for breaching not only its own code of
ethics but also the country’s Constitution.
The
ministry was responding to an article published by the Times of Swaziland Sunday on 27 January 2013 under the headline ‘The Naked Truth?’. The
article chronicled the fallout between a Swazi diplomat based in London and her
former Zimbabwean boyfriend. He is allegedly trying to recover money from her,
and because she allegedly refused – or didn’t repay what he thought was the
required amount – he posted a series of intimate and naked photos of her to
Swazi diplomatic offices as well as posting the photos online. It is a
seemingly a simple yet messy case of blackmail. And it is not unreasonable to
suggest that none of this should have entered the public domain in the first
place.
However,
the Times of Swaziland Sunday –
published by the Times of Swaziland Group
of Newspaper – ran a lopsided story and published a naked photo of the woman
with her breasts, private parts and face blurred. The photo does not protect
her identity nor does it respect her right to privacy, despite ‘efforts’ to the
contrary.
The
ICT ministry was “horrified” by the story and the photo, stating that freedom
of expression could not be used to breach professional boundaries or used to
overstep ethical or legislative limitations.
“The
recent blatant publication of indecent photography of one of our female
Citizens, who equally enjoys protective Constitutional provisions, has
generated wide public outcry… while questioning the professional discretion of
certain establishments [The Times of
Swaziland], within the local press corps.”
The
Swaziland chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Swaziland) is
the first to decry the endemic censorship in the kingdom, however on this
issue, we acknowledge the position of government.
The
ICT ministry may
not have the finest record on matters of freedom of speech, but
MISA-Swaziland must give credit where it is due. The government is invoking the
media code of ethics and the Constitution as it was meant to be invoked: to
protect people from degrading and inhuman treatment.
As
it stands, in early 2013, there is no operating independent media complaints commission
(MCC) in Swaziland. It only exists on paper, however after its ‘launch’ in
mid-2011 it failed to get off the ground. This commission has been in
‘discussion phase’ for ten years. MISA-Swaziland urges members of the MCC,
Swaziland National Association of Journalists (SNAJ), and Swaziland Editors Forum
(SEF) to push hard to get the MCC operating. If there was an operating and
trusted complaints commission, aggrieved or defamed citizens – such as the
woman who has had her naked body unwittingly splashed into the public’s view –
could approach this organisation to seek an apology, resolution, or some other
form of damages. Moreover, with a self-regulatory ‘mechanism’ in place the
government will be less inclined to introduce a statutory media tribunal.
The
government has been telling the media to ‘sort itself out’ for a long time.
MISA-Swaziland shares this sentiment, and will continue working with the media
and the government to ensure progress is made.
National
Director of MISA-Swaziland Vuyisile Hlatshwayo said the Times of Swaziland Sunday was “wrong” to run the story and publish
the photo, thereby feeding into a former lover’s blackmail plot.
“It
is obscene,” he said. “We have a constitution that should protect
against this sort of thing. Article 18 speaks of 'protection from inhuman or
degrading treatment'. In MISA’s view, the publication of the photo is in direct
violation of the Swaziland Constitution.
“The
reason why this happens – unethical stories and photos get published – is
because there is a lot repression and censorship when it comes to ‘real’ and ‘hard’
news, therefore the media has resorted to tabloid journalism, which thrives on
scandals.
“In
other words,” Hlatshwayo continues, “it is this soft and superficial news
which is increasingly creeping into our media. MISA urges the Swazi media to
be courageous enough to tackle issues which are in the public interest,
rather than focusing on scandals and stories
of insignificance."
See
also
‘TIMES
SUNDAY’ ENCOURAGES BLACKMAIL
Monday, 19 November 2007
POOR PICTURE OF CHILDREN
Swazi journalists and their employers need to reassess their commitment to the ethical reporting of children. There is a clear gap between the ethical aspirations of journalists in Swaziland and the actual work they do.
This is one of the main findings of research I did into the way Swaziland’s newspapers use photographs of children.
