Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) the publishers of NewsDay have suspended Editor Constantine Chimakure with immediate effect following the publication this week of two stories which did not conform to set ethical standards.
Report by Staff Reporter
NewsDay on Wednesday and Thursday carried stories under headlines, Mbeki speaks on Zim polls, chaotic land reform, and Mugabe offers Tsvangirai VP Post, which have both been denied by MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai and former South Africa President Thabo Mbeki.
Mbeki’s office on Thursday issued a statement setting the record straight following the publication of the article. The statement said statements attributed to Mbeki were “intended to communicate falsehoods to achieve particular political outcomes”.
Meanwhile, Tsvangirai yesterday also denied that President Mugabe had extended an invitation to him to become Vice-President in the new government.
“We feel the stories fell short of the basic journalistic standards set in our ethics guidelines; How we put accuracy to the test, the AMH Code of Ethics and the AMH Pledge whose tenets are fundamental to our operations,” said AHM editor-in-Chief Vincent Kahiya.
The suspension is being effected to facilitate investigations into the ethical infractions.
AMH will appoint an investigator to probe the acts of misconduct and in the event that he/she concludes Chimakure has a case to answer, the editor will be charged in terms of the AMH Code.
