No news is good news for South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma
In an address to journalism students visiting Parliament from Tshwane University of Technology, South African President Jacob Zuma bemoaned the “overly negative” image of the country portrayed in the media, suggesting it deterred foreign investment and painted a stay-away image. Citing a trip to Mexico as deputy president, he lauded the “patriotic reporting” that kept bad news out of the country’s press. What President Zuma failed to acknowledge is that the Mexican media has been under constant violent attack for its attempts to cover the ongoing consequences of the “War on Drugs”, and that the silence he so praised is a desperate sign of the country’s democratic failings.