Press Ombuds: Championing media ethics

Veteran journalist Carmel Rickard celebrated Press Freedom Day on May 3 in a fitting manner when she occupied the seat of South Africa’s Press Ombud.

Also appointed were two deputy press ombuds, Tyrone August and Herman Scholtz.

Rickard, August and Scholtz will play important roles in ensuring that print and online media publications are held accountable for their reportage and that journalists adhere to the prescripts of Press Council’s Press Code by reporting fairly and accurately. The Press Ombuds will adjudicate complaints instituted against subscriber members of the Press Council of South Africa (PCSA) if the Press Council’s Public Advocate, Fanie Groenewald, is unable to resolve the complaints amicably.

Readers who wish to complain about the contents of any print or online publication subscribing to the Press Council may do so by visiting the PCSA website.

Caxton Local Media caught up with these three key role-players in the media sphere to find out more about them.

Carmel Rickard

Rickard has an LLM in constitutional law and is a regular columnist for several publications, including Justice in Africa. She has experience as a radio journalist but now works mostly as a print and online writer.

She started her career as a journalist at the Daily News in Durban and became the Durban bureau chief for the Natal Witness and the then Weekly Mail, which later became the Mail & Guardian.

She was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard in 1992/3, following which she worked at the Sunday Times and was appointed as the paper’s legal editor.

Q&A with Rickard

The 2021 municipal elections are around the corner. What is your view on the role of the media (and, specifically, local media) during this time?

The local media really comes into its own during municipal elections. Based on their contacts and previous work, journalists should be reminding readers of the record of the contesting parties and give accurate, credible information about achievements and disappointments.

They should also be playing an educational role about the function of elections and the meaning and value of a person’s vote.

It’s also a time when many complaints are brought against the media for breaching the journalism code. Knowing that this is a red-flag period, I hope that the media will pay special attention to fair and accurate reporting and give all parties the right of reply/response.

Do you have a favourite spot in South Africa?

South Africa is incredibly rich in wonderful places and there are many that I love. But to be safe, I should say that my favourite will always be the next place I plan to visit. How about the ‘knersvlakte’ in Namaqualand? I’ve always wanted to go there. I think it has to be a favourite because of its evocative name and its flora and fauna – and I can just imagine it as the setting for a novel.

Name three to five books that have deeply impacted you, or that you would recommend.

Your question about books is impossible!

One of my favourite pastimes is to browse second-hand bookshops. What I read rather depends on what is in the barrows of the store I have visited.

I usually have a number of books that I am reading. Mostly, I don’t keep reading a book unless it makes an impact on me.

Just finished:

Philippe Sands: East West Street (about the origins of the concept of crimes against humanity and genocide) and Ratline (about the author’s hunt for the memory of a Nazi fugitive).

Currently reading:

• Tierl Thompson: Dear Girl, the diaries and letters of two working women, 1897 – 1917,
• Alice Walker: In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens,
• Joseph O’Connor: Star of the Sea,
• Honoré de Balzac: Cousin Bette,
• Richard Steyn: Jan Smuts, Unafraid of Greatness,
• Life’s Mosaic, the autobiography of Phyllis Ntantala,
• Sebastian Faulks: Paris Echo, and
• Christiaan de Wet: Three Years’ War.

And I’m about to add to the ‘currently reading’ list:

• Karina Szczurek’s memoir: The Fifth Mrs Brink, and
• Tembeka Ngcukaitobi: The Land is Ours.

Are you a fan of movies? Which is your favourite?

Unfortunately, I don’t see many movies at the moment.

Do you have a motto or favourite quote you live by?

Nor do I have a particular motto that I try to live by (unless it is to answer even difficult questions honestly and to treat each person with respect).

Tyrone August

Deputy Press Ombud Tyrone August holds an MA from the University of London and a PhD from the University of the Western Cape.

August was editor of the Cape Times newspaper as well as editor of Leadership magazine. He was one of the founding members of the South African National Editors’ Forum. August was also an executive member of the Freedom of Expression Institute and the Black Editors’ Forum, and general secretary of both the Media Workers’ Association of South Africa and the Association of Democratic Journalists.

Q&A with August

The 2021 municipal elections are around the corner. What is your view on the role of the media (and, specifically, local media) during this time?

