Nawaal Deane
South Africa’s newest editor marked her first week running one of the country’s most prestigious financial publications with a thunderous attack on her management about editorial independence.
Caroline Southey, who took over the helm of the Financial Mail (FM) last week, found herself in disagreement with her employers over her authority. BDFM, the publisher of the FM and Business Day, authorised the publication of a glowing corporate profile on Iscor without Southey’s knowledge.
The profile on the steel group appeared in last week’s edition which also ran two probing critiques of the company. The magazine has been investigating problems at Iscor over the past six months.
The collision between editorial and management at BDFM comes three months after the Independent Group was embarrassed by its management’s decision to give the government a free advertisement on its controversial views about HIV/Aids without editors’ approval.
In her first editorial this week, Southey says that after having published articles critically assessing Iscor, readers should be aware that the profile was not sanctioned by the FM’s editors.
She says: “The report carried the BDFM logo and, to all intents and purposes, appeared to have been sanctioned by the FM’s editors. It wasn’t.”
Southey was appointed as the first female editor of the FM after her predecessor, Peter Bruce, moved to the Business Day. She has been the FM’s executive editor for the past four years.
Allan Greenblo, chief executive officer of BDFM, says: “My only regret is that the advertisement did not carry a disclaimer to reflect that it was not the view of the publication.” He says that in the wake of the incident, the company has laid down ground rules to avoid such misunderstandings in the future.
Greenblo maintains the Iscor profile was a good advertising opportunity. “We must give companies the opportunity to put out their messages from their own mouths.”
He emphasised that readers need to know the opinions of the publication are separate from the advertisements.
He says his relationship with Southey has not suffered as a result of the incident. “It has not disturbed the relationship between management and editorial,” Greenblo says.