The Apology Sunday World Should Have Published
Definitively, an apology is “a regretful acknowledgement of an offence or failure.” Sunday World was ordered by the press obudsman to issue an apology to Nampree Madikizela as it relates to their offensive article, “Rape accuser apologises to Euphonik – ‘I am sorry for what I did to you and DJ Fresh, I’m scared’”.
Unfortunately the article they posted as an apology was a far cry from a regretful acknowledgement of an offence or failure. As such, in response to what they published, we’ve penned what we believe should have published in its stead.
The apology that should have been published could have read like this…
As a newspaper, our readers rely on Sunday World to supply them with news. A cornerstone of journalism is to report accurately and ethically.
In the (insert date here) edition of Sunday World, we published a story titled (insert here) written by (insert name here). The story, however, was not researched, written or published with attention to the aforementioned cornerstones of journalism, accuracy or ethicality. It created doubt and disparaged Nampree, worse during an ongoing criminal investigation. For this, we not only failed our readers, but we disenfranchised Nampree. For this, more specifically, our callousness and poor journalism, we apologize to Nampree and those who relate to her experience. We understand that to discredit a person who has opened a case of sexual assault communicates to the public that sharing their experience and/or seeking justice is to open themselves up to public scrutiny and vitriol. Additionally, for this reason, we would like to apologize to our readers and to the women who attempt to seek justice in regards to their experience of gender-based violence.
While it should not be that learning experiences are received through the disenfranchisement of others, we commit to upholding greater standards in reporting on matters related to abuse. More so, we re-commit ourselves to reporting accurately and ethically.