THE Ashley Smith saga is just the tip of the iceberg. What with an Independent News Media director being rapped over the knuckles by the Canadian legislature for bribery and corruption (should former politicians be allowed to own a stake in the media?) and former apartheid cronies acting with impunity despite being on the payroll of the past government and the Naspers Group, one would think television news media would be having a field day. Unfortunately this story does not appear to be getting much coverage despite the consequences.

Government hawks and spooks smell blood and are moving in to restrain South Africa’s corrupt print media. Let’s face it, if we can’t trust Newspaper Hse to look after its own, then who can we trust? Well, how about the increasingly vociferous and loud fourth media? Yes, that ‘s right, us bloggers. The Internet is the reason why any of this information is getting exposed in the first place. Government should therefore be thanking us for a job well done. As for the proposed launch of an ANC daily, I smell another Information Scandal. If you were old enough to remember the era when B J Vorster tried to buy the Washington Star then you probably also remember Muldergate and the battle to free the press from government subservience. South Africa needs a broader more inclusive media, not self-serving bureaucrats posing as journalists.

Tag: Ashley Smith