/ 22 January 2015

Don’t let the story get in the way of good facts

Don't Let The Story Get In The Way Of Good Facts

There appears to be a worrying tendency in media circles of late that has developed into a form of journalistic blood sport. Journalists decide on a certain narrative in a newsroom and then set out to fulfil this at all costs.

Nowhere is this more obviously at play than in the piece titled ‘Zille must go, DA needs new blood. Clearly, the writers of the article had decided in advance that a story about some massive internal revolt against Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille would be a great angle to run with and then set out to fulfil the fantasy.

Ironically, the only people the article quoted on the record, Makashule Gana MP and John Moodey, indicated unequivocally that Zille should, in fact, remain the DA leader at the upcoming congress and lead the party into the coming election.

What is conveniently omitted in the story, however, is the fact that the journalists contacted several other senior DA leaders, including the chairperson of the DA federal council, James Selfe MP, his deputy, Thomas Walters MP and the Mpumalanga leader Anthony Benadie MP, all of whom sit on the party’s federal executive. All these leaders gave substantial comment, on the record, which differs significantly and materially with the angle taken in the story. It’s instructive that none of their comments appeared in the article.

This can only be because they did not fit in with the predetermined narrative the writers had decided on; a classic case of not letting the facts get in the way of a good story.

The inconvenient truths that all these leaders had imparted to the journalists was that there is no “internal revolt” against Zille, that they supported Zille continuing as leader, that there was no deterioration whatsoever of the relationship between Mmusi Maimane and Zille and that the parliamentary caucus was the most united it has been for many years. Of course, none of this was in keeping with the predetermined narrative so was omitted in favour of a gratuitous overreliance on an anonymous source.

In any organisation (including newsrooms, it seems) it is relatively easy to find a person who is disgruntled for any number of reasons and is prepared to say anything to drive their agenda. There are rumours and murmurings ahead of major elective congresses across all political parties because that is the nature of politics.

In this context, relying on one anonymous source with an axe to grind to the exclusion of a number of others willing to speak on the record is politically naive. Journalists must be careful of being abused by malcontents in their haste to get a “scoop”.

Likewise, editors and subeditors need to scrutinise whether headlines fairly reflect a story or whether its sole intention is to sensationalise its contents. The headline in question is not backed up by a single line in the actual story. Gana explicitly stated that Zille should stay on as leader at the coming congress. Even the dodgy “anonymous source”, so heavily relied upon, never stated that she should go. So why on earth did the chosen headline scream: ‘Zille must go, DA needs new blood’?

A large chunk of the article blithely referred to the DA’s parliamentary performance, without any empirical analysis of it. I was not approached for comment, which is rather strange considering that I am intimately involved in the day-to-day operations of the DA in Parliament. Nevertheless, I can attest to the fact that Zille and Maimane enjoy an excellent working relationship, which is collegial, constructive and close. The assertion that Zille is “upset” with Maimane or the parliamentary caucus is completely and utterly devoid of truth.

No political party should expect a free ride from the media. Indeed, it is in the public interest for journalists to investigate and report on the issues of the day accurately and fairly. What is not in the public interest is the collusive behaviour of some journalists and their “anonymous sources”. Because clearly, when they get together, the truth is always the first casualty.

John Steenhuisen MP is the chief whip of the Democratic Alliance in Parliament

The M&G replies: The DA raised concerns about the content and the headline of our report. We accept that the headline could have wrongly created an impression that there was a demand for DA leader Helen Zille’s immediate resignation. However, we stand by the rest of the story.