PressEthic

Former South African President P.W. Botha died on Tuesday and the article on CNN.com is the second about his death. The first article simply eluded to his apartheid past and the fact that he died. The headline today read, "Mandela's Botha Tribute comes with a 'but'". This headline is misleading because after reading the article you realize Mandela said nothing negative about Botha like the headline implies. The headline makes it sound as though Mandela condemmed the former President after his death- which he did not. Many Soutn Africans hate Botha because he partly created the apartheid in South Africa and is responsible for jailing Mandela for 27 years. I think the headline is more of the writer's opinion of the most logical situation. One would think that Mandela would have something negative to say about Botha but after reading the article you discover he does not. Besides, even if he did have something negative to say I don't see why it would be news worthy. I am actually surprised Mandela didn't have anything negatively to say- which is exactly what the headline leads one to believe.