In the past few years - ever since I was accused of selling out on journalism and crossing some weird ethical line to become a spin doctor for the great and the good - I've sat on a number of panel discussions where journalists have debated the "dangers" of spin as if it were a viral aberration of global warming.
I've addressed seminars on how to see the telltale signs of spin doctors, how to decipher the truth and avoid being "spun". I've even addressed a conference on "Confessions of a Spindoctor", where participants paid R12 000 a day to hear people like me own up to telling a journalist or two that the truth we'd like them to hear wasn't exactly the whole truth or nothing but the truth.
...I'm sure there must be a reason, but there seems to be a real shortage of panel discussions on journalistic ethics at the moment. Or a seminar on how to ensure integrity in the gathering, checking and reporting of information. Or panel discussions on why self-regulation of the media is a good/bad idea.
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