A word from the board
Dear ONO members,
The best newsletter of the year – we on the board believe – is the one right after an ONO annual conference. For it is chock full of links to tips, pictures, presentations, slides, inspiration, video’s and what else the harvest of an annual conference is. This year, only days after the fruitful and fun gathering in Cape Town, South Africa, of over twenty ONO members that was boosted in every way by the presence of delegates from thirteen African countries, this newsletter is no exception. ONO would like to thank the organisers and hosts News24 and the Press Council of South Africa (in the person of our ONO-board member George Claassen and the Press council’s director Latiefa Mobara), for their hard work in making the 2024 edition of the conference a truly memorable one.
Of course there are the minutes of the Annual General membership Meeting, also held in Cape Town last week.
And there is more in this newsletter than ‘just’ the conference. Make sure you watch the video on Vimeo of the excellent Shoptalk at which new members Susan Wessling of the NYT and Gavin Fang of ABC discussed their organisations’ approach to social media; the good, the bad and the downright ugly. Watch it here (password: shoptalkfeb2024).
So, enjoy, as the southern hemisphere digs in for winter and the northern hemisphere moves towards summer. The board wishes you happy reading.
Margo Smit, president
Jack Nagler, vice president
Elisabeth Ribbans, treasurer
Chris Elliott, executive director
ONO conference 2024: South Africa May 15 – 18
“There is only one way to ward off the pressure for state regulation: it is to have an effective and credible self-regulatory mechanism; let us emphasize the words effective and credible. How do we achieve such a mechanism?” said Judge Bernard Ngoepe, the chair of the South African Press Council’s Appeal Panel in his wide-ranging keynote speech at the beginning of the second day to the ONO conference in Cape Town.
His focus was media self-regulation, state interference and the protection of journalists’ independence and can be read and also seen here as his speech was filmed (video to come later)along with many other presentations posted by our colleague Pierre Champoux.
The conference was held just before South Africa became one of the 64 democracies to go to the polls this year. As I write the outcome is unknown, but many speakers explored the many dangers for the voters as they navigate the tsunami of information online, on television and radio, and in the press.
Among the many highlights of the two days of the conference was the opening session: Monitoring elections: media coverage and disinformation. In this session William Bird, of Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) and Prof Herman Wasserman, of the Dept of Journalism, Stellenbosch University, not only examined the growth of disinformation but effective ways to combat it. William Bird revealed how technology could be made to work for those seeking out and neutralising dis and misinformation using Real411, which provides a platform for the public to report digital harms including disinformation. Both their presentations are on the ONO website.
The sense of place and time was emphasised by a group of African editors and representatives of African media councils who were at many of the sessions as observers. They had just taken part in their own day-long conference to form a pan-African network for self-regulatory bodies. In an African first, the Network of Independent Media Councils in Africa (NIMCA) was formed on May 16, 2024, after the inaugural meeting of African media councils convened by the South African Press Council in Cape Town, South Africa, which was also co-host of the ONO conference. The aim of NIMCA is to ‘to promote self-regulation as the cornerstone of a free, professional and credible media in an evolving communications landscape where social media is implicated in the circulation of unethical and low-quality content’. The full press release is on the ONO website the other presentations and videos from the 12 sessions of the conference as well as the minutes of ONO’s 2024 AGM.
The last word goes to Judge Ngoepe when answering a question from the floor: “The best journalism is the kind that can be understood by your neighbour, who is not a lawyer”.
George Claassen retires from the board
One of our most distinguished and long serving colleagues, George Claassen has decided to retire from ONO’s board. He was one of the driving forces behind two successful ONO conferences in South Africa, the first in 2015.
He wrote: “I think I have come to the end of my years as a member of ONO’s board. I have been on the board intermittently between 2004 and 2008, and again from 2013 until today. I think ONO needs some fresh blood and although I’ll still stay an active member of ONO…
Thank you for all we have shared over years. I have learnt a lot from all of you and may the board steer ONO to new heights of ethical media awareness”.
Margo Smit, ONO’s President said:” Thank you so much for all you have done for ONO, as a member, on the board, as a conference organizer (twice!!), and as a contributor to discussions and panels and Shoptalks! Please stay close, we cannot do without your sharp eye and ear!
