New Era board briefed on editor’s suspension

New Era Publication Corporation (NEPC) has accused suspended managing editor Johnathan Beukes of insubordination, refusal to carry out lawful instructions and bringing the company into disrepute, CEO Christof Maletsky told the board of directors in a memo.Beukes was suspended on 29 September and Maletsky has now delved into a series of events leading to the decision, which has drawn condemnation from the local union for journalists and the editors’ forum.In the memo written two weeks after his suspension, Maletsky accused Beukes of ignoring several demands for a change in how the newspaper reports issues – citing several news articles which he said contained opinions of the journalists who wrote them instead of simply sticking to news.“For some time now, I have been addressing my concerns as CEO and editor-in-chief of New Era about our professional conduct, in terms of writing, with the managing editor...” Maletsky wrote.Apart from stories being ‘contaminated’ with opinions, the CEO also said New Era has “become a newspaper of leaks, instead of authoritative information-sharing”.Negative newsMaletsky, himself a veteran journalist, added: “Our front page is now reserved for negative news only. Such negative news is mainly about government and public enterprises, as well as local and regional councils”.He said his instructions for the newspaper to carry positive human interest stories on the front page have been consistently ignored.He juxtaposed these stories with the mandate of the state-owned newspaper, which he said is to report about community-related issues, particularly those deemed important to rural Namibia; issues of ‘national interest’, and government-related matters concerning the community.The CEO charged that under Beukes’ stewardship, the newspaper ‘exaggerated’ news by using certain words and infusing authors’ opinions in the articles. This reflected badly on New Era and veered off the newspaper’s mandate, he told his principals.Citing specific examples, he said the newspaper reported that higher education minister Itah Kandjii-Murangi had been ‘captured’.“Instead of keeping to a straight report, we gave our own opinion,” he said.He also took issue with a report that said employees of the Namibia Press Agency (Nampa), who held a demonstration at work in August, were ‘gatvol’.About the peopleMaletsky further took issue with the headline ‘600 000 Namibians face food insecurity’, saying it was “coined to show negativity”.“It’s simply about the people, comrade,” Beukes allegedly responded when the CEO addressed him about it.The CEO also listed a story published earlier in the week Beukes was eventually suspended, with a headline ‘Uproar over Geingob’s genocide remarks’, saying it contained the author’s opinions.He cited stories about allegations of sexual abuse at The Namibian and ‘NamRa in essential services storm’, saying while the two organisations denied the allegations, New Era proceeded to report in a “way that it looks real”.Last strawThe last straw was an editorial published on 29 September, questioning the transparency of the country’s judiciary.Maletsky accused Beukes of presenting the editorial “as if it is the official viewpoint of the corporation [NEPC]”.He said under Beukes, New Era “had taken so-called editorial independence too far”.“I also informed him that going forward, I want to be briefed on every front page article we plan to publish,” Maletsky wrote.He said Beukes was suspended because of fear that he would continue to ignore instructions on how the newspaper must present news. A disciplinary hearing against him is in the works, the company added.No commentThe Namibia Media Professionals Union (Nampu) alleged that Beukes was suspended on instruction of figureheads in the information ministry, a claim staunchly denied by executive director Audrin Mathe.“We did not know about this until [it was in the papers],” he reiterated yesterday.Information minister Peya Mushelenga, at a Cabinet briefing a week ago, also said the accusation was devoid of any truth.Beukes has maintained his silence regarding his suspension so far, saying he is not allowed to comment on company matters in the media.

New Era board briefed on editor’s suspension

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-20

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New Era board briefed on editor’s suspension

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-20

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