One of the stresses of being a journalist at a daily publication is that every day, you must present a diary, where you indicate what stories you intend to work on.
Today, however, I did not have that stress because I had a story to cover, which was an exclusive event hosted by Nedbank, themed In conversation with Mark Rose - Executive Head: Strategy and New Business Development at Nedbank Commercial Banking.
Originally, my content editor, Philippa Larkin, had been invited, but had declined and asked on Friday that I attend to represent Business Report instead. Both she and I were told that this was no problem and I was welcome.
I was granted accreditation, and I was told: "We look forward to seeing you later".
So I was set, but to my surprise, I received a call this morning, on the day of the lunch, from the woman I was corresponding with regarding the event, basically telling me not to attend the event.
The woman informed me that her team decided that the event was “not suitable for me to cover”.
They would like to offer me a one-on-one interview with Rose instead, asking me when I would be available for an interview.
Just to be clear, I proceeded to ask if I shouldn't attend the event, and she said, “yes”.
However, I relayed back to her that the event was suitable as my editor had assigned it to me.
Now, this exchange left me confused, and it seemed strange. I called and informed my editor.
How does Nedbank know it was unsuitable?
I did my research, and I believe I was ready for the event.
In my mind, only Nedbank’s preferred journalists are welcomed.
Isn’t this controlling the narrative and censorship?
This response raised more questions than answers.
During the accreditation process, I had to give my details.
Why did they call me on the day of the event?
They could have offered the one on one on email.
Why did they tell me that the event was unsuitable for me to cover?
This left me wondering if it is because I work for a publication affiliated with the Sekunjalo Group.
Last week, I reported that the Competition Tribunal granted the Sekunjalo Group interim relief, preventing three banks from closing their bank accounts and ordering five others to reopen bank accounts that have already been closed.
Read more here: Justice served: Sekunjalo wins another round against the banks
Nedbank is one of the banks I reported on. The story was carried on page one of the Sunday Independent on Sunday.
As a reporter working for Business Report, the mandate has always been to report fair, factual and accurate stories.
Instead of banking on a good story, I was left with a strange situation on an uneven playing field with other publications.
The JSE and corporate news is about transparency and full disclosure.
Nedbank, through its actions, played a bad hand today, and this is not in the public interest.
BUSINESS REPORT