DURBAN - THE Ombudsman found that the Daily News front-page headlines on July 21 and 22 were not in breach of the Independent Media Press Code.
In a ruling dated August 2, 2021, the three-to-one split decision by the Ombudsman agreed that in terms of various dictionary definitions, the multiple killings that had occurred at Phoenix during the height of unrest that claimed the lives of mainly Africans amounted to a “massacre”.
The word “massacre”, referring to the unfortunate killings in Phoenix, emerged after Indian vigilantes claiming to be protecting properties in the area were accused of targeting black people, resulting in a string of people killed by hacking and gunshots.
Two readers, Narendh Ganesh and Abhir Dayaram, wrote to the Independent Media’s Ombuds office registering their complaint about a front-page headline in the Daily News on July 21, 2021, titled “PHOENIX MASSACRE CLAIMS 23 LIVES”.
Both objected to the use of the word “massacre”. Ganesh described the use of the word massacre as “distasteful, (dis)ingenuous and in my candid opinion absolutely mischievous”.
He argued that the headline could “perpetuate racial incitement at a time when a highly volatile and incendiary situation exists”.
Dayaram also cited the front-page headline of July 22, 2021: “PHOENIX BODY COUNT RISES”. He described them as “sensational, biased, distorted and inflammatory”. Dayaram noted that red font type was used in both headlines “PHOENIX MASSACRE” and “BODY COUNT”. He claimed that the use of red type suggested that this was the paper’s intention.
The Ombuds Office allowed both sides an opportunity to make submissions. “The Ombuds office concurred with the editor that the headlines arose from the interviews and statements of identified sources … It also rejected the notion that the massacre headline was mischievous and inflammatory as no evidence existed to substantiate a claim by one of the complainants.
“They agreed that the headline “PHOENIX BODY COUNT RISES” on July 22 was factual. It reflected the fluidity of the situation days after the violence and the fact that those in authority did not have an accurate assessment of the number of dead arising from the violence.
The panel rebutted one of the complainant’s contentions that “the use of red type in the headlines buttresses his view of sensationalism”.
They concurred that it had been an editorial style to draw attention occasionally to front-page stories.
“I supported the majority views of the panel that the headlines were not out of sync with the contents of the stories published on July 21 and 22, 2021 in the Daily News and were not in breach of clause 2.1. of the Independent Media Press Code.
“I and the entire panel, however, were ad idem on an important caveat: the importance of editors giving due consideration to the balanced use of words and language during a time of racial strife and enmity,” said Moegsien Williams, who chaired the panel.
Visit https://www.independentmediaombud.co.za
Daily News