Mbalula's criticism of media challenged

The SABC News website reported on Friday that Mbalula had accused the SA media of spreading false information about the country, and being unpatriotic when covering local crime incidents.

"Even with the Confederations Cup, the people who were promoting the story of the Egyptians, exposing it and blowing it out of proportion, was the SA media. Yet when you come at an international level they feed that negativity," he was quoted as saying from Washington, where he was addressing invited guests at the RFK Soccer Stadium.

Media are not all alike

Cowling refuted Mbalula's criticism, however, saying he does not appear to understand the ways in which the media work.

“Firstly, the media are not all the same. Certain media have a very heavy focus on crime, and will report all the violent crimes in the areas they cover in graphic detail, while others do not report on particular incidents of crime at all,” she said.

“So it is thus incorrect to imply that ‘the media' is one thing.

“Secondly, Mbalula appears to be blaming the media for international perceptions of SA as having high levels of crime. The truth is that SA does have high levels of crime, as recent crime statistics show, and that some of that crime is extremely violent,” said Cowling.

Accusing local journalists of reporting as if they were from foreign countries, the former ANC Youth League leader said “Some of the things that are reported and blown out of proportion are things that generally would have happened to you or any other person if you find yourself in a particular environment, at a particular time.

“And it becomes an unfortunate situation but the way it's reported, it seems it is the business of South Africans to promote crime.”

Cowling however questioned why the media should take the blame for reporting on social issues, as it tends to see themselves - in a democracy - as watchdogs of government, and as providing a space for the discussion of social issues.

“How do we as a society know about them?” she asked, categorically rejecting Mbalula's insinuation that SA journalists are unpatriotic.

Media's role

“It is built into their role that they focus on the problems of society and are critical of government officials and departments that don't deliver. They do this for their local audiences, and are hardly distributed beyond those audiences.

“I don't think SA media is unpatriotic. Much of the reporting on Caster Semenya showed a strong patriotic support for her.

“However, it is important that media should also some put sensitivity in reporting on crime, and try to put it in context. Newspapers may find that they lose readers if they are too relentless in reporting on trauma, as they find it too depressing to read the news.”

Despite media and government's past rounds of engagements and dialogue to ‘iron out some contentious issues', the relationship between the two remains estranged and tense.