Between a rock and a hard place Journalism must thrive

This week I intended writing about politics as usual, about the DA’s performance in the recent local government elections.

I had planned to highlight Mmusi Maimane’s impressive role in the DA’s overall performance and what this means for our body politic going forward.

The DA’s slice of the electoral pie – up from 23% in 2011 to 27% in 2016 – is no mean feat considering how dominant the ANC has been over the years.

Prior to August 3, it seemed almost unthinkable that the governing party’s electoral dominance could be threatened in such a manner.

But equally important in the DA’s achievement is the genius of Helen Zille. During her leadership the DA had pretty much reached a ceiling in terms of white voter support. Zille knew it. She knew her time was up and stepped down.

The work that remained was for a new young leader to convince the outstanding minority voters and sceptical black voters that the DA represented their interests as well.

Maimane has done that. He has shaken off Zille’s shadow which hovered over him and for a while seemed like a permanent feature. He has demonstrated that he is his own man and can now entrench himself within the party.

The critics have been silenced and the ANC can no longer call him a puppet, because clearly the voters do not agree.

That the ANC’s own internal ructions and poor leadership were a major contributing factor to its electoral woes should not take away from Maimane’s contribution to the DA’s performance.

But I digress.

Earlier this week something happened – very close to my heart – that moved me to write about the state and future of journalism in this country.

By nature journalists are comfortable writing about other people – politicians, celebrities and other abstract issues – but we seldom write about ourselves.

Therefore it is not easy reflecting on our own condition.

But on Monday night, one of this newspaper’s political reporters, Siphe Macanda, emerged as the big winner in this year’s Standard Bank Sikuvile Awards. He scooped both the sought after Investigative Journalism award and also the coveted Journalist of the Year award.

This was major recognition for Macanda and also for the Daily Dispatch which at the time was under the editorship of my predecessor Bongani Siqoko.

Through their bold journalistic efforts the “Siyenza toilet scandal” was uncovered and exposed.

As a result of the Dispatch’s investigation, the dodgy R650-million tender that had been awarded to the inexperienced Siyenza Group was scrapped.

This was not before more that R150-million had been paid to the politically connected companies. Nevertheless the Dispatch’s journalists managed to save taxpayers the remaining R500-million.

That is HALF A BILLION RANDS – definitely not a figure to be sneezed at.

But for the journalists involved this did not come without a personal cost.

Siqoko paid dearly, not unlike his now famous predecessor Donald Woods who, as editor of the Dispatch, endured continual apartheid police harassment and threats against his family before he eventually fled into exile in 1978.

Siqoko’s personal safety and that of his young family was threatened.

The threats also extended to the Dispatch’s political editor Zine George who is Macanda’s immediate boss.

I recount these experiences because today, while we may be basking in the glory of the Dispatch winning the big journalism awards – for the third year in a row, I must add – we need also remember that there were huge consequences for the journalists involved.

But the Dispatch, like many newsrooms, is not unique in facing such pressures and threats. Journalism is anything but a glamorous profession.

But the biggest danger to it currently is not from dodgy tender beneficiaries or the ANC’s threat to establish a state controlled media appeals tribunal, or indeed the incessant media bashing from questionable politicians. That’s all in a day’s work for journalists.

What actually threatens journalism most is financial pressure on media companies and the ongoing tussle between the imperatives of business and the requirements of journalism.

Most media companies are undergoing massive changes in an attempt to catch-up with the fast-changing digital world. But dwindling circulation figures, declining revenues and leaner investments collude against our prized craft.

Newsrooms across the country and the world have to make do with reduced budgets every year. Good journalists continue to leave in droves in search of the proverbial greener pastures.

This puts good quality indepth journalism at risk.

This is why the survival of many newspapers remains uncertain.

This column is called Ink by the Barrel for a reason. It was Mark Twain who famously said: “Never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel”.

That statement validated the might of the pen. It testifies to the enormous power and influence that the media can have in our society.

It is a delicate power which should not be abused by editors and journalists.

It is also a power which should be jealously guarded against undue outside influence – for good reason.

What the Siyenza story – and many other such stories published by the Dispatch throughout its history – have demonstrated for all to see, is the vital watchdog role that journalists play in service to our society.

What would have happened had there been no Dispatch to expose the Siyenza rot or so many other abuses?

Journalism exists to hold a mirror to society. Our pages allow society to see its own reflection – the good, the bad and the ugly.

This is why journalism is necessary. This is why it must thrive.

Sibusiso Ngalwa is editor of the Dispatch