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Presidency damaging working relationship with journalists
The Presidency yesterday, Thursday, 3 December 2009, issued a press statement outlining details of a hitherto secret expansion of President Jacob Zuma's family compound at Nkandla. The statement was issued late in the afternoon, just before the Mail & Guardian's deadline in a clear attempt to limit the impact our lead story today, which exposed the R65 million in new constructions.
Approached for comment
We discovered the building work during a visit to Nkandla over the weekend, and were able to establish details of the large new houses, clinic, and helipad that are being built. When we approached the presidency for comment on Tuesday they refused to speak to us, while the department of public works untruthfully insisted that no construction was underway.
Journalists are enjoined by the Press Code and legal precedent to provide the subjects of stories a fair chance to respond. We followed this principle, which we believe in, strictly.
By effectively breaking our story in advance, and robbing us of exclusivity, the Presidency has damaged the relationship of trust that we had developed with officials there. Competition is an important part of a vibrant media landscape, and the drive to secure scoops is an important energising factor in our constitutionally prescribed work.
Spin
Skilled communicators understand this, and realise that they need to be able to work with us. If a story represents problems for them they attempt to provide convincing answers, or spin, they do not torpedo us by releasing press statements to our competitors before we can publish.
If government communicators make it impossible for us to trust them with basic courtesy, we will struggle to share information with them, and two things will suffer: their ability to try and shape our opinions, and the willingness of journalists to seek all sides of every story.
Ultimately, that is bad for democracy.
About Nic Dawes
Nic Dawes is editor-in-chief of the Mail & Guardian (www.mg.co.za). Follow him on Twitter at @NicDawes.
