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The BCCSA has dismissed claims against an eNCA reporter.
- The BCCSA dismissed the complaints against eNCA and Lindsay Dentlinger about the mask saga.
- Dentlinger asked a black politician to wear a mask during an interview, but allegedly did not do the same when he interviewed a white politician.
- The BCCSA found that there was no indication that Dentlinger’s application defended racial bias.
The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) dismissed complaints against eNCA and its reporter, Lindsay Dentlinger, in relation to the mask saga.
Dentlinger was accused of displaying racial prejudice after video clips of her interviews appeared outside Parliament during the budget speech.
News24 previously reported that it had interviewed FF Plus frontman Pieter Groenewald, who was not wearing a mask. When he turned to interview UDM vice president Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, he asked him to keep the mask on.
Dentlinger has denied the claims, while his employer, eNCA, said the inconsistent behavior regarding Covid-19 protocols during live interviews was not racially motivated.
FACT CHECK | ENCA’s Lindsay Dentlinger: We analyzed the video that caused racist protests and 24 other interviews
It was also reported that the South African Human Rights Commission would be investigating the incident. The BCCSA received dozens of complaints, but only 11 of the complaints met the necessary criteria.
One of the complainants was the UDM.
In a statement on Friday, eNCA announced that it had received the BCCSA ruling and that the complaints had been dismissed.
According to eNCA, the BCCSA found:
- There was no indication of the journalist’s request to Kwankwa to keep his mask on racially-motivated hatred against blacks.
- While it was clear that the broadcast caused an offense, as evidenced by the complaints to the BCCSA, the broadcaster did not violate clause 10.3 of the code (defends hatred based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion and that constitutes an incitement to cause harm.)
- The BCCSA acknowledges past injustices, which have led to sensitivity to issues involving race, but the facts of this matter do not justify an inference from the anti-black hate defense.
- After considering all the facts, eNCA was found not to be in violation of the code. Therefore, complaints are not accepted.
Reacting to the findings, eNCA Managing Director Norman Munzhelele said that as a responsible broadcaster, eNCA abides by the BCCSA code of conduct and is satisfied with the ruling.
“eNCA understands how our reporter’s coverage created a space for speculation from the general public and regrets that her behavior was perceived as racist and offended viewers,” Munzhelele said.
“However, we reiterate that our internal investigation found, as did the BCCSA, that his conduct was not racially motivated. We remain committed to providing fair and balanced news, regardless of race, color or creed.”
