David Bullard
Encyclopedia
David Bullard is a British-born and South Africa
n naturalized columnist, author and celebrity public speaker known for his controversial satire.
before emigrating to South Africa in 1981.
In South Africa he continued his career in financial services before starting a column entitled "Out to Lunch" for the Business Times section of The Sunday Times
newspaper in 1994. It was thought to be one of the most widely read columns published in the country, at least in part because of Bullard's habit of insulting and infuriating the rich and famous.
In May 2007 Bullard caused a storm in the South African blogosphere by describing blogging as the "air guitars of journalism... cobbled together by people who wouldn't stand a hope in hell of getting a job in journalism."
apologised for publishing the column, saying that "by publishing him (Bullard) we were complicit in disseminating his Stone Age philosophies". The same issue of the paper carried an entire page dedicated to letters regarding the column and firing, roughly equally divided between support for the paper and support for Bullard.
Bullard linked his firing with a column (Run out of gas) published in Empire magazine
in February 2008, in which he was highly critical about the Sunday Times and its editorial management. Makhanya denied any connection.
After a week of sustained media interest Bullard apologised for the offending column, but said the next day he would sue for unfair dismissal. At least three complaints were laid against him with the South African Human Rights Commission
.
Asked about Bullard in a press conference subsequently, arts and culture minister Pallo Jordan
said his writing amounted to defecating on Africans and that "Bullard is the sort of person South Africa does not need within its borders."
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n naturalized columnist, author and celebrity public speaker known for his controversial satire.
Early career
Bullard studied English and Drama at Exeter University, failed as a barrister and became a trader on the London Stock ExchangeLondon Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
before emigrating to South Africa in 1981.
In South Africa he continued his career in financial services before starting a column entitled "Out to Lunch" for the Business Times section of The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (South Africa)
The Sunday Times is a popular South African Sunday newspaper. It has an audited circulation of 504,000 and a weekly readership of 3.2 million, making it the largest weekly newspaper in South Africa. Recently it was involved in exposing a corruption scandal involving the South African government's...
newspaper in 1994. It was thought to be one of the most widely read columns published in the country, at least in part because of Bullard's habit of insulting and infuriating the rich and famous.
Books
In 2002 the first collection of his columns, Out to Lunch, was published as a charity venture. That was followed by a second collection, Out to Lunch Again, in 2005. The third, Screw it, Let's Do Lunch!, appeared in 2007.Shooting and blogging controversy
In March 2007 Bullard and his wife were attacked by two men in a home robbery and Bullard was wounded. Shortly after the incident he told a newspaper "apart from having a bullet in me, I'm absolutely fabulous", though he complained of the bloody mess in his home.In May 2007 Bullard caused a storm in the South African blogosphere by describing blogging as the "air guitars of journalism... cobbled together by people who wouldn't stand a hope in hell of getting a job in journalism."
Firing due to allegations of racism
On 10 April 2008 Bullard was fired as a Sunday Times columnist after the publication, the previous Sunday, of a column (Uncolonised Africa wouldn’t know what it was missing) the newspaper subsequently described as racist and insulting to black people. On 13 April Sunday Times editor Mondli MakhanyaMondli Makhanya
Mondli Makhanya was the editor-in-chief of The Sunday Times newspaper. He also sits on the council of the South African National Editors' Forum....
apologised for publishing the column, saying that "by publishing him (Bullard) we were complicit in disseminating his Stone Age philosophies". The same issue of the paper carried an entire page dedicated to letters regarding the column and firing, roughly equally divided between support for the paper and support for Bullard.
Bullard linked his firing with a column (Run out of gas) published in Empire magazine
Empire (SA magazine)
Empire was a South African magazine published every four weeks between December 2007 and October 2008.It covered media, arts and culture and rapidly established a reputation for controversial articles....
in February 2008, in which he was highly critical about the Sunday Times and its editorial management. Makhanya denied any connection.
After a week of sustained media interest Bullard apologised for the offending column, but said the next day he would sue for unfair dismissal. At least three complaints were laid against him with the South African Human Rights Commission
South African Human Rights Commission
The South African Human Rights Commission was inaugurated in October 1995 as an independent national institution. It draws its mandate from the South African Constitution by way of the South African Human Rights Commission Act of 1994....
.
Asked about Bullard in a press conference subsequently, arts and culture minister Pallo Jordan
Pallo Jordan
Dr Zweledinga Pallo Jordan was the Minister of Arts and Culture of the Republic of South Africa from 29 April 2004 to 10 May 2009...
said his writing amounted to defecating on Africans and that "Bullard is the sort of person South Africa does not need within its borders."