I surveyed all Swaziland’s daily and weekend newspapers for eight weeks October to December 2006. This was a total of 56 editions of the daily newspapers The Times of Swaziland and the Swazi Observer; the Saturday newspapers The Weekend Observer and the Swazi News; and the Times Sunday,
I used the Swaziland National Association of Journalists (SNAJ) Code of Conduct as a guide to what should and should not be published.
The code is meant to ensure that journalists stick to the highest ethical standards, professional competence and good behaviour in carrying out their duties. Its main concern is that members of the media should conduct themselves with a high sense of responsibility without infringing the rights of individuals and society in general.
I was particularly interested in the way minors were depicted in photographs. Perhaps, the biggest area for concern with photography in all the newspapers in Swaziland is the depiction of minors, especially the issues of sexual activity and identification.
Among the examples I found was a news report that detailed a house fire in which a school pupil’s belongings were destroyed. In the course of the report a claim is made that the pupil was having an affair with one of her teachers (the pupil’s age is not given). The pupil is not named and her mother agrees to be interviewed by the paper so long as she is not identified. The report has a picture, clearly posed, of the mother with some of the remains of clothing that was burnt. Although the mother’s face has a black sticker across the eyes she is clearly identifiable by her clothes and her location. Anyone with knowledge of the location would be able to identify her and her daughter (Swazi Observer 22 November, 2006 p6).
A different newspaper states that a 14-year-old girl is selling herself for sex to get pocket money because her mother will not provide her with pants. She is not identified by name (her mother is described as a maid and the location in which she works is given). The girl is interviewed by the paper (it is not stated but it seems as if she was not interviewed with an adult present). The words used to describe the girl sexualise her. ‘Dressed in her black stockings complemented with an above the knee mini skirt, the girl stood out from the rest of her friends as someone who has been “enlightened” about life more than anything’ In the report, the girl describes how she had sex with a kombi driver and when her mother found out she severely beat her. The girl was also was also caned 15 times at her school. The report has a picture of the girl in her miniskirt talking with the newspaper’s reporter. The girl’s face is blacked out but he would be easily recognisable by anyone in her locality (Times Sunday 2 October, 2006 p5).
Another report is about a standard five primary school pupil (aged14) who is seven months pregnant but will still write her final year examinations. The girl’s mother is interviewed and gives an account of how the daughter got pregnant. The mother blames a local church, which encouraged children to attend services. It was after one of these services that she had sex with her boyfriend. The newspaper uses false names in the report to protect the family’s identity but a picture of the girl’s mother (with eyes blacked out) clearly identifies her by her clothes. There might also be a crucial mistake in the photograph’s caption, which appears to have included the mother’s real name (Times of Swaziland 24 November 2006 p5).
The photograph of two innocent children was included in a report about children aged between five years to fifteen working as prostitutes. The newspaper takes a file picture, which shows two brothers playing together. They have no connection with child prostitution and appear to have been used in the report simply because they are children. Mysteriously, the caption begins with the words ‘Naked truth’ (although both boys are fully clothed) and goes on to read ‘a boy captured carrying his younger brother while playing at Mpolonjeni area in the Lubombo region early in the year (Swazi News 4 November 2006 p12)
A total of 32 children were victims of robbery at the Christian rehabilitation centre. Two men assaulted and hacked some of the children. A newspaper report describes the children as ‘still traumatised as a result of the ordeal’. Two boys are quoted giving accounts of their experiences. Two pictures (head and shoulders) are used and both have eyes blacked out. Ages of the children are not given but an estimate would be about 12 years old (Times of Swaziland 22 November 2006 p2).
A picture of the injured back of a six-year-old boy is pictured to accompany a report that his step mother ‘brutally beat’ him. The mother is identified by name, location of residence and age but the report also states ‘The boy, whose identity shall be protected, attends a local school’. On p2 there is also a picture of the mother inside a police van seated with her daughter who has her faced blurred out. The mother is clearly identifiable and by extension so is her daughter. The reporter also attempted to interview the boy but reported ‘An attempt to speak to him proved futile as he appeared traumatised and seemed to fear his stepmother’. In contradiction of this, the reporter then quotes the boy at some length. There is reason to be sceptical about this quote since the boy uses sophisticated language that is unusual for six year olds. He is quoted as saying ‘I told her [his mother] that my friends would attest that I was in class the whole day’) (Times of Swaziland 18 October 2006 p1).
