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Reporter Lindsay Dentlinger was conducting interviews during the budget speech at the time of the incident.
Images of Lubabalo Lesolle / Gallo
- ENCA Reporter Lindsay Dentlinger has apologized for the masks debacle.
- He claimed that he was not racist as many claimed.
- Dentlinger promised to give eNCA space to complete its investigation.
ENCA reporter Lindsay Dentlinger apologized for the disrespect caused by the masks frenzy.
Dentlinger has been in the news after being accused of being a racist.
She was accused of interviewing white people without masks while asking black people to wear one.
Dentlinger has disputed the claims.
“I fully acknowledge the outrage and apologize for the disrespect it has caused to people who don’t deserve to be dragged into this.”
He said he would give his employer space to conclude the investigation into the matter.
She said:
This debate has been based on the premise that I am white because I am perceived as white. Should my apology change anyway if we correct the facts before I can apologize?
“I felt very bad for how this is perceived and for what the country believes is a true reflection of who I am as a journalist. I recognize how it is portrayed. I am portrayed as not speaking to any black person unless I am wearing a mask. . “
READ | eNCA says the fact that Lindsay Dentlinger did not ask the interviewee to wear a mask was not racist
Dentlinger claimed that the incidents were not isolated and said this happened between October 2020 and last week, in different locations.
“People don’t want to hear that it was an oversight for me not to ask [FF Plus leader Pieter] Groenewald did not wear a mask. It was my first interview. Things are working differently in this time of Covid-19.
“Normally, I would have producers with me who would catch the interviewees and make sure they are prepared for the broadcast. Groenewald did not have a mask. [him in person] before you start interviewing him.
“My instinct is to ask precise questions and get answers that viewers want to hear. My first instinct was not to check or think that he wasn’t wearing his mask,” she said.
“Was I wrong not to follow company policy at the time? Yes, I did. When I turned around [UDM MP Nqabayomzi] Kwankwa was coming down the steps wearing his mask and that prompted me to ask him to [keep on] wearing his mask. I was first acting as a journalist. “
Dentlinger added that he did not ask Kwankwa to wear a mask due to the color of his skin.
“I acknowledge the outrage and called Kwankwa and [IFP MP Mkhuleko] Hlengwa and apologized to them. I didn’t mean to disrespect them. I have been called upon to acknowledge my unconscious bias. What about the unconscious bias of the people who have based all this fury on the fact that they perceived that I [be] white and therefore acted in a racist manner.
“The bias goes all the way around. I fully acknowledge that it is outrageous and the outrage it has caused and what it looked like,” he said.
ENCA Managing Director Norman Munzhelele said the company did not exist in a vacuum, but existed in a society and had to contribute to the construction of this country.
“We had to look at all the facts and be able to make a determination. We are not on the defensive. We are accountable to the people and to our audience. The statement [issued earlier] could have been better. We could have completed our investigation faster and issued a statement.
“I take responsibility. It is a lesson and we will do better next time. It is a pity that Sanef did not call me to discuss this issue. I will contact Sanef and have a discussion about what happened there,” added Munzhelele .
Meanwhile, UDM is taking the matter to the South African Human Rights Commission and IFP has refused to be interviewed by eNCA and has raised the matter with the SA Broadcast Complaints Commission.
Members of the ANC are expected to protest outside the eNCA offices on Wednesday.
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