On Tuesday March 4 2008, Sowetan published a story about a man who is alleged to have set fire to the ANC headquaters, Luthuli House. What made the article different from those in other newspapers was the fact that, the alleged arsonist's identity and name was published.
This was done despite the media law that requires reporters not to identify or name people suspected of committing a crime before they appear and plead to the charges in the court of law. The same article was published by The Times, but the person was never identified or named because they had never pleaded to the charges. What made Sowetan do the opposite?
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2 comments:
There is a funny tale to that. You the arsonist had come to Sowetan days before his "attack" and had told them of his intention. Willie Bokala (the news editor), being Willie Bokala, shrugged and told the guy to do it then come back to Sowetan with the story. Suffice to say he wasn't bluffing and did set the building (or the little bit of Luthuli House he got to) alight. So Sowetan feels as though they know the guy and that they have carte blanche to use his name....Well that's the tale as far as what was discussed in the diary meeting the day after the "attack".
I meant "the arsonist" in that comment. Not "You the arsonist". Jammer about the typo.
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