The picture of the six-year-old boy used to illustrate the report on 18 October 20067 is taken out of the file to illustrate a two-page spread on corporal punishment of children in Swaziland (Times of Swaziland 31 October 2006 p8)
All of these news items misuse children. They do not recognise that children have a special place in journalism codes of conduct because they have special needs and require special protections within society. Most adults are capable of deciding what involvement they want to have with the media and can make informed decisions as to the extent of their cooperation.
Children have neither the knowledge nor the experience to make such a decision. At the point at which journalists are gathering material for their news reports there is no equality between the journalists and the child and where there is a power imbalance there is potential for exploitation.
One possible major reason why there is a failure on the part of journalists to adhere to their own code of ethics is ideological. One cannot be surprised that journalists do not respect the rights of children when the state does not respect them either.
This is one of the main findings of research I did into the way Swaziland’s newspapers use photographs of children.
I surveyed all Swaziland’s daily and weekend newspapers for eight weeks October to December 2006. This was a total of 56 editions of the daily newspapers The Times of Swaziland and the Swazi Observer; the Saturday newspapers The Weekend Observer and the Swazi News; and the Times Sunday,
I used the Swaziland National Association of Journalists (SNAJ) Code of Conduct as a guide to what should and should not be published.
The code is meant to ensure that journalists stick to the highest ethical standards, professional competence and good behaviour in carrying out their duties. Its main concern is that members of the media should conduct themselves with a high sense of responsibility without infringing the rights of individuals and society in general.
I was particularly interested in the way minors were depicted in photographs. Perhaps, the biggest area for concern with photography in all the newspapers in Swaziland is the depiction of minors, especially the issues of sexual activity and identification.
Among the examples I found was a news report that detailed a house fire in which a school pupil’s belongings were destroyed. In the course of the report a claim is made that the pupil was having an affair with one of her teachers (the pupil’s age is not given). The pupil is not named and her mother agrees to be interviewed by the paper so long as she is not identified. The report has a picture, clearly posed, of the mother with some of the remains of clothing that was burnt. Although the mother’s face has a black sticker across the eyes she is clearly identifiable by her clothes and her location. Anyone with knowledge of the location would be able to identify her and her daughter (Swazi Observer 22 November, 2006 p6).
A different newspaper states that a 14-year-old girl is selling herself for sex to get pocket money because her mother will not provide her with pants. She is not identified by name (her mother is described as a maid and the location in which she works is given). The girl is interviewed by the paper (it is not stated but it seems as if she was not interviewed with an adult present). The words used to describe the girl sexualise her. ‘Dressed in her black stockings complemented with an above the knee mini skirt, the girl stood out from the rest of her friends as someone who has been “enlightened” about life more than anything’ In the report, the girl describes how she had sex with a kombi driver and when her mother found out she severely beat her. The girl was also was also caned 15 times at her school. The report has a picture of the girl in her miniskirt talking with the newspaper’s reporter. The girl’s face is blacked out but he would be easily recognisable by anyone in her locality (Times Sunday 2 October, 2006 p5).
Another report is about a standard five primary school pupil (aged14) who is seven months pregnant but will still write her final year examinations. The girl’s mother is interviewed and gives an account of how the daughter got pregnant. The mother blames a local church, which encouraged children to attend services. It was after one of these services that she had sex with her boyfriend. The newspaper uses false names in the report to protect the family’s identity but a picture of the girl’s mother (with eyes blacked out) clearly identifies her by her clothes. There might also be a crucial mistake in the photograph’s caption, which appears to have included the mother’s real name (Times of Swaziland 24 November 2006 p5).
