I wrote a letter to the editors of the Wall Street Journal with regards to an article published a day ago titled “Disney Severs Ties With Youtube Star PewDiePie After Anti-Semitic Posts”. In it I outline what exactly the three journalists did that was unethical, and to some extent illegal, and what parts of the South African Press Code (SAPC) and the International Principles of Professional Journalism (IPPJ) they violated. Please enjoy.
As most of you should have noticed by now, I have been railing against American journalism for some time. I have criticised it for its coverage of current events, its bias towards one ideological standpoint, and its general content and conduct. Well, today I present to you an article written in the 2 February 2017 issue of our university’s student newspaper, the Wapad (lit. Where road). I present this article as an example of what we would consider more ethical journalism. The article is not perfect, as no article is, but it does – at least in my opinion – a far better job of being objective and fact-based than what we have seen from the subjects of my criticisms. (Note the article itself is also written in comment on the way American news outlets have handled the Trump matter.)
I provide at the bottom of the article a link to the digital version of the newspaper for those who wish to read it for themselves. The article is on page 10 of the newspaper. Just note that the article is written in Afrikaans, which is why I provide an English translation beneath.
The American media (henceforth referred to as ‘the media’) has in the last decade lost the trust of the American public. According to the latest Gallup (2016) poll, only 32% of Americans trust the media to cover news fully, truthfully and farly. Contrast this with South Africa, where journalism as a profession is trusted by 65% of the population (GfK, 2014). Why is this?
In order to understand this, it is necessary to understand reputation. According to Aula and Mantere (2008) reputation is built on three fundamental aspects: being good, doing good, and looking good.
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