ANN CROTTY: Picking a fight and picking a leader
Fourth estate finds it easier to trash politicians than promote a good candidate
It’s evidently incumbent upon journalists to vehemently dislike their political leaders and to express this dislike not just occasionally and with some circumspection, but frequently and with considerable vitriol.
Well, at least it’s incumbent upon journalists who reside in robust democracies. Journalists in, let’s say China or many Middle Eastern countries, might not feel the same obligation to put the boot into their leaders. Even President Xi Jinping’s draconian decision to lock up tens of millions of citizens for weeks on end to protect them from the latest Covid strain didn’t elicit the slightest rebuke from Chinese journalists. Compare that with SA, where the obligation to wear a mask generated screeds of indignation from local commentators...
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