Journalism gone to the dogs?

The announcement by both the City Press newspaper and the Mail and Guardian that Ferial Haffejee will be joining the former paper is an issue I also want to give my opinion. Upon reading that Haffajee will be joining the City Press in the capacity of editor - in -chief I quickly logged on to see what other people thought about the whole move, because I also got the chills about it. Had it come on April 1st I would have easily dismissed it as a prank.

When I finally found where people were discussing it was on Thought Leader, that space were the sometimes angry and intelligent find their way to discuss issues, usually amongst themselves. Former journalist and now spin doctor to Pallor Jordan, Sandile Memela (A fine journalist before the money was thrown in his face) had his say, and indeed he said some very profound things (remember profound is not always intelligent), things like the fact that newspapers like the City Press have a dominant black readership. True that, but maybe one needs to say that even though such newspapers are dominantly black read, blacks are just a business to the capitalist white owners like Media24.

I am still of the belief that in South Africa we have white journalism and black journalists, that meaning that journalists will be mainly black because of the demographics of the country, and that because of history those blacks will be allocated jobs by the whites who own the means. A few years ago Mathatha Tsedu worked for the Sunday Times, a move that I always questioned, then my fears were confirmed when he was ousted because apparently, and I'm not sure here, he wanted to "Africanise" that paper.

Before one could say 'what?, Tsedu was appointed by Media24 to head the City Press newsroom, and then came the City Press slogan, Distinctly African, was that a move by Naspers to prove, politically to their rivals, Johnnic then, that they knew the meaning of the word transformation better? I asked myself that question, and to this day I know not what the motive was all about. Just before the appointment of Tsedu as the Editor-in-chief of the City Press I remember my former media studies lecturer, Dr. Sam Raditlhalo telling us in class that Tsedu's cellphone was probably very busy as media houses were calling for his services, mhh wow, I thought at the time, and indeed in no time was the big announcement by Media24.

Perhaps what Sam needed to tell us, his students, was why Tsedu was going to be so in 'demand.' Was it because of his prowess as a journalist? Or was it because certain people would find a way to be politically correct? Was Media24 playing a political game with Johnnic? Those questions need answers. Back to Memela and those who believe that print journalism in SA is in danger because of lack of black African leadership in the newsroom. I wonder if that will be the case really, was journalism ever in the hands of blacks to start with?

Blacks have always been appointed to positions of leadership in the media here in South Africa, that's not new. Maybe the question that needs to be asked is whether blacks fit the bill in the first place, and if not, who's to blame? History? Should we as blacks blame the whites for the shortage of skills in journalism? Even after 15 years of democracy? Who is to blame here? 15 years after the dispensation why do we still have no black owned media houses, and by that I mean authentically black owned media houses? Johnnic changed name to Avusa, for BEE purposes of course. Faces might have become blacker, but is that what is really happening behind closed doors? I wonder.

It is not worth it to even try to look at how senior black journalists have always been in minority, no, not now that one non-black African journalist is to join the City Press. We didn't question it then, why now? What is really of serious concern for me is why Media24 would have an almost total overhaul of senior journalists. First it was Tsedu being deployed to head the Media24 journalism academy, something I always was suspicious about, but couldn't question because the then deputy editor Khathu Mamaila was to assume the editorship of such a gigantic paper, and looking at how young Khathu is, I thought wow, we seem to be going somewhere in SA journalism if such young journos can be shown such confidence.

But no, it was not to be as Khathu will now assume the position of General Manager (GM). Did that position ever exist before all this furore of Haffajee coming in? I wonder, again. Why would such people like Mamaila be sacrificed in the first place? Oh, wait a minute; he's got an MBA from Wits University. Did Media24 pay for it so that such a credible editor would one day become an GM? Blacks are being offered better offers, and they choose to sell out from journalism, and then the race card is played. Sandile Memela left journalism to assume a more rewarding career as a government spin doctor to Jordan, and why is he so crying today, obviously he left because of pressures from the white masters, as he would ussually refer to them.

As blacks we can sit on our own and discuss amongst ourselves how whites are assuming the big positions at our expense, but black journalists are also selling out. The appointment of yet another non black African as an editor at the M&G is also another issue of contention, but can anybody show me any black journalist who is not already an editor of some paper or magazine that could fit the bill? Are whites wrong to assume that blacks lack the required expertise to lead? I don't entirely think so. And the next question perhaps is whose problem is it that blacks lack the required knowledge to lead big news houses?

Are we as blacks asking for whites to just give us senior positions just so we can feel a part of this country? I am probably asking too many questions here, but all because I wish to know why the sudden race talks over Haffajee's appointment. What will blacks say if next week Star newspaper was to appointment a black editor? Will that be genuine to start with? My understanding of what is happening and has been happening in SA journalism is that who owns the means decides the outcome.

If blacks need control of the media they need to love journalism in the first place, we shouldn't have people like Memela throwing stones from glass houses. If blacks need that control they need to have the means, have their own houses and appoint credibly, the right people, or otherwise this, just like many controversial appointments before, will just pass.