Writer's Block: Under Protest
I boycotted The Citizen newspaper, because it was financed by taxpayers' money to promote government propaganda.
Back in 1974 most of the English newspapers in South Africa were centre-right, which from the government's point of view was "left". That just goes to show that talk of "left" and "right" in politics (and just about everything else) gives you a better idea of the speakers point of view than that of whatever the speaker is describing.
So the government backed a new newspaper, The Citizen, to plug the current politically correct line. I reckoned that since I had already paid for it with my taxes, they ought to give it to me free, and refused to buy it on principle. I still don't buy it, though the ownership has changed since then.
It achieved its object when the main opposition paper, which did some good investigative journalism on stuff the government tried to hide, went belly up in 1985 -- that was The Rand Daily Mail.
The main aim was to win English-speaking voters for the National Party. But ironically enough, it had it's biggest readership among blacks, who in those days didn't have the vote. I asked one black friend why he bought it, and he said it was so he could see what the other side were thinking, but as it was the only paper he bought, I thought he was getting a pretty one-sided picture.
But the reason most black people bought it was because of its horseracing section -- that was the only legal form of gambling back then.
Back in 1974 most of the English newspapers in South Africa were centre-right, which from the government's point of view was "left". That just goes to show that talk of "left" and "right" in politics (and just about everything else) gives you a better idea of the speakers point of view than that of whatever the speaker is describing.
So the government backed a new newspaper, The Citizen, to plug the current politically correct line. I reckoned that since I had already paid for it with my taxes, they ought to give it to me free, and refused to buy it on principle. I still don't buy it, though the ownership has changed since then.
It achieved its object when the main opposition paper, which did some good investigative journalism on stuff the government tried to hide, went belly up in 1985 -- that was The Rand Daily Mail.
The main aim was to win English-speaking voters for the National Party. But ironically enough, it had it's biggest readership among blacks, who in those days didn't have the vote. I asked one black friend why he bought it, and he said it was so he could see what the other side were thinking, but as it was the only paper he bought, I thought he was getting a pretty one-sided picture.
But the reason most black people bought it was because of its horseracing section -- that was the only legal form of gambling back then.