Laws needed to stop SLAPPs against journalists
Parts of the private sector are increasingly using the courts to silence investigative reporting
ANC wrings benefits from absence of SABC board
Sometimes it is the smaller things that tell you the most. Sometimes you understand what is happening in this country not by the big national picture, but in the commonplace
Between the powerless and the mob: the uses of woke and cancel culture
There can be few phrases more abused – and weaponized – than “woke” and “cancel culture”.
Reward whistleblowers and investigative reporters for uncovering corruption
A few recent news stories deserve to be highlighted, in case people missed them or their significance.
Jacob Zuma targets professionals doing their jobs
Court reporters get information and documents from both sides of any case they are covering, routinely.
Why government’s attitude to the media has shifted
The recent attack on Salman Rushdie revived a piece I published a decade ago about the author’s aborted visit to South African in the week when the fatwa against him
Some gains, but much lost in switch to digital news
I had cause this week to look back at an old South African newspaper from the 1970s, when newspapers were at their financial peak. I was struck by the wide
Mainstream media need to think twice when following the ‘facts’
Social media is usually blamed for the spread of disinformation. But I observed this week how mainstream media plays a key role.
Racist, ignorant and brutally honest, BlenderBot3 is all too human
The media story of the week has to be Meta’s publicly-available trial of its artificial intelligence chatbot, BlenderBot3.
An ANC devoid of ideas is at war with the media
If you want insight into the state of the ANC, read their media and communications policy document from last weekend’s conference.