SKEWED LENS
TIM COHEN: Relentless media criticism of DA out of touch with reality
It’s hard to know if there is actually such a thing as a "commentariat" in SA; there are now so many voices and so many platforms. But assuming there is, I have to say the commentariat’s view of the DA really sucks. This is a hard thing to say. I’ve worked with many journalists of different stripes over the years. Some are friends, some foes, but generally speaking I respect and admire their analysis of the ANC, friend and foe alike. But when it comes to the DA, they just go to pieces. Why? Among the bizarre suggestions over the past weeks are that the DA should disband so that a more viable alternative to the ANC can rise, that DA leader Mmusi Maimane should resign, and that he should distance himself from the "neoright-wing" in his party. This intellectual slant oozes its way into the news coverage. City Press declared — in a front-page lead, no less — that the DA was on the verge of splitting, something that oddly hasn’t happened. The apotheosis was a news report about a month ag...
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