Radio host ordered to say sorry

MickeyD

MickeyD

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Algoa FM’s Daron Mann slammed for ‘gross lack of knowledge’

ALGOA FM presenter Daron Mann will have to eat humble pie and apologise to a listener following comments he made about the death penalty.

Mann, who hosts the Daron Mann Breakfast Show, said on air in November that he agreed with a friend who said you could not trust the government to administer the death penalty when it could not even run a post office.

But a judgment made by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission (BCCSA) this week found the station had acted irresponsibly.

The complaint was made by Dawood Beydon, 45, of Springdale in Port Elizabeth.

Beydon complained following Mann’s omission to correct information about the role of the judiciary.

In his complaint, Beydon said he had tuned into the morning show on Friday, November 7, when Mann mentioned his friend’s comment.
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-Lee-Anne Butler
http://www.heraldlive.co.za/radio-host-ordered-say-sorry/
 
Article lacks some crucial information. What was the critical point on which the BCCSA found he had acted irresponsibly?

My guess is that they said that it wasn't the government who "ran the post office".

And yet the DJ is right though in the reality of it.

The government can't run ANY of the parastatals properly. They are all falling apart slowly.
 
Really?

He has to say sorry for stating something we all think anyway?
 
MickeyD said:
Full judgement here: http://www.bccsa.co.za/images/hearings/JUDGMENTS2015/PDF/ALGOAFM/case no - 48 -2014.pdf
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The complaint was formulated as follows:

“On Friday 7 November 2014 at about 07h00 I tuned into the Daron Mann Breakfast Show on Algoa FM. My complaint relates to comments which Mr Mann made between 07h10 and 07h35 regarding the death penalty.

Mr Mann started his comments by stating that he and a friend had been discussing the death penalty. He stated that his friend said, that how could one trust this government to administer the death penalty when it (government) could not even run a post office properly. Mr Mann and his co presenters agreed with this statement.

I then sent a text message to the studio wherein I pointed out that the government does not sentence offenders but rather an independent judiciary. I also pointed out that his comments were not fair.

Shortly after sending my text message, Mr Mann proceeded to read my text message on air. He commented on my text by saying that the government appoints chiefs justices etc. He also made another inaudible comment. His attitude when reading my text was very arrogant and dismissive.

I submit my complaint based on the following reasons. Mr Mann's comments before and after my text message were not truthful, accurate or fair. I also feel that he was not initially commenting on facts which were truly stated.

I also feel that he should be censored for implying that judges and magistrates are not impartial.

His comments are listened to by thousands of listeners and it could therefore have the effect that people would lose faith in the judiciary if they are led to believe that the judiciary is not impartial.”
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The Respondent’s argument included the following:

“As you will hear from the clip attached, at no stage did the presenter say the judiciary is not independent, or for that matter, impartial. He did however suggest that 'political influence’ will always prevail as the chief justice is appointed by the President. A brief glance at South Africa’s history will confirm this – from Apartheid-era trials to Schabir Shaik – there has always been “political influence.”

The comments made by the presenter, relative to the text message sent by Mr Beydon, was accurately placed in context for the listener. Whilst Mr Beydon’s perception of “arrogance and/or being treated in a dismissive” manner remain his perception, the Code of Conduct does not address “perception."

Lastly, political influence is further confirmed by the fact that the President not only appoints the Chief Justice but also the judiciary – as independent as it may be “perceived"– this very judiciary is compelled to implement the laws as passed by politicians.

The comments in our opinion are not malicious.”
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On Friday 7 November 2014 at about 07h00 I tuned into the Daron Mann Breakfast Show on Algoa FM. My complaint relates to comments which Mr Mann made between 07h10 and 07h35 regarding the death penalty.

Mr Mann started his comments by stating that he and a friend had been discussing the death penalty. He stated that his friend said, that how could one trust this government to administer the death penalty when it (government) could not even run a post office properly. Mr Mann and his co presenters agreed with this statement.

I then sent a text message to the studio wherein I pointed out that the government does not sentence offenders but rather an independent judiciary. I also pointed out that his comments were not fair.

Shortly after sending my text message, Mr Mann proceeded to read my text message on air. He commented on my text by saying that the government appoints chiefs justices etc. He also made another inaudible comment. His attitude when reading my text was very arrogant and dismissive.

I submit my complaint based on the following reasons. Mr Mann's comments before and after my text message were not truthful, accurate or fair. I also feel that he was not initially commenting on facts which were truly stated.

I also feel that he should be censored for implying that judges and magistrates are not impartial.
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Not sure if there is a real issue here of if Dawood just doesn't like the fact somebody disagreed with him. Anyway, you sure showed him.


His comments are listened to by thousands of listeners and it could therefore have the effect that people would lose faith in the judiciary if they are led to believe that the judiciary is not impartial.
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Cry me a fscking river
 
Evaluation by BCCSA

The presenter undoubtedly represented the position incorrectly. He clearly questions the sentencing procedure, which is in the hands of the judiciary. In fact, he leaves no doubt in the mind of an ordinary listener that sentencing is in the hands of politicians. Whilst it is true that certain powers do, in regard to the release of prisoners on bail, lie with the executive, the sentencing is entirely in the hands of the judiciary. To create a suspicion that, when it comes to sentencing, politicians interfere with the judiciary, is clearly wrong. To base this argument on the fact that judges are appointed by the President, amounts to grasping at straws that do not even exist. If the presenter wished to prove his point, he would have had to give an example. No example was, however, provided. The argument, as broadcast by the radio station, that the executive has in the past released prisoners, is irrelevant: this has nothing to do with sentencing, and instead related to parole. The approach of the radio station, through its presenter for whom it must take responsibility, is irresponsible.

We are unanimously of the view that clause 12 of the Broadcasting Code has been contravened. The view expressed by the broadcaster is based on an entirely incorrect perception of the role of the judiciary, and reveals a gross lack of knowledge.

The complaint was, accordingly, upheld, and both the Respondent and the Complainant were requested to provide the Registrar with argument as to the sanction that should be imposed.
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DJ was correct, however he should have used the example of our president not yet having mastered the complexities of ethics vs corruption. Would you trust a government who thinks stealing is an African right with the death penalty?
 
I have a neighbour like Dawood, a retired, bored and grumpy man who walks around his yard all day looking for stuff to biatch about.
 
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