NewsTime | David Bullard

A mosquito buzzing in the dark*

David Bullard — Sat, 4 Sep 2010 22:00:00 GMT

Scum always rises to the top. Look at any polluted river and the really nasty stuff is floating on the surface. It's much the same with the newspaper industry it seems. Last Wednesday I was in court for yet another hearing in the protracted battle with AVUSA over my wrongful dismissal over two years ago. We haven't even got down to the nitty gritty ...

Welcome to the South African Patriotic Alliance.....the right political choice.

David Bullard — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 22:00:00 GMT

I've just come back from the national convention of the South African Patriotic Alliance (SAPA) where, surprise, I was voted party leader. This didn't involve the sort of shenanigans one associates with ANC Youth League votes I'm happy to say. Since I am, thus far, the only party member, it wasn't too difficult to get elected leader. But I imagine ...

Meeting the teacher's pay demands won't make any difference.

David Bullard — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 22:00:00 GMT

Most people lead dull and hopeless lives. They hate their jobs and resent the salaries they are paid. They see their bosses awarding themselves huge bonuses, often for doing a mediocre job, and know that they will never get anywhere near the feeding trough. Much of their monthly salary goes towards paying off their ever rising debts and what is left ...

Why newspaper editors pose a greater threat to freedom of speech than the ANC

David Bullard — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 22:00:00 GMT

I decided to apply to join SANEF in early July. So I Googled them and I almost became a member of the South African National Equestrian Federation. I Googled again and found the South African National Editor's Forum a little lower down the page so went onto their website to find out what they are all about. According to their constitution one of the ...

SA media under threat....or so they claim.

David Bullard — Sat, 7 Aug 2010 22:00:00 GMT

If we are to believe the South African media we are all about to lose the personal freedoms we have fought so hard for as the ANC clamp down on journalists and put their size twelve boots into freedom of speech. Last week's arrest of a Sunday Times journalist is just a foretaste of what is to come. Motoring journos who have hung onto a long term test ...

Why can't �The New Age� honchos just tell it like it is?

David Bullard — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 22:00:00 GMT

You learn very quickly in the spiteful world of journalism that, just because fellow hacks have enjoyed your bountiful hospitality, you mustn't expect them to say nice things about you once the hangover has worn off. This harsh reality may have come as something of a shock to the honchos at The New Age (TNA). Barely 24 hours after the lavish launch ...

Why a media tribunal is a good idea

David Bullard — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 19:52:00 GMT

My former editor at the Sunday Times, the bibulous Mondli Makhanya, has frequently bragged over a long liquid lunch that his position as an opinion former puts him above the law. His theory is that a large newspaper is so mighty that nobody would dare mess with the editor. And to an extent he is right. I have been involved in litigation with AVUSA, ...

Oh the joy of not having to kiss arse for a living

David Bullard — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 15:51:00 GMT

Last week, Shelagh Foster, the editor of the website www.themediaonline.co.za wrote a rather positive piece on NewsTime. Rather too positive for some of her readers who leapt in to accuse her ...

The real dark clouds hanging over SA journalism.

David Bullard — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 17:54:00 GMT

The bouffant haired Caxton Professor of Journalism and Media Studies, Anton Harber, was in wailing and breast beating mode when he wrote his column in Business Day last week. �The darkest of clouds hangs over South African journalism this week� he began. Whatever can have happened I wondered. Has the dipsomaniac former editor of The Sunday Times ...

Isn't it nice and quiet without Julius Malema?

David Bullard — Sat, 3 Jul 2010 19:32:00 GMT

Remember the countdown to the Fifa World Cup? 1000 days to go, 400 days to go, 30 days to go etc etc and then it was suddenly upon us before you could say goal line technology. Well, there's a new countdown now and it's this....seven days until politicians once again make it onto the front pages of the newspapers and make our lives miserable once again. ...