Mail & Guardian: Why did Chris Whitfield jump ship? Why indeed? Usually when one takes early retirement, it's pretty straightforward, but in Whitfield's case, when he took early retirement he was reported as refusing to give further details, saying that the matter is "delicate and we are still working out details".That, naturally, and the fact that his departure followed so closely on that of the "removal" of Alide Dasnois as editor of the newspaper fuelled speculation that editorial interference by new Independent Newspapers masters under Iqbal Survé is behind Whitfield's move.
Mail & Guardian reports that "a recent Cape Times opinion article criticising the paper's coverage of Nelson Mandela's death was the last straw, insiders say, for a senior editor who is now bowing out of Independent Newspapers." It also reports that "Dasnois has confirmed that she has lodged a dispute with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, due to be heard on 24 January."
Time magazine had lauded the Cape Times coverage of Mandela's passing as among the best in the world, but that of course didn't register with some.
In the meantime, Dasnois has responded to the public spat between the ANC's Trevor Manuel and Songezo Mjongile.
Iqbal Survé probably won't listen, but as Anton Harber said a little while ago Survé is dead right to worry over his papers' figures. However, if those papers' readers become increasingly concerned that their "favourite read" is being biased through management's interference to punt a particular agenda, political or otherwise, Survé will have even more reason to worry.
Readers vote with their wallets and it is not impossible that if such a perception of bias through management's interference grows, readers and advertisers might reckon they'd rather spend their money elsewhere and the papers will haemorrhage readers, subscribers, and advertisers.
Should that happen, Survé and his shareholders could find themselves living through some really interesting times.