The death of Parks Mankahlana and the question of universal news values

Should the South African press have inquired about and reported on the cause of death of presidential spokesman Parks Mankahlana? Sections of the South African press implied that he died as a result of his having contracted HIV/Aids. As spokesman for President Thabo Mbeki, Mankahlana had to field difficult media questions in the latter part of 2000 on the president's apparent and controversial stand that there was no causal link between the HIV virus and Aids. The issue of whether the press should intrude on privacy in the pursuit of news values is discussed against the backdrop of the broader question: whether there are universal news values which would have made it imperative for the media to have inquired into the reasons for the death of Mankahlana. The author avers that in this particular instance the press had the duty to do so in terms of universally accepted norms for news values.