Grote omhelzing en baaie dankie!!”
New member – Richard Hutt
Richard Hutt is Complaints Director at the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit, investigating and adjudicating on alleged breaches of BBC editorial standards.
Richard began his BBC career in local radio at 15, presenting and co-producing a music show. After University he moved to Los Angeles to work in documentaries for US TV. He subsequently took a two-week contract with the BBC which has lasted 24 years. In that time, he has made radio programmes about food and websites about accountability, created the BBC’s online complaints systems, and managed the correspondence function of the Director-General. Looking into the concerns of Parliamentarians and dealing discreetly with difficult issues gave him a taste for investigation and the delights of complaints management.
For the last 14 years he has been Complaints Director. His work covers the entire output of the BBC and the full gamut of editorial issues, from bias and accuracy and offence – the big three – to product prominence and the protection of children. Where complaints are raised directly with Ofcom, the BBC’s regulator, he puts the case for the defence.
Richard is particularly interested in how perceptions of impartiality are shifting, the influence of social media echo chambers/misinformation and how accountability can increase audience trust.
Members’ columns and articles
The association Far (Fathers) complained about an article about psychological violence. The editor of the listeners and viewers rejects the criticism, from Jesper Termansen, Listeners’ and Viewers’ editor, DR.
The ABC received a complaint about an interview with Health Report presenter Dr Norman Swan on the News Channel, about a recently published study on Covid vaccines, from Fiona Cameron, ABC Ombudsman
I would really like to gather and flag your columns for other members so please send a link to any that you write. It is not always easy to find the columns on your sites or get through the paywalls to recover the link.
Some other links to thinks that may be interesting or useful
Steve Springer has noted a surprising and welcome development at the Dallas (Texas) Morning News, which has hired its first public editor.
In the wake of Donald Trump’s conviction on May 30 Steve has written to all members of staff at Radio Free Asia reminding them of their social media code. With Steve’s permission we publish his email to staff:
To All:
A reminder that our social media policy is to be mindful about how you post/discuss situations like today’s verdict on your personal social media accounts. Thanks.
Steve
Have other ONO members issued similar reminders or specific guidelines? Please let us know if you feel able to share them with other ONO members and we will report on them in next month’s newsletter.
Ignaz Staub has passed on a link to an event of which he was unaware: the Sir Harry Evans Investigative Journalism Summit for 400 invited guests which took place in London in mid-May. Ignaz said that it had an interesting programme, some topics of which are also of interest to ONO members. You can watch the videos of it here .
One of the themes of the Shoptalk on May 28 was the difficulties news organisations face when members of staff make remarks in the cut and thrust of external debates, which may later prove controversial. The ABC’s Laura Tingle, chief political correspondent of news programme, 7.30, was admonished by ABC’s news director, Justin Stevens, for remarks that “did not meet the ABC’s editorial standards”. But she stood by them. Here is the Guardian’s report on the story: ABC counsels Laura Tingle over ‘racist country’ comments but journalist stands by remarks
Columbia Journalism Review
The public broadcasters facing tumult in Europe
How Israeli journalists cover their own country
Global Investigative Journalism Network
How South Africa’s Largest Digital News Outlet Plans to Cover a Chaotic 2024 ElectionBuilding Trust and Authenticity in Visual Journalism in the Age of Deepfakes
NiemanLab
What’s with the rise of “fact-based journalism”?
NiemanReports
‘Social Media is a Crime Scene’
Journalism.co.uk
How are news organisations covering the UK’s General Election 2024?
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
Seven lessons for journalism in the age of extreme heat
AI newsroom guidelines look very similar, says a researcher who studied them. He thinks this is bad news
International Journalists Network
In South Africa, women journalists are targeted online routinely and with impunity, new research finds
European Journalism Observatory
Japan: the exclusive clubs that “hold the media hostage”.
This is your newsletter!
If you want to share your own experiences or have reports all ONO members should know about, find us at newsombudsmenorg@gmail.com and we will include it in ONO’s next newsletter.