For me, the key role of the media – in any circumstances – is to enable people to make informed decisions about their lives. In relation to the forthcoming elections, this means making available information to local residents about developments in their municipalities since the previous elections, to enable them to assess which parties or party representatives have made concerted and sustained efforts to improve the quality of residents’ lives.

Of course, before any election, party manifestos make lots of promises; the media needs to interrogate these thoroughly, yet fairly, to enable voters to weigh up their options.

My high school motto was ‘Scientia Clavis’ (knowledge is the key). I believe this perfectly sums up the role of the media – before, during and after any election.

Do you have a favourite spot in South Africa?

Cape Town in general, because of the singular beauty of its natural surroundings and the more tranquil lifestyle. And yet, to me, Johannesburg, my birthplace, is not too far off in second place; it is always throbbing with life. Another reason it remains special to me is because many of my family members still live there.

Name three to five books that have deeply impacted you, or that you would recommend.

This is an extremely difficult question. It would be much easier to list authors for their body of work. In no particular order, I admire and respect the writing of the novelists Michael Ondaatje, Zadie Smith, Salman Rushdie, Paul Auster and Hari Kunzru. They address a wide range of subjects and employ various genres (all of them are equally at home in non-fiction).

Not to mention the ground-breaking and sometimes provocative writing of journalists such as George Orwell, Seymour Hersh, Robert Fisk, John Pilger and Svetlana Alexievich, to mention just five.

If I were compelled to mention just one book as a recommendation, it would probably be something along the lines of The Complete Works of George Orwell (which, I must confess, I am still working my way through).

Are you a fan of movies? Which is your favourite?

I absolutely love movies. Again, my tastes are quite eclectic, though some movies readily come to mind, such as the Three Colours trilogy (okay, I know that’s really three movies), Il Postino and The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Lest this sounds pretentious, I should add that I enjoy the early work of directors Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino as well. And just about any intelligent action movie or comedy works for me. It all depends on my mood at the time.

Do you have a motto or favourite quote you live by?

For many years, the following words of an American actress, whose name I have unfortunately forgotten, resonated with me: ‘Life is too short to be passive’. But, at the core of what has underpinned my various activities over the years, was the following biblical injunction: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’. In other words, be compassionate, care about other people, and do what you can to help in whatever way possible.

Herman Scholtz

Deputy Press Ombud Herman Scholtz is an advocate at the Pretoria Bar, and holds an honours degree in journalism and an LLM in information and communication law.

He is a former journalist with 13 years’ experience in newspapers, magazines and broadcast media. Most recently, he was the national news and business editor of Rapport and has served as legal adviser to the National Press Club.

Q&A with Scholtz

The 2021 municipal elections are around the corner. What is your view on the role of the media (and, specifically, local media) during this time?

Local government elections are all about service delivery and the local media is superbly positioned to assist undecided voters. Amidst all the political noise leading up to an election, I rely on my local newspaper to hold council members to account and to inform me about the quality of service delivery outside my immediate neighbourhood.

At the end of the day, the local elections are the only way we can get that pothole fixed or to address concerns at the clinic.

Do you have a favourite spot in South Africa?

My house’s stoep is probably my favourite spot in the world. In South Africa, the most majestic place has to be Magoebaskloof.

Name three to five books that have deeply impacted you, or that you would recommend.

• Antjie Krog: Country of My Skull,
• Katharine Graham: Personal History, and
• Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

Are you a fan of movies? Which is your favourite?

At the moment, I’m more of a Netflix/Showmax binge watcher. More recent series include The Americans and The Handmaid’s Tale.

Do you have a motto or favourite quote you live by?

Not really something I try to live by, but the phrase ‘against my better judgment’ comes to mind. My favourite saying is: ‘It was like a frisbee over a fat Labrador’s head’.

Increased efficiency

According to PCSA executive director Latiefa Mobara, the three will work alongside public advocate Fanie Groenewald to effect the PCSA’s restructured system of mediation and arbitration, which is aimed at increasing capacity and efficiency.

Judge Phillip Levinsohn, PCSA chair, welcomed the new appointees and said they would undoubtedly be a credit to and greatly enhance the workings of the council.

Mobara thanked outgoing press ombud Pippa Green and outgoing deputy press ombud Johan Retief for their service to the PCSA.