STAFF REPORTER

In a new blog posted today, Jewish Report’s online editor Ant Katz (pictured left) chooses to re-use the headline so beautifully coined in last week’s Mail & Guardian by the newspaper’s respected ombudsman, Franz Krüger, whose piece ran under the strapline: “The biggest challenge of an online presence is that material on the web remains there forever”.

“How true this is – and, as it turned out, if one looks at the M&G’s Online version of this self-same op-ed, it now contains a footnote,” writes Ant Katz, “which notes that the reader is seeing an ‘updated version’ of the print article.”

The footnote reads: “The name of the reader who shared the name of a government official was removed from the original version of this column, at his request.”

RIGHT: Franz Krüger

That’s all very well, writes Katz, “but, as Krüger’s headline so correctly stated, a Google-search of “The perpetuity of online journalism” resulted in “about 63 500 results” (in 0,52 seconds) – many of which contain the name of the person,” whom Katz allows their desired anonymity.

“Franz Krüger’s point, published on December 19, 2014, is well-founded, therefore, as neither he nor the M&G can deal with the proliferation that online journalism has once it starts spreading. Krüger’s cautionary note applies as much to the social media space as it does to websites and other digital content. A large proportion of the 63 500 web-places that carried his own piece would have included blogs and all social media platforms monitored by Google Search.”

Ant’s in your Pants: MORE BLOGS BY ANT KATZ

Take the case of the Jewish Report

Katz continues: “Just days prior to Krüger’s piece being published, on December 15, the SA Jewish Report published: TUTU VS REICH MATTER SETTLED WITH AN APOLOGY. By December 19, the day Krüger’s ‘The perpetuity of online journalism’ was published, the Jewish Report story had already appeared on IOL.co.za – as well as 68 400 other web-spaces!

“The matter pertained to an op-ed piece by rightwing community leader Leon Reich that had been published on September 10 on this website. In Reich’s op-ed, he referred to Archbishop Desmond Tutu in a disparaging manner in response to an August protest march in Cape Town when Tutu urged Israel’s leaders to turn away from policies that humiliate and undermine Palestinians,” notes Katz.

LEFT: Leon Reich

Reich’s op-ed was subsequently taken down by the Jewish Report website – but the cat was out of the bag and it was ultimately quoted, in many places in full, on Internet pages worldwide. The proliferation of Reich’s article has reached over two million web pages and continues to grow strongly as world Jewish media do not share the “hands-off Tutu” approach when he slates Israel and supports her enemies.

Of course, many of the places that the article appears are pro-Palestinian as well – as “Arch” is a well-known fighter for the cause of the US-based NGO, BDS, and other pro-Palestinian causes – even to the extent of calling for cutting ties with Israel despite PA President Mahmoud Abbas telling the world not to do so.

Tutu said: “I accept the apology (from Reich) and consider the matter closed.” Tutu’s lawyer Jonathan Mort confirmed that he had received Reich’s written apology last month and considered the matter closed.

READ THE FULL BLOG BY CLICKING BELOW:
 ANT KATZ’ ‘The perpetuity of online journalism’