Lorraine Pace
Telkom has crossed lines with Business Report, the Independent Group’s business insert, over coverage of the telecommunications parastatal. In a complaint laid with the press ombudsman Ed Linington, Telkom charges that an article on its apparent efforts to monopolise high- quality ISDN lines was inaccurate and untrue.
Prior to Telkom laying the complaint, Business Report editor James Lamont and his reporter met with Telkom to discuss its happiness. “My biggest surprise,” says Lamont, “is that they filed the complaint. We discussed their concerns and our reporting and they focused sharply on this one story. I thought it was a very constructive meeting and that we had put the matter behind us, but evidently not.”
The telecommunications giant has put together a 192-page submission to the press ombudsman. Telkom describes its complaint as a “reasoned, objective and professional appeal to the Ombusman to assess and rule on the matter”. Telkom says it is “shocked” and “outraged” that the ISDN report was ever published.
“Telkom and its environment is under the microscope as it’s a very competitive industry. They need not to be afraid of contentious areas,” says Lamont. Victor Moche, Telkom’s group executive of public affairs, would not comment.