In South Africa persons are still very thin-skinned on how
the media report on issues shaping the country on daily basis and that has seen
the media being criticised for many things – to such a degree that we as
journalists end up being questioned by the Public Court with personal opinions
that are clouded with hogwash, of course not fully aware how does the 4th
Estate functions. A guarantee, GoXtra News is here to make you understand the
media and the reality that it is there to enlighten you.
In SA sensitivity is like turning your television set on and
that’s as mind-numbing as it hinders the process of reporting news to a certain
extent. This is a challenge in particular to growing reporters’ who will fear
reprimand and being blacklisted by certain companies and or human rights
organisations and the laws imposed by the state.
As the Editor of GoXtra News, I’ve safely chosen to be
different by introducing Gonzo Journalism/Writing in the country, a term coined
by Hunter S Thompson, write it like it is, well, if for example a certain leader/celebrity does not do their job good, you say it in the article with no fear of reprimand. And I personally feel
that’s one of the joys of living in a Democratic country – if what one says is
informed, I don’t see the need to be slapped on the wrist at all.
I thought reporting on the entertainment beat was like a
grown up walk, until of course I managed to get two legal threats that I also
managed to throw in the refuse; simple because they were not meeting the law standards
I’ve learnt while studying media law.
If we reported news primarily and from secondary sources
with fear, well, we’ll not be having a footprint proudly in 51 countries of the
globe today. And I am one in few editors who respect and value readers as far
as publishing a special copy to clarify to them how the media works in choosing
which stories to publish.
I strongly stand within my personal belief that if a reader
is ignored they will think what they said was correct, thus I tend to correct
people who send emails to disapprove with some of the stories we published
before. There are individuals who will email a command to remove a certain
story, at all our best we challenge those to as far as the court of law is
concerned.
Critics made examples of well-known journalist(s) that were
silenced, pity their dull examples did not deter me from doing my job. I know
how we can grow or demolish a person and I am very careful when I write or
proofread stories about people. If anything we publish is defamatory, well,
we’ll be in and out of the court of law or we’ll be retracting articles and
publishing apologies everyday suitable to our subjects to file for defamation law suits.
I have been warned of burning bridges by those who are not
even in the media industry – but I helped them comprehend the fact that as a
Journalist burning bridges is part and parcel of my job as I will die a
journalist. I knew what I was getting
myself into to such an extent that I can wake up tomorrow pack my luggage and
go report in the worst bloody country/state in the world should that
opportunity knocks.
I want to further assure our international readers/audience
that we are still going to bring you exclusive interviews/columns and
paparazzi. Every day when I wake up I think of new and brilliant ways to report
info-tainment. For the record I support and stand with every copy published
here and I once encouraged one of my writers who pitched a story idea, “Make
sure you bullshit them with facts…”
I relish
The Editor
