PEN SA Welcomes Press Ombudsman’s Ruling on Alide Dasnois Case
02 Aug 2016
PEN SA welcomes the Press Ombudsman’s ruling that several Independent Media titles need to apologise for their reporting of the settlement with former Cape Times editor Alide Dasnois. PEN South Africa expressed its alarm at Independent Media’s treatment of Dasnois when she was initially dismissed and has noted its ongoing actions against her with dismay.
Marianne Merten has written about the ruling and the events leading up to it on Daily Maverick:
The Press Ombudsman on Monday ordered several Independent Media newspaper titles to apologise for their reporting of the settlement with former Cape Times editor Alide Dasnois. It’s the latest twist in the saga which started after the Cape Times published a wrap-around on Nelson Mandela’s death, and a newspaper front page on a Public Protector’s report on an R800 million fishing vessel management deal involving Sekunjalo, a company linked to Independent Media. Dasnois was sacked by mid-2014, but approached the Labour Court, where a joint statement in which the company withdrew allegations of racism against her was part of an out-of-court settlement just before the hearing in early May 2016.