Ideally, journalists should go beyond parroting press releases. As Bertha Henson, a former mainstream media journalist who critically examines the national broadsheet on her Facebook page on a daily basis, put it:-
…You can write it better than the newsmaker. But it seems journalists want to stick to what they said.
This advice is arguably applicable in at least 2 situations.
The first is where journalists fail to distill the double-speak and jargon of newsmakers, as was the case in the post that Bertha was referring to. As a first step, it would be helpful to readers if journalist cut to the chase. This can be said to be the primary level of “legwork” expected of members of the fourth estate.
The second, and more important one, is to go beyond what the newsmakers are telling you. What are they not telling you? If it is of public interest, or if the omission is curious, journalist should put these questions to them. A journalist’s primary duty is to the reader, not the newsmaker.
The following case study is largely inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but it is interesting to see the striking differences between how the rest of the world reports a story, and how the Straits Times reports a story.
Who is Salman Butt?
Salman Butt is a former captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He made his debut for Pakistan in September 2003 in a match against Bangladesh. In July 2010, he was appointed as captain of the Pakistan test squad. In his first outing as captain, he led Pakistan to victory over Australia. Through the years, he played 135 times for the national team.
However, not long after his appointment as captain, he was implicated for his involvement in a high-profile spot-fixing scandal.
The Tribunal, headed by Mr Michael Beloff, QC, following a six-day hearing in Qatar had imposed a sanction of 10 years on Salman Butt (of which the final five years were suspended on specified conditions). The sanctions were backdated to commence on 2 September 2010 (the date on which he was initially charged and provisionally suspended).
Salman’s ban expired at midnight on 1 September 2015
If the comments on Salman’s Instagram page are anything to go by, it appears that Salman’s scandal is still fresh in the minds of many.
Salman’s Appointment as Singapore Coach
On 22 May 2022, it was reported that Salman Butt was appointed as a consulting head coach for the Singapore cricket team for the 2022 season. He will be reportedly assisted by former Pakistan women’s team coach Jamal Hussain.
Saad Khan Janjua, the Chief Executive of the Singapore Cricket Association, was quoted by the Straits Times to have said that Salman would “bring value and show the path forward for our players to lift their confidence.” It was also reported by Sportstar that the SCA said that the coach will bring a wealth of experience to the side.
How International Media reported the story
We begin with AFP’s headlines, which read “Disgraced ex-Pakistan captain Salman Butt gets Singapore job”
France24, which republished AFP’s story, carried the same headline.
The AFP story made mention of the spot-fixing scandal.
Closer to home, the South China Morning Post, in a story about Hong Kong’s cricket team, made mention of Singapore’s appointment of the “disgraced” coach
Many other news outlets also made mention of Salman’s disgraced past in their headline, or in the sub-heading.
How Singapore reported the story
The Straits Times, the crown jewel of the taxpayer funded SPH Media Trust, made 0 mention of Salman Butt’s ban and involvement in the spot-fixing scandal that made international headlines.
The report mentioned how he stopped playing for the Pakistan national team in 2010. It even mentioned how Salman Butt was named as the 12th man in the ICC World ODI Team of the Year in 2008 but made no mention about the elephant in the room
Some in the comments section were not impressed by Salman’s appointment.
Giving the reader the full picture
The point here that we’re making is not that Salman’s past mistakes should continue to determine or plague his future, but that the SCA and ST should address the issue squarely. If it feels that Salman has been rehabilitated and that the mistake was, for example, out of character, then say so.
For comparison, on 18 May 2022, the Straits Times reported the fact that a man who pleaded guilty to working without a valid work pass was married to “Singaporean activist Kirsten Han”. It is arguable that this fact bears little, if any, relevance to the story. Nevertheless, the journalist and her editors exercised discretion to include this factoid to, presumably, keep their readers fully informed.
At the outset, we mentioned that a journalist’s primary duty is to the reader, not the newsmaker. In line with this duty, it is desirable that when it comes to pieces other than opinion pieces, that the reader be given a full picture and as much salient facts as possible.
To this end, the Straits Times’ report on the appointment of Salman Butt, falls short.
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