Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
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I enjoyed a recent article by Magnus Heystek on MoneyWeb. You can read the article here: http://www.moneyweb.co.za/moneyweb-the-money-whisperer/opinion-flogging-a-dead-horse-gets-you-nowhere It dealt with the sliding sales of newspapers in South Africa and how for example the Saturday Star has gone from selling 180 000 copies every Saturday to less than 80 000 per edition now. It is one of the reasons I don’t advertise in the printed media, and here I am talking about newspapers mainly. Over the years they have put up their prices and they simply do not deliver real value compared to other media.
That is not however what the article is about – it is about how Magnus who has declined to advertise in the Saturday Star because he says that every single week the Personal Finance section, for example, lays into the financial media and attacks them. He says he supports freedom for the press but that there are also consequences to what you write and he cannot continue to persecute an industry continually, and then expect that same industry to support you with advertising. He mentions that when he was a journalist at the Star, it was a condition of his employment that they were never allowed to write anything negative about estate agents or the property industry, given the huge property supplement that appears in the Saturday Star every week. In short, he is saying that freedom of the press has a price to pay, and that is if they attack the same people all the time they cannot expect those people to support them and by flogging a dead horse will get you nowhere.
It is an interesting debate because it is very easy to take the moral high ground and explain that the media should be allowed to write exactly what they want to write, and have no regard to advertising, but on the other hand, I am not sure that all the negative criticism works – if it did, would newspapers sales have plummeted as much as they have? One of the problems of course is that by the time you get the newspaper much of it is old news, and the rest of it is rehashed PR releases – but that is another topic and another blog article!
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Monday 24-Mar-14
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Comments
Varkie10 said:
on Thursday 16-Oct-14 11:46 AM
It was with interest that I read the,albeit dated, article by Magnus Heystek to which Micheal de Broglio refers to in his article. Especially the following:
"but the press also has to understand that there are consequences to what they write."
In the interview with Andries van Zyl of RSG recently, Mrs Dominique Haese, the CEO of Nova Properties stated that the Nova investors are disadvantaged due to some banks unwilling to make funds available to Nova as a result of negative media articles.
Magnus should take heed of his own opinions.
Alexis said:
on Monday 31-Mar-14 09:13 AM
You should be able to write what you want - yes you will suffer the consequences - but if you have a voice - use it
Sarah said:
on Thursday 27-Mar-14 04:55 PM
I think if people want to print what they what then they must take the responsibility what happens next.
Angelique said:
on Tuesday 25-Mar-14 09:16 AM
Technology has changed, soon there won't be newspapers so to keep that advertising going it makes sense that you can't really have freedom of what you write about people who technically pay to keep your paper alive. That unfortunately is just business. It is what it is.
Zelda said:
on Monday 24-Mar-14 04:42 PM
it is ridicules to think that the people who's name you're dragging through the mud, should support you or your business financially... That also means that the person who has the most adds in the paper would never have to worry that anything bad will be said about them...
Jade said:
on Monday 24-Mar-14 03:01 PM
This is very interesting! I have never really thought about the relationship between advertisers and newspapers, and the impact thereof on the freedom of the media. Ultimately, newspapers are businesses. And creating bad relations with people who pay to advertise in your pages does not seem like sound business practice. Especially when that business is suffering as a result of the ease at which people can read about the news online for free.
Bianca R said:
on Monday 24-Mar-14 02:37 PM
I think that people are welcome to print exactly what the would like to but as seen in your blog above, it comes with a price. In this case, constant "bad mouthing" in that section has lead to the almost dead end of newspaper sales.
Elektra said:
on Monday 24-Mar-14 12:37 PM
I remember when my Father would on a Sunday read the paper, and make me read it with him, but those days are long gone. Now days I just go onto the internet through my I-Pad and read news from, for instance the Murcury Newspaper online, and there it is. No need to go into a shop and buy the paper. Sad truth, but technology has taken over.
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
