Sorry, I don’t apologise
In his apology to President Jacob Zuma, Citizen Editor Steven Motale mentioned a “sinister agenda against Zuma” (see here). It’s the other way around. There’s a sinister agenda against the media by the Zuma crew.
Think of how often Zuma has threatened to sue journalists. Think of the secrecy bill. There have been threats to withdraw advertising from media which don’t toe the line. There is the ever present threat of a media appeals tribunal. Perhaps the most insidious danger is psychological intimidation of journalists.
Editors need to put their own stamp on their newspaper. In doing so, an editor might need to create distance between himself and his predecessor, in this case, me. Since I first met him, I have been supportive of Mr Motale. I remain so.
Mr Motale has contributed to the national discourse. And my track record is interwoven with his apology to Zuma. Some of the things he said about me were wrong.
On PowerFM, Mr Motale said: “When Martin Williams retired, and immediately became a DA councillor, in the interests of transparency, I insisted … that the story be published. Nobody from the mainstream media picked it up. Juxtapose that with the condemnation that Vukani Mde and Karima Brown got when they appeared in ANC colours at an ANC function … that to me is hypocrisy of the worst kind”.