Oh dear. Black editors are being admonished for being “intellectual coconuts” over at Sandile Memela’s blog on Thought Leader. He’s in a frothy because , he says, not a single black editor has come out in support of the ANC and “encouraged readers to vote for the party that has delivered so much to so many”.

Mamela, a former hack who is now government spindoctor, accuses SA’s black editors of being fence-sitters who show no gratitude to the ANC for delivering them the opportunity to sit in the editor’s chair. Inexplicably, he also says these “fence-sitters” believe it their mission to oppose the ANC government. Read the blog here.

I was tempted to dismiss Mamela’s blog as an illogical rambling from the Dr Snuki Zikalala School of Yawnarama Journalism but it’s actually a tad concerning. This harkens back to the days of the Nats when Afrikaans editors were expected — and they did at Nasionale Pers — to tow and promote the apartheid government line. Mamelas opines:

In fact, we need to closely examine the emergence of the so-called new black editorial executive who is only interested in pleasing the share-holders and treats the interests of the country and the majority with disdain. There should be public hearings, perhaps, on the content of the character of our editors, their aspirations and anxieties, orientation and opportunities.

Well, Sandile, I’m glad you realise that content is king. Maybe black editors like Mondli Makhanya at the Sunday Times  are committing the sin of behaving like white editors because they’re are in fact editors — independent, bloody-minded thinkers — and not apparatchik.

But there is an interesting sidebar here. Unlike Britain, South African papers make a point of not supporting a particular party at election time (except for a few occaisions when Ken Owen came out for the IFP when he was Sunday Times editor in the 1990s).

Compare this to Britain, for instance, where the tabloids  will promote a particular party and rant about a rival  with rapid enthusiasm (on the front page nog al). I’ve sometimes wondered  if maybe that’s more honest . We’ve all got political views and know who we’re going to vote for by now, so maybe the editors should  just lay it on the line.

And, in the spirit of practising what you preach, this is what I’m doing come election time. I’m voting for the DA for the first time in the life after being a proud ANC voter since 1994.  The DA, it appears to me this time round, is the only party with intelligence and integrity.

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