The photograph of two innocent children was included in a report about children aged between five years to fifteen working as prostitutes. The newspaper takes a file picture, which shows two brothers playing together. They have no connection with child prostitution and appear to have been used in the report simply because they are children. Mysteriously, the caption begins with the words ‘Naked truth’ (although both boys are fully clothed) and goes on to read ‘a boy captured carrying his younger brother while playing at Mpolonjeni area in the Lubombo region early in the year (Swazi News 4 November 2006 p12)
A total of 32 children were victims of robbery at the Christian rehabilitation centre. Two men assaulted and hacked some of the children. A newspaper report describes the children as ‘still traumatised as a result of the ordeal’. Two boys are quoted giving accounts of their experiences. Two pictures (head and shoulders) are used and both have eyes blacked out. Ages of the children are not given but an estimate would be about 12 years old (Times of Swaziland 22 November 2006 p2).
A picture of the injured back of a six-year-old boy is pictured to accompany a report that his step mother ‘brutally beat’ him. The mother is identified by name, location of residence and age but the report also states ‘The boy, whose identity shall be protected, attends a local school’. On p2 there is also a picture of the mother inside a police van seated with her daughter who has her faced blurred out. The mother is clearly identifiable and by extension so is her daughter. The reporter also attempted to interview the boy but reported ‘An attempt to speak to him proved futile as he appeared traumatised and seemed to fear his stepmother’. In contradiction of this, the reporter then quotes the boy at some length. There is reason to be sceptical about this quote since the boy uses sophisticated language that is unusual for six year olds. He is quoted as saying ‘I told her [his mother] that my friends would attest that I was in class the whole day’) (Times of Swaziland 18 October 2006 p1).
The picture of the six-year-old boy used to illustrate the report on 18 October 20067 is taken out of the file to illustrate a two-page spread on corporal punishment of children in Swaziland (Times of Swaziland 31 October 2006 p8)
All of these news items misuse children. They do not recognise that children have a special place in journalism codes of conduct because they have special needs and require special protections within society. Most adults are capable of deciding what involvement they want to have with the media and can make informed decisions as to the extent of their cooperation.
Children have neither the knowledge nor the experience to make such a decision. At the point at which journalists are gathering material for their news reports there is no equality between the journalists and the child and where there is a power imbalance there is potential for exploitation.
One possible major reason why there is a failure on the part of journalists to adhere to their own code of ethics is ideological. One cannot be surprised that journalists do not respect the rights of children when the state does not respect them either.
Thursday, 1 November 2007
ACCURACY: DEAD MAN WALKS
There was a bumper crop of apologies for mistakes made published in the Times of Swaziland yesterday (31 October 2007)
In the worst of their mistakes they killed off former Minister of Public Works and Transport, Titus Mlangeni.
As Mark Twain once said, ‘Reports of my death have been exaggerated.’ It was in fact Mlangeni’s wife who had recently passed away.
In another apology the Times gave the wrong name for the recently deceased former Speaker of the House of Assembly. They called him Dlamini when he was in fact a Nsibande.
The ‘newspaper’ scored a hat trick of apologies with this correction, ‘It has been brought to our attention that the article under the heading ‘PM given a week to table report in Parliament’ was incorrect. The MPs voted on the issue and the motion was thrown out.’
I applaud the Times' honesty for apologising for these errors, but the mistakes should not have happened in the first place. All three are the most basic types of errors a reporter can make: getting a name wrong, getting the result of a vote wrong … and killing off a perfectly healthy man.
The result of all this must surely be that readers cannot trust what they see in the Times. How can we know that even the most basic of information published in the newspaper is accurate?
This isn’t the first time the Times has got it wrong and the Times is not the only newspaper to publish inaccurate stories. Who can forget the grovelling apology the Times Sunday had to make after it incorrectly reported 20,000 people died while being treated as patients at Mbabane Government Hospital in 2006?
Then there was the time the Swazi Observer had to apologise to the principal of Waterford Kamhlaba private school for reporting incorrectly that pupils had been hospitalised after taking illegal drugs.
