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1/11 A thread on this poor piece of journalism from the Sunday Times, on the DA. There has been a lot of poor reporting on the DA this week but the ST is a big paper (although its standards have declined dramatically) so it is helpful to use as an example. https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/news/2020-09-06-da-leaders-face-charges--investigations-amid-battle-for-control-of-the-party/
2/11 First, the “news”. There is none. This story was actually broken earlier in the week. Here follows, for example, is the Daily Maverick on the subject. So, the ST, which has a whole week to break original news, could not and simply rehashed old news. https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-09-04-six-out-of-nine-provincial-da-leaders-face-disciplinary-charges/
3/11 Second, there are actually two stories in here: The old, rehashed news of the charges, and the DA’s policy conference. For some reason – presumably to ensure the negativity of the former story subsumes any possible positivity from the latter story – the two are merged.
4/11 Third, there is no balance. The DA’s values and principles document was adopted by a large majority. But the ST only carries quotes from the disaffected. Not a single positive quote to give balance. This is presumably also done, to drive the idea of crisis and negativity.
5/11 Fourth, the story tries to square a circle of its own making. It says the charges represent a battle to control the party. But then reveals, towards the end, Helen Zille is also being charged. No attempt is made to explain this fact, which contradicts the core ST thesis.
6/11 This is the sum total of the ST’s hard news reporting on the DA’s policy conference, which really is just disgraceful. No proper interrogation of the document, no experts to comment on it, no reporting on the debate that took place. This is not news reporting. It is gossip.
7/11 If you are an ST news reader: (a) you already have “the news” from the Daily Maverick (b) you would like some scrutiny of what exactly was adopted by the DA this weekend, and why. You will not find that in the ST, and so, inevitably, you will move somewhere else.
8/11 In conclusion, think of the job of a Sunday paper: it is supposed to have more (a) time (b) money (c) space and (d) expertise to analyse the news. For that you expect its news to be (a) original (b) insightful and (c) in-depth. This ST story fails at every single one.
9/11 It fails at every one because the ST has no desire to be fair and balanced about the DA, and seeks to use any development to drive a narrative of crisis and discontent. It ironic, because there are actually serious stories clearly hidden in its report.
10/11 Eg: Most charges are petty and will likely be dismissed with a smack on the hand. Two seem more substantial: Jacques Smalle and Jane Sithole are under investigation for allegedly abusing party funds (mentioned in passing). Why not investigate that? Be original and serious.
11/11 But originality and seriousness seem a bridge too far for the ST. Imagine having a whole week to produce a story on the DA and all you can come up with is a reworked Daily Maverick story. What is the point of that? More and more ST readers are asking that question too.
