You have quite the reputation for your no-nonsense interviews published in the Sunday Times every week. How do people react when you request interviews from them and do you get many “no’s”?
What frustrates me no end is that I get very few “no’s” up front. Instead people – government ministers, civil servants and the police are the worst – string me along with promises until my deadline is upon me and I’m frantic. Then, after hounding their personal assistants all week, I’m told that they can’t speak to me because they’re in meetings or lekgotlas or have left the country or something. Generally, those who have cocked up or said something outrageous – in other words the ones I really want to interview – are, not surprisingly, the most difficult to get hold of. When someone makes a promise to be available at a particular time and then actually keeps it I am so grateful that I find it very hard to be horrible.
You landed in hot water for your profile on the “unlikeable” Ronald Suresh Roberts. How did you expect the court to rule?
Pretty much as it did.
The judgement said a paragraph on the South African Broadcasting Corporation in your Roberts article was “probably inaccurate”. Could you clarify that?
My only reference to the SABC was that Roberts had pursued them relentlessly when they unwittingly included him in a programme about a child abuse case. Which was true. My point was merely to illustrate his obsessive personality. The judge made the point that Roberts’ pursued them as relentlessly as he did because in the programme this person referred to an allegation that Roberts had abused his partner’s children.
Do you think the media is giving too much or too little attention to the court victory?
It’s a very important court victory as far as media freedom is concerned so I think the coverage has been appropriate.
What does it mean to you?
The second I pressed the “send” button on that story I suspected that I had been too soft on Roberts. Now I know.
Do you think the courts are inconsistent in their rulings related to media freedom? For instance, Allan Greenblo’s book on Sol Kerzner, “Kerzner Unauthorised”, was banned in December 1997 when a court upheld the constitutional right to privacy over the right to freedom of expression.
I think the courts take the issue of media freedom more seriously now than 10 years ago. But I must also say that I was very careful to leave out details of Roberts’ private life. I knew all about these details, of course. This is why, when Roberts sued for defamation, I maintained that had I intended to defame him I could have done a far better job of it.
Name three people, locally or internationally, who you would want to interview and why.
Bono – just how disinterested is all this anti-poverty campaigning?
Tony Blair – for the pleasure of wiping that sanctimonious smirk off his face.
President Thabo Mbeki. He’s got an awful lot of explaining to do. So far he has never been made to do it.
Your best and worst interviews thus far?
My best have been with minister Pallo Jordan because he loses his cool completely and let’s me have it with both barrels. My worst are when there is no needle. People I’ve done because they’re available, basically.
If there is one thing you could change about the media industry in South Africa, what would it be?
Pump a hell of a lot more money into it. Only that way will there be more professionalism and journalists will be respected rather than pissed on and used as public relations’ vehicles.
If you weren’t a journalist, what would you have been?
Watching Wim Trengove go for Roberts’ jugular made me quite envious, I must say.