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Co-hosts of eNCA’s The South African Morning show, Jane Dutton and Xoli Mngambi, will air again at 06:00 on Monday, the channel announced Saturday.
On Tuesday, Mngambi and Dutton issued an on-air apology for comments made during a broadcast the previous day that the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, had undermined the authority of President Cyril Ramaphosa by deciding to continue banning the sale of tobacco during Level 4 of the national Covid-19 blockade.
Mngambi and Dutton have not been on the air since Tuesday morning, but eNCA insisted they were not suspended, News24 reported Thursday.
In a statement released Saturday, eNCA MD Norman Ndivhuho Munzhelele said the organization “appreciates how the views expressed by news anchors on Monday … could have created a general public conjecture.”
Review process
“As such, an internal review process was conducted in accordance with the company’s internal policies. The review involved obtaining clarity on the subsequent opinion and apology and whether editorial diligence had been exercised. Through this process, our Outreach and editorial teams identified the need to reaffirm our editorial guidelines and policies. “
Munzhelele added that the station took exception and refrained from censorship.
“There has been a lot of speculation on this issue. Xoli and Jane confirmed that they had not been suspended at any stage during the review process,” said Munzhelele.
Fair
Dutton added that the compromise had been fair. Mngambi said the apology was initiated by the presenters and not by management.
The South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) said on Friday it was concerned about developments at eNCA after the couple apologized for expressing their views on the government’s continued smoking ban.
“Sanef understands that, a few months ago, eNCA management introduced a requirement for their presenters to be more stubborn and open their shows on social and political issues. So it appears that when Mngambi and Dutton issued their comments, they were not violating any internal Policy . “
Munzhelele said the periodic review of policies was “important to the operation and success of any organization and even more so in a news context as our environment is constantly changing.”
“We find this commitment to be productive and successful.”
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