The CEO of New Age Media, Nazeem Howa, has suggested that a critical City Press report on the high level of Telkom advertising in his newspaper is motivated by racism.
On Sunday a City Press report noted that, according to the latest Nielsen Adex report (December 2011 to November 2012) Telkom - which is 40% government owned - " is the top advertiser in The New Age and invested R34 million in advertising in this period...Telkom's advertising comprises 32% of the newspaper's advertising income in the 12-month period. However, this is not necessarily all hard cash, and it could include the value of barter and trade agreements between the parastatal and the paper. Telkom is followed by national government (almost R17 million) and Transnet (R7 million)."
In his response, published on the New Age website later on Sunday, Howa argued that the report was misleading as it did not disclose the advertising City Press, "its sister newspapers and the Naspers group's broadcast channels" received from Telkom. He went on to argue that the City Press' reporting implied that the black managers of the parastatals currently purchasing advertising in The New Age were incompetent and corrupt. He stated:
The City Press headline and sub-head yesterday, "Telkom in a New Age" and "Government-friendly paper is funded by state-owned entities", are revealing. It's similar to the patronising and racist mindset of some opposition politicians who imply that the senior executives like Pinky Moholi at Telkom, Brian Molefe at Transnet, Brian Dames at Eskom and others who run parastatals do not know what they are doing and do not apply their minds when they spend their budgets. By implication, City Press is saying these CEOs and their management teams are incompetent and corrupt. In my view, City Press's story is part of an ongoing and sustained narrative that says since black people (read the ANC) have taken over the running of our government, major corporations and parastatals, those involved are inherently corrupt."
Howa's full article can be read here, and the City Press article he was responding to here.
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