More than 170 complaints received by press council in first quarter

The South African Press Council said on Thursday that they had received 175 complaints during the first quarter in 2018.

Executive director Latiefa Mobara said most complaints were resolved by mediation with compliance from editors, which enabled a speedy and amicable resolution.

“Only 23 complaints were referred to Press Ombud Johan Retief during the period, and there were five appeals of Ombud rulings referred to Judge Bernard Ngoepe. We are satisfied that our mediation and arbitration system is working well,” she said.

Retief said that of the 23 complaints, he had dismissed 10, partly or fully upheld another 10, mediated a solution to one, and dismissed the other two for being out of time.

Chair of appeals Judge Ngoepe said he had dismissed three of the five appeals, had resolved one and granted one.

Retief said publications should be wary of reporting allegations as fact and justifying the practice by saying the allegation was in the public domain – often arguing they had merely repeated what had been reported elsewhere, whether in mainstream media or on social media.

“Constant repetition of an allegation leads people to believe it – whether it is true or not. This is exacerbated if the media themselves start to accept allegations as true, whether they have been verified or not,” he said.

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