Anton Harber
16 April 2008
column
Johannesburg — WHEN I opened the Sunday Times last week and read David Bullard's column, the question I asked myself was: "How on earth did this get into the newspaper?"
That was the real shock for me. At least three copy editors would have had to have seen that material before it went to the printers, but these people, who should have alerted the editor to a problem, are either so out of touch that they did not see the potential problem or, more likely, they skimmed over the article.
It is astounding, because it was so profoundly offensive (suggesting that Africans don't care about their children) and so deeply imbued with ignorant racist stereotypes (Africans can arouse themselves from their stupor only for the occasional round of ethnic cleansing) that it presented one of those rare occasions when you realise how words can do real damage to our fragile social fabric.
Normally, when a columnist submits material of this sort, the subeditor assigned to go through it and drop it onto the page would alert a senior person. They would phone the columnist and say that they can't print this stuff and offer the writer the opportunity to fix it. If the columnist refused, it would amount to a resignation.
That happens without much fuss every now and then at most papers. There is no freedom of speech issue here. A columnist serves at the pleasure of the editor, and there is a problem only if the editor abuses his privilege by sacking a columnist unreasonably, such as for offending an advertiser or shareholder.
Columns are an essential part of a newspaper, bringing opinion and debate to break through the tedium of news and provoking thought and discussion. A sensible editor carries a healthy range of challenging opinions, but makes it clear that there are certain views which go beyond the bounds and will not appear in the newspaper.
IF, for example, Deputy Safety and Security Minister Susan Shabangu had offered her now famous "shoot the bastards" speech as an opinion piece, most sane editors would have pointed out that this was dangerous incitement to break the law and difficult to defend before the Press Council or a court of law.
Rapport editor Tim du Plessis recently caused a storm by hiring controversial columnist Deon Maas, and then firing him quickly. In that case, Du Plessis distanced himself and his paper from Maas's view that Satanism should be treated as just other religion, but printed it, and then backed down when facing a boycott from readers, distributors and advertisers. I viewed that as an unfortunate victory for intolerance, because it was a provocative column that did not actually degrade or threaten anyone.
Bullard's expression of profound racism, however, is repugnant in a society still grappling to overcome a long history of the most brutal racism. In both cases, editors should ensure they are in a position either to stop something going into the paper, or defend it to the death.
Newspapers are produced under pressured conditions, in which it is impossible to catch every error and double-check every fact. But when stuff like this gets through, then you have to ask what is going wrong. And we know what it is: it is not unlike the Eskom problem. Good, experienced subeditors, the sparks of the newspaper world, the behind-the-scenes wizards who actually shape the newspaper and get it out every night, are in short supply.
Most young journalists want the glamour of picture bylines and the pleasure of hanging out with the rich and famous. The prestige of being a quiet crafter of eye-catching headlines and witty captions, the designer of magnificent pages which bring the reporters' work to life, has diminished in an age of page templates and spell-checks.
If editors want to avoid these kinds of embarrassments, they don't need to get rid of controversial columnists. They need to invest in more good subeditors.
Harber is Caxton Professor of Journalism at Wits University.
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