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News & Views by Terry Bell
Browsing All posts tagged under »media«
Secrecy: a poison to democracy
September 22, 2011
Secrets often leak into the public domain. In the process they can become distorted and those in the know can also use them to gain favours or protection — to blackmail and manipulate. However, there are two kinds of secret: one that should be eradicated as vigorously as possible and the other which perhaps cannot — and certainly should not — be tampered with.
A tale of two funerals
April 8, 2011
Both funerals were conducted with military pomp and included the flag of the African National Congress draped over the coffins. One was for a hero of the anti-apartheid struggle, the other for a reputed racketeer killed in a gangland drive-by shooting. Media publicity concentrated on the latter.
Playing the race card as polls loom
March 18, 2011
(First published 11 March, 2011) Whenever an election looms, the rumour mills tend to grind away, often fuelled by ill-considered comments by politicians. It’s the same the world over, compounded by media manipulation, distortions of fact and outright falsification being all too often the order of the days leading up to polling time. But there […]
Blowing a union whistle on corruption
November 20, 2010
(Published November 19, 2010) Public protector Thuli Madonsela’s revelations about the victimisation of whistleblowers and the protection of corrupt officials caused a minor sensation this week. But the revelations came as no surprise to many trade unionists — and especially not to members of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. […]
Terry Bell Writes 
Of spears, dicks and satire
July 13, 2012
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The latest row over a "genital" cartoon of South Africa's President Jcob Zuma reveals an unwillingness to accept that respect has to be earned and that individuals, especially those in high office who behave in a manner contrary to the norms of society, lose respect and become legitimate targets for satire.