Procedure should you not be happy about what's been published
Firstly - if you want an article to be removed in terms of the "Right to be Forgotten" principle, visit our page dealing with the guidelines and procedures by clicking here.
Step 1: Contact the Editor
The Zoutpansberger is a small local content provider with very few staff members. It's not a huge corporate with secretaries and a board of directors. If you have a problem we would rather hear from you directly and there is an open channel to the journalists and the editor.
For the contact details, click here.
In most cases readers complain about things that can easily be fixed, i.e. wrong names at pictures, misspelling of names or minor mistakes in articles. In such cases we try and make amends (because we are very aware that we're far from perfect) and we make the changes. Online changes are easy, and we simply add a note atthe bottom saying that changes were made. In the printed editions, if the situation warrants it, we will run a correction in the next edition.
But we can't always please everyone, so we are realistic to the fact that people may not be content with the answers we provide. In some cases people are simply unreasonable in their demands, but it may also be that we have not done our best to uphold journalistic standards.
If you believe this is the case, a good start would be to first have a thorough look at the Press Code which we subscribe to. You can find a link to the code here.
If you then feel that the matter should be pursued, you can approach the Press Ombudsman
Step 2 - Contact the Press Ombudsman
The South African Press Council is a voluntary institution trying to resolve issues between publishers and members of the public.
According to the Press Council's website, their function is the following:
"The Press Council, the Press Ombud and the Appeals Panel are an independent co-regulatory mechanism set up by the print and online media to provide impartial, expeditious and cost-effective adjudication to settle disputes between newspapers, magazines and online publications, on the one hand, and members of the public, on the other, over the editorial content of publications.
The mechanism is based on two pillars: a commitment to freedom of expression, including freedom of the media, and to high standards in journalistic ethics and practice.
The Council has adopted the South African Press Code to guide journalists in their daily practice of gathering and distributing news and opinion and to guide the Press Ombud and the Appeals Panel to reach decisions on complaints from the public. Member publications subscribe to the Press Council's Code of Ethics and Conduct for SA Print and Online Media.
The Council is the custodian of this Code and may amend it from time to time. The print and online media industry believes in independent co-regulation involving exclusively representatives of the media and representatives of the public because it is the only way that the rights of freedom of expression and freedom of the press and other media guaranteed in the Constitution of the Republic can be truly exercised. Any other form of regulation would threaten the independence of the media and freedom of expression."
Details aboutthe complaints procedure can be found here: