LETTER: FM must serve readers in an unbiased way

I refer to your editorial “US Election: Silence is for Lambs” (October 31-November 6) and the article “Make Africa Great Again” (Features, November 14-20).

The FM has always added value by providing unbiased and accurate news that I could rely on to make decisions in this fast-paced world. It was with much dismay that I read the endorsement of a candidate in an election in a foreign country. What was the purpose behind such a statement?

I decided to let this anomaly slide until after the election and figured that maybe it was a moment of journalistic weakness and that the FM would return to its high level of factual, unbiased reporting. However, the reporting in the post-election edition was filled with emotional discourse about the person elected by US citizens.

This bias against Donald Trump and his agenda will cloud the judgment of the FM editorial team when reporting on the impact of the actual decisions made by the incoming US administration relative to South Africa.

I am proudly South African and have a choice of my leadership in South Africa. When it comes to other countries, their leadership is their choice (in democracies like the US). We need to respect that and unemotionally assess the impact of their choice on our environment.

I have been very disappointed with the lack of balance when reviewing the impact of the US elections and incoming administration on my business in South Africa. I implore the FM to look beyond your bias. Please provide us, your readers, with a balanced, unemotional view of US politics and the impact it will have on our lives as South Africans.

We have four years of this incoming US administration. For the good of our country, let’s look for ways to maximise the positives in this US administration and to grow our economy, rather than spending four years trying to justify why the “wrong” candidate was chosen in an election that was out of our control.

Brad Gelbart
Joburg 

The FM welcomes concise letters from readers. They can be sent to fmmail@fm.co.za