ActionSA edwin Ntshidi

Freelance journalist Edwin Ntshidi was elected as a PR councillor for ActionSA in Johannesburg on Monday. Photo: Twitter / @Action4SA

SA journalist in hot water – after getting elected as an ActionSA councillor

ActionSA’s ethics is being questioned after a journalist that covered the party in the municipal elections was appointed as a PR councillor in the Johannesburg metro.

ActionSA edwin Ntshidi

Freelance journalist Edwin Ntshidi was elected as a PR councillor for ActionSA in Johannesburg on Monday. Photo: Twitter / @Action4SA

The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) slammed freelance journalist Edwin Ntshidi after he was elected as a PR councillor of ActionSA in the City of Johannesburg on Monday, 22 November. The journalist in question covered the 2021 municipal elections for one of the country’s biggest news brands.

JOURNALIST ELECTED ACTIONSA PR COUNCILLOR

Ntshidi worked the elections for Eyewitness News (EWN). His last article, titled ‘Political parties set to meet to hammer out coalition deals for Gauteng metros’, was published nine days ago.

EWN editor-in-chief Mahlatse Mahlase told News24 that Ntshidi served his notice on 7 November and that the publication – which has a significant reach online and on the country’s radio waves – had no idea about the journalists’ political ambitions.

SANEF said it is happy that the journalist is no longer a reporter and that his association with EWN is over. However, the forum is concerned with his conduct and that he agreed to be an ActionSA candidate, while he was reporting on the elections and the selfsame party he now represents.

“On independence and matters relating to conflict of interest, the Press Code clearly states that: ‘The media shall not allow commercial, political, personal or other non-professional considerations to influence reporting, and avoid conflicts of interest as well as practices that could lead readers to doubt the media’s independence and professionalism,’ said SANEF.

The forum said the situation casts a shadow over the work the media industry has been doing to regain the trust it has lost.

According to the Daily Maverick, a cursory look at Ntshidi’s reporting shows no obvious signs of bias towards ActionSA. However, conflicts of interest are difficult to measure.

SANEF urged journalists to inform editors whenever matters of conflict of interest arise. So that a decision can be made.

Edwin Ntshidi declined to comment – after consulting with ActionSA party leaders – on whether his reporting during the elections had given his current employers an unfair advantage when questioned by News24 at the council meeting on Monday.

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