A plague of pseudo-events

The curse of the press conference [View this email in your browser]( [Mail & Guardian]( [Mail & Guardian]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( Hi there, Any South African journalist will tell you that attending press conferences is the worst part of the job. There is the inconvenient drive to whatever unused hall was selected — worse for our friends in broadcasting who must lug around, and set up, heavy equipment. Then there’s the idle natter of reunited colleagues forced to endure stale coffee while they wait for the presser to start. By law all pressers must begin at least 30 minutes after the advertised time. When it does, the convening spokesperson will rattle off formal protocols with sincerity befitting a Nobel prize ceremony. Eventually, the VIP will take the podium and get down to business. For the duration of his or her monologue, we are at the mercy of an agenda. When question time does arrive, those still awake usually find their inquiries met with prevarication and a strong unwillingness to discuss matters critically. We generalise of course but few in the media would object to this characterisation. South African press conferences have their own frustrating proclivities, yet it's the inherent nature of the occasion that is of most concern. In his prophetic 1962 book, [The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-events in America]( Daniel J Boorstin introduced us to the titular concept of the “pseudo-event”. In a nutshell, these are events that exist for no other purpose other than to be reported on. They have been manufactured solely to produce recyclable noise — press conferences being the most obvious example. Think of the endless drivel we were subjected to during the hard lockdown. How Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma would rather [provide the hook for a house song about zol]( than talk openly about the matter. This brings us to the champion of the soundbite, Mr Stomach-In-Chest-Out himself. Police Minister Bheki Cele is a figure synonymous with the press conference. This has stopped being a laughing matter. The detrimental effects of pseudo-events have been driven home recently by the horrific events in Krugersdorp. As Cele has done his usual parade in front of the cameras, an enraged public has asked why it takes a tragedy to prompt any action. Why are longstanding issues so blatantly ignored until they make it to the front page? As you can see from the above graphic (done by the inimitable John McCann), these are the questions that have most irked us this week. We can’t promise to deliver all the answers but we can assure our readers that we will not allow ourselves to be sucked into the noise. Yours in solidarity, Luke Feltham [Subscribe now]( Enjoy The Ampersand? Share it with your friends [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( [Share]( [Share]( Copyright © 2022 Mail & Guardian Media LTD, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive communications from the Mail & Guardian either at our website or by taking out a print subscription. Our mailing address is: Mail & Guardian Media LTD 25 Owl St BraamfonteinJohannesburg, Gauteng 2001 South Africa [Add us to your address book]( Want to change which mails you receive from Mail & Guardian? [Update your preferences]( to tell us what you do and don't want to receive, or [unsubscribe](. *If you are a paying subscriber, we recommend updating your preferences rather than unsubscribing, as you may miss important information relating to your subscription.