SHEETAL BHOOLA
THE recent shutdown of the Daily Maverick has forced citizens to put their thinking caps on. The value of journalism and its contribution to any healthy democracy has been scrutinised amid an unstable political economy fraught with corruption and has failed municipal services in many provinces.
The World Association of News Publishers published an article that stipulated that the Daily Maverick shut down on 15 April 2024 to illustrate the global journalism crisis and create awareness.
The Daily Maverick stated: “We have failed to communicate the severity of the crisis and the impact it will have on key institutions and our economic prospects. Today’s shutdown aims to highlight what will happen if journalism does not receive the support it needs from the business community, the public, and policymakers.
“Journalism urgently needs financial support and policy reform to improve the environment in which it is asked to protect democracy and serve the public’s information needs.”
It has been estimated that almost 70% of South African media employees have left the industry over the past 15 years due to the lack of funds to support their livelihood, even though journalism is so essential to a democratic nation.
Newspapers inform and educate citizens on who to vote for, current topical concerns, and socio-economic challenges within South Africa amid information for day-to-day living.
In recent years, journalism has equipped people to fight and report corruption and has informed people of their democratic rights in this country. Studies, academics, and various media outlets have noted that the state of the journalism of a country is indicative of the health of a democracy.
Community newspapers, as well as urban newspapers, play a central role in shaping the mindset, thinking, and related behaviour of many citizens. A total of 90% of South Africa’s population is literate, yet it was reported that about half of our population read newspapers and the other half read magazines.
An international study in Denmark revealed that there is a strong correlation between local political media coverage and voter turnout and commitment to voting in national and regional government elections.
There are further in-depth studies that focus on determining the impact of effective journalism on our democracy. Financial contributors have become dependent on such reviews, as these studies have become a pertinent guideline for policymakers, communities and governments across the globe.
Despite this reality, globally the value of journalists’ writing has been declining. In 2022, it was reported that only one-third of America’s population read or access newspapers. Yet newspapers are extremely important for public accountability.
In the case of the Daily Maverick shutdown, the objectives portrayed to the media on 15th April 2024 may have been misrepresented and unclear. Other media reports requested their financial records, which were not available on request, and it was confirmed that there were no staff retrenchments within this media house.
Still, their funding request was based on their need to call out for resources to expand their newsroom. This call is justified as the South African media industry lost half its employees between 2008 and 2018, when the economy hit a major downturn. Despite this, their list of investors in recent years has also questioned the paper’s credibility and disclaimer of objectivity.
Against the understanding that the journalism crisis is global, was the shutdown the most effective measure to attract a call for resources to expand their newsroom? Indeed, this could have been achieved through a more direct and accurate articulation of their financial needs and, rightfully so, motivated and explained to South Africans.
Journalism nationally and globally should be based on values of transparency, truthfulness, accuracy and fact-based communications, independence, objectivity, and impartiality. How does one then support their initiative if citizens are only privy to partial information? Access to their financial records indirectly can be perceived to be misleading and untruthful.
Yet the value of a free press is central to a healthy democratic nation. Do we then have the right to analyse their business model and profits? The shutdown without warning also impacted their regular readers and the perceptions of the media house in the near future.
Journalism globally should be based on values of transparency, truthfulness, accuracy and fact-based communications, independence, objectivity, and impartiality. On the other hand, the citizens of a democracy should all be well informed to understand the ethics of a free press without biases and to know what it means for each of us to be living in a democracy.
We then need to value the freedom of expression and how and when to use this freedom appropriately. Perhaps the starting point would be to ensure that all citizens understand the role and the value that various press houses bring to the table so that journalism can once again be supported financially more widely.
However, the less biased a newspaper house is, the better its chance for longevity and broader outreach. Truth and transparency are critical factors that contribute to any sustainable newspaper.
Some believe that truth and transparency do not exist in any variance of democracies. However, we desperately need truth-tellers in our society, and they play an essential role in sustaining good governance and ethics.
Our weather forecasters, magistrates, structural engineers and radiologists all prepare reports based on truth-founded facts. Media houses and journalists should be willing to report the truth despite personal consequences and personal biases.
Newspapers and journalists should focus on reality rather than on outcomes or results. We have a right to understand our country politically, socially and economically as it is. In addition, the values and thinking of the role of journalism at educational institutions need to be revisited so that aspiring journalism students understand the need for truth and accountability in their work.
The selection criteria of future journalism students in South Africa must be inclusive to consider their intellectual capacities, attitudes, and personal values regarding the purpose of this career trajectory. After all, journalists eventually lead all the media houses and inform people about the state of our democracy.
Dr Sheetal Bhoola is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Zululand, and the director at StellarMaths (Phoenix & Sunningdale).
Daily News