Article one of the Swaziland National Association of Journalists (SNAJ) Code of Ethics states that the duty of every journalist is to write and report, adhere to and faithfully defend the truth. It goes on to state that a journalist should make adequate inquiries, do cross checking of facts in order to provide the public with unbiased, accurate, balanced and comprehensive information.
Getting things right is important because readers must feel that they can trust their newspapers (or other news media). The main way they do this by having confidence that the reports and articles in the newspapers are accurate. Large numbers of people read and trust newspapers. The SNAJ Code of Ethics recognises that journalists have a duty not to mislead the public.
There have been many academic studies into the relationship between media accuracy and credibility. Put simply, the more errors there are in an article, the less credible is the news story. Errors not only diminished respect for the newspaper but also tarnish the media’s working relationships with the sources relied upon for information. If sources of news cannot trust the newspaper to get it right, they are unlikely to willingly work with that newspaper in the future.
Editors of newspapers should make sure that reporters check their facts and do not make mistakes. One newspaper, the Sunday Times in Johannesburg, has a checklist that reporters and editors are asked to complete for each report. The checklist covers a number of areas, including basic information such as the names and ages etc., of people included in the report. It also includes questions about fairness, such as whether all people parties involved in the story have been contacted.
The checklist can be seen here
In the worst of their mistakes they killed off former Minister of Public Works and Transport, Titus Mlangeni.
As Mark Twain once said, ‘Reports of my death have been exaggerated.’ It was in fact Mlangeni’s wife who had recently passed away.
In another apology the Times gave the wrong name for the recently deceased former Speaker of the House of Assembly. They called him Dlamini when he was in fact a Nsibande.
The ‘newspaper’ scored a hat trick of apologies with this correction, ‘It has been brought to our attention that the article under the heading ‘PM given a week to table report in Parliament’ was incorrect. The MPs voted on the issue and the motion was thrown out.’
I applaud the Times' honesty for apologising for these errors, but the mistakes should not have happened in the first place. All three are the most basic types of errors a reporter can make: getting a name wrong, getting the result of a vote wrong … and killing off a perfectly healthy man.
The result of all this must surely be that readers cannot trust what they see in the Times. How can we know that even the most basic of information published in the newspaper is accurate?
This isn’t the first time the Times has got it wrong and the Times is not the only newspaper to publish inaccurate stories. Who can forget the grovelling apology the Times Sunday had to make after it incorrectly reported 20,000 people died while being treated as patients at Mbabane Government Hospital in 2006?
Then there was the time the Swazi Observer had to apologise to the principal of Waterford Kamhlaba private school for reporting incorrectly that pupils had been hospitalised after taking illegal drugs.
Article one of the Swaziland National Association of Journalists (SNAJ) Code of Ethics states that the duty of every journalist is to write and report, adhere to and faithfully defend the truth. It goes on to state that a journalist should make adequate inquiries, do cross checking of facts in order to provide the public with unbiased, accurate, balanced and comprehensive information.
Getting things right is important because readers must feel that they can trust their newspapers (or other news media). The main way they do this by having confidence that the reports and articles in the newspapers are accurate. Large numbers of people read and trust newspapers. The SNAJ Code of Ethics recognises that journalists have a duty not to mislead the public.
There have been many academic studies into the relationship between media accuracy and credibility. Put simply, the more errors there are in an article, the less credible is the news story. Errors not only diminished respect for the newspaper but also tarnish the media’s working relationships with the sources relied upon for information. If sources of news cannot trust the newspaper to get it right, they are unlikely to willingly work with that newspaper in the future.
Editors of newspapers should make sure that reporters check their facts and do not make mistakes. One newspaper, the Sunday Times in Johannesburg, has a checklist that reporters and editors are asked to complete for each report. The checklist covers a number of areas, including basic information such as the names and ages etc., of people included in the report. It also includes questions about fairness, such as whether all people parties involved in the story have been contacted.
The checklist can be seen here
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