Which is what you shouldn't do, you should have a comment from everyone on the topic, you can't just post full comment of one.
This is not possible, nor is it required by the press code in this specific context.
While there are definitely instances where one must ask for comment from all parties before going to print, that does not apply in this specific case.
You've also seen how many respondents Telkom cited in its papers. It is unreasonable to expect any media outlet to ask every single one of them for comment before going to print with a press release from one of them.
Just like it is fruitless to expect a journalist to go and ask for comment from Vodacom, MTN, ICASA, and others before running the story that Telkom is taking ICASA to court, it is also not practical or necessary to expect a journalist to wait for comment that might never come before running ICASA's response to said legal challenge.
In this case, my duty was to relay the news as quickly and accurately as possible, then follow-up. I would not be serving our readers properly if I waited days for comment before reporting ICASA's statement.
You might not like the headline, but we offer the benefit of strong headlines to Telkom too:
Telkom has launched a legal challenge against ICASA’s plans to auction valuable radio frequency spectrum that is to be used for 4G and 5G networks in South Africa.
mybroadband.co.za
FWIW I have followed up. Even though the operators have mostly declined to comment because the matter is before court, you can expect a follow-up article soon. (Update: MTN has issued a press release - they are opposing Telkom's application.)
In this matter, MyBB should be supporting Telkom, it doesn't make sense why you are supporting Vodacom and MTN.
You can't argue that we're not neutral and then say we need to support Telkom.
Based on that statement, is it not possible that you are seeing balanced reporting as biased because to you "balanced" or "fair" or "reasonable" would mean supporting Telkom?
ICASA is trying to license spectrum it doesn't have, trying to force large bids that Telkom and any other operator will not be able to bid, since it can't handle a deposit of a few billion rand with nothing to show for it besides a promise for a process that has previously shown to be flawed, constant digital migration failure for over a decade.
I would love to have this discussion with you. But based on the way you've approached this I unfortunately can't assume good faith, without which a constructive discussion/debate is not possible
In the press code of ethics:
This is a misunderstanding/misinterpretation of the press code.
The only reason that MyBB would support Vodacom in this is due to the sponsorship, I also see nothing in your post mentioning that, and you have failed in each of your articles on the matter to state it.
This is cherry-picking and assuming the conclusion in your premise ("When did you stop beating your wife?").
Aside from the fact that last I checked all the major operators advertise with us and not only Vodacom, the reporting is balanced.
Even if you accept the evidence as complete (which it isn't), concluding that we must be supporting Vodacom is fallacious. The evidence supports multiple conclusions, with no justification given for why they weren't equally likely.
There are valid legal and possibly technical reasons to support delaying the auction. Conversely, there are also good reasons to push for the auction to be held in March. Hopefully they figure out a solution this time.
