Eyewitness News has come under criticism by veteran journalists following what Prof Herman Wasserman referred to as an “ethical lapse” in their reporting of an article regarding Stellenbosch University’s vaccination policy. PHOTO: Bianke Neethling
Eyewitness News (EWN) recently released an apology to Stellenbosch University (SU) regarding an article they wrote claiming that the institution’s vaccination policy was endangering the lives of students.
EWN’s article accused SU of forcing students recovering from Covid-19 to vaccinate and further claimed that a student had died as a result. This is according to the public apology issued by EWN on 23 March after the claims were found to be incorrect.
In their apology statement, EWN admitted that they did not ask SU for a right of reply or independently verify the information claimed in their article.
“Eyewitness News unreservedly apologises for a story involving Stellenbosch University where the institution was accused of endangering students’ lives,” stated EWN’s apology. The original article making the claims against the university has since been removed from their website.
Correct journalism practices
“A story making such serious allegations should have been double-checked and the university [should have been] approached for comment,” said Anton Harber, adjunct professor of journalism at the University of Witwatersrand, via written correspondence with MatieMedia. “Sadly, it is increasingly a practice to rush into broadcasting/publication before verification is done,” added Harber, who has been a journalist for 35 years.
Herman Wasserman, professor of media studies at the University of Cape Town, emphasised the importance of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) and the Press Council of South Africa. “Truth and accuracy are core tenets in the [BCCSA’s and Press Council’s] code,” stated Wasserman via written correspondence. “Outlets should therefore take care to ensure that their reporting is factual and contextually accurate.”
Journalists traditionally explore all sides of a story so it can be presented in a balanced way, stated Julia Butcher, an assistant editor at an Eastern Cape newspaper and a journalist with 30 years of experience under her belt.
According to veteran journalists Anton Harber and Herman Wasserman, errors in journalistic practices damage the credibility and reputation of the media as a whole. PHOTO: Tim Malinzi
Credibility and reputation of the media
EWN’s error raised concerns for Wasserman, who acknowledged that errors of this nature impact the journalism industry as a whole.
“Although apologies are to be welcomed when [the] media make mistakes […] ethical lapses are in the long run damaging to [the] media’s reputation and trustworthiness,” stated Wasserman.
“Such a lack of professionalism discredits the outlet, but it also undermines attempts to rebuild trust in journalism and news media,” stated Harber.
Following their error, EWN did the right thing in issuing a prompt apology to SU, according to Harber. “To their credit, it must be said, they appear to have apologised quickly and unreservedly,” said Harber.
Neither EWN, nor SU, had responded to MatieMedia‘s queries by the time of publication.
MatieMedia is an independent online publication, produced by the BAHons (Journalism) class at Stellenbosch University. MatieMedia adheres to the South African Press Code of Conduct and Ethics. To read MatieMedia’s own Code of Ethics, click here.
The Press Code of Ethics and Conduct for South African Print and Online Media outlines the above as behaviours some of the that journalists should practice. GRAPHIC: Tim Malinzi