Media Ethics
latest news & developments
Editorial: The press hounded Arday to his death
Professor Jason Arday, the youngest black professor at Cambridge, was driven to suicide by relentless media attacks over plagiarism accusations, a fate not shared by white…
Daily Monitor and NTV Ordeal: It’s Either Press Freedom or Nothing
The ongoing siege against Daily Monitor and NTV Uganda has sparked concerns about press freedom and independent journalism in the country. A recent meeting involving National…
Can you hear the difference? AI music challenges the meaning of authenticity
AI is transforming music production, but growing concerns over transparency, artistry, and human creativity are reshaping the future of the industry
AI didn’t kill writing — we did
How AI writing tools, especially ChatGPT, are changing the rhythm, tone and even punctuation of our prose, one em dash at a time
Press council expels Independent Media for not complying with rulings
The newspaper group, which includes Independent Media, IOL and African Community Media, refused to retract an article about one journalist and apologise to another
Response to the falsehoods about the M&G in Sanef’s media ethics and credibility report
Media houses holding each other to account is essential to a working democracy, but false claims serve only to undermine that goal
Who decides who is eligible for forgiveness and rehabilitation?
We should give people second chances. But we need to reflect on whether a black or brown person would survive a fake cancer scandal
HuffPost blog prejudicial, not hate advocacy
The press ombud erred in his finding on the article calling for white men’s disenfranchisement.
Letters to the editor: February 27 to March 5 2015
Readers are divided about President Zuma and have their say about patriotism and Nkandla.
Remember that you, too, have to die, Mr President
The ANC has demonstrated an extreme intolerance to criticism, which suggests Jacob Zuma should be reminded of his own mortality.
Battle over old-age home reveals media power
A careful telling of media stories is essential for ensuring that the people involved have a fair voice.
Zuma and Nkandla: It’s impossible to fix a damaged reputation
Jimmy Manyi questions whether the public should know what is in Madonsela’s provisional report. Julie Reid says the M&G had no choice but to publish.
On loving Oscar Pistorius: Are the media going too far?
Media coverage of the Pistorius trial is close to breaking constitutional principles. But can journalists be charged for reporting leaked evidence?
Sensationalist reporting obscures complexity behind the violence
Not since the xenophobic attacks of 2008 have South Africa’s underlying and unresolved patterns of violence burst as clearly into the open.
SA has shown it can walk a fine line between opposites
It’s an equation that the world’s democracies know to be true, open governments, open economies and open societies flourish, writes Donald Gips