Traditional media is under the spotlight again today. This, not long after our recent article discussing local traditional advertising agencies and their thirst for awards vs. actually getting their client’s message out and connecting with consumers (here).

A large number of you would have first read about Brandon Huntley, the 31 year old white man from Mowbray who was granted refugee status in Canada, on these pages (here). It was shortly after that article came out on 2oceansvibe, before it started hitting the front page of the Cape Times .

I was first alerted of the story by a 2oceansvibe reader, Holly, which is often the case with breaking stories on 2oceansvibe. Such is the nature and joy of this form of online media and, in particular, the 2oceansvibe community. Holly was naturally thanked at the bottom of that story. I used extracts from the original source of an article Holly forwarded me, the Ottawa Sun – including a link back to the same story on their website.

So the next day I noticed the same story had started to hit the front pages of the Cape Times. Fair enough, I thought, as I beamed with pride, knowing that I had published the story, including my own comments on the subject, before it hit the front page of the Cape Times. Pretty cool for a little non-traditional media “blogger” and certainly something 2oceansvibe has been building towards for the last seven years.

The thoughts and views of our readers were building some great social interaction, momentum and debate in the comments section under the article. Including a quote by “Halle,” a woman who was a friend or partner of the “refugee” in question. What a coup!

A traditional printing press

A night passed and the Cape Times ran with the story on the front page for the second day in a row, including an article entitled “I’ve told it like it is – Canadian asylum man.”

I started to receive more and more emails and text messages from 2oceansvibers that day, asking why there had been no mention of 2oceansvibe in the Cape Times, given it being used as a source. Surely not? I remember thinking to myself. I got a copy of the paper and checked it out. The title has since changed to “SA sucks, says crime refugee” and can be seen online here.

I noticed the following six paragraphs:

While several of his friends have posted messages of support on his Facebook wall, they are also vocal in their support of him on multiple blogs – in which one of Huntley’s Canadian friends claimed he had suffered deeply in order to stay in Canada.

According to “Halle”, who did not give her surname, Huntley worked longer than 12-hour days for low pay and “spent an entire Canadian winter with no heat in his basement apartment”.

“When you hear the passion in his voice when he speaks of SA, of the beautiful views, the fabulous weather, the ocean, the surf, the Springboks, the braais, his friends and family …

“He is not a man who hates his country. He hates that nothing is being done to right the situation.

“What pains me is the sadness in his eyes when he tells you of innocent people having their land taken away, being murdered, raped, babies tortured and left for dead, while the government turns a blind eye.

“What man in their right mind would want to have a life and raise a family in such uncertainty and fear?”

I went back to the comments section of my original article (here ) and found that very same quote. Now that’s quite a large chunk of an article to lift from another source and refer to only as “multiple blogs,” would you not agree? That’s like me writing about the story I got from the Ottawa Sun and referring to my source as “newspapers.”

I contacted Karyn Maughan, the journalist who wrote the portion of the Cape Times article in question and asked her who the source was and why she had not credited them.

Her reply: “It came from a local site called 2oceansvibe.
We didn’t credit the site because we were and are trying to get hold of “Halle” (who we suspect is Huntley’s ex or current girlfriend) and didn’t want to alert other media.”

Wow! I didn’t quite understand.. I have no experience working for a newspaper but can confirm that we (2oceansvibe) often credit the Cape Times and other mass media outlets, even if doing so will “alert other media.”

I reiterated the question, suggesting that her reply was not addressing the issue. I was told to “contact Sol Makgabutlane. He is our letters editor and will be able to deal with your complaint far more easily than I, as a journalist am able to do.”

I was, and still am, very confused. You see, in the blog world it’s a big deal and very much frowned upon if you purposefully don’t credit the source. Even E-TV news credited 2oceansvibe.com the other day – and that was on TV! I was chatting to a journalist friend who writes for South Africa’s biggest Sunday paper and she confirmed that it wasn’t just blogs, but also mainstream media that adhered to this code of conduct.

Is it just her that thinks so?

Our question today : Whilst blogs are making the effort of crediting traditional media outlets online, is it fair that they (the newspapers), well aware of their blog source, knowingly, purposefully and admittedly omit credit from the article?