A decade of upholding media ethics

When deadlines loom, field reporters panic and scramble to ready their final products, making sure that the gatekeepers (news editors) get what they have asked for.

Sometimes in the middle of this scramble, failure to abide by ‘certain principles of journalism’ does lead to costly mistakes. And the people who feel hurt and offended by the story might consult the press ombudsman to demand that justice be done.

Linington explains: “Many of the complaints that come my way are about failure to observe the basics of good journalism, with reporters sometimes appearing to have absolutely no knowledge of what they have been taught, what they are doing wrong or should be doing right – e.g. failure to check facts, gullibly swallowing stories from people with an axe to grind, not getting the other side.”

Complainants are not necessarily individuals. Government, private institutions and companies may also lodge a complaint if they feel that a certain newspaper or magazine has contravened the press code in their reporting.

Only a small number

“I have received a total of about 1500 to 2000 complaints mostly from individual members of the public in the past 10 years,” Linington says, adding that only a much small number came from the president, ministers, MECs, politicians, government officials, big corporations and foreign embassies.

“And every one of them has to be concluded, one way or the other,” he adds. “My decision is binding on the press. If my decision is not accepted, either side may appeal to our appeal panel which is headed by Judge Edwin King, whose final decision is binding.”

Asked what kind of damages are awarded to the ‘winners’, he says: “We do not award damages, so complaints are generally about getting things put straight in a newspaper.

“Most complainants feel that their businesses and/or their reputations have been harmed by an inaccurate report or unfair comment. Instead of going to court to claim financial redress, they come to us to have the harm undone as much as possible by a retraction or correction.”

At a glance, the ombudsman’s job seems to be very challenging and one wonders what special qualities one needs to have to do this job ‘properly’.

“Getting one’s head around some complicated financial issues in complaints dealing with exposes of alleged frauds and financial scams has been one of the major challenges. Political infighting, with its hidden agendas, has been another one,” Linington remarks.

“Nevertheless,” he adds, “you need patience, an independent mind and the ability to look impartially at disputes without letting your own beliefs and prejudices influence your application of the ethics and rules of good journalism.

Taken in by old tricks

“Unless you have been a journalist, you will be easily taken in by some old tricks of journalists and unless you have done a lot of court reporting, you will be taken in by old lawyers’ tricks.”

Many critics believe that the ‘good old school’ journalism is dead and buried, replaced by amateurish, irresponsible and ‘rush-hour’ journalism, whereby a bunch of ‘lazy’ reporters – only motivated by financial gain and quest for glory – rely too much on secondary sources and hearsays instead of proper investigations.

Linington believes that the ombudsman’s job could be made easier if all the media stakeholders can make a heartfelt contribution in the fight against all forms of what experts call ‘cheap reporting’.

“Newspapers must ensure that their journalists abide by the press code and should take responsibility if they fail to meet the ethical standards,” he says.

“Journalism schools must also train their students in press ethics. Likewise, SANEF needs to take an active role in identifying weak skills and aiming to remedy them – for instance by issuing a guideline on how to handle confidential sources and booklets on court reporting.”

Born in Pietermaritzburg on 24 December 1928, Linington graduated at Rhodes University in 1949, majoring in Roman law and English. He started his journalism career with the Bulawayo Chronicle in 1950. He joined SAPA in Harare in 1955 before being appointed editor in 1972. He retired from the newsrooms in 1992.

He was appointed the SA press ombudsman in 1997 and re-appointed in 2002.