Jani Allan

Infobox journalist


Charlton Heston and Jani Allan. |
name = Jani Allan
| birthname = Janet Allan
birth_date = Birth date and age|1953|9|11|df=y
birth_place = United Kingdom
age = 53
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = Journalist and Radio Talk show host / Commentator
gender = Female
status =
title =
family =
spouse = Gordon Schachat (divorced)
children =
relatives =
ethnic = White
religion = Christian
salary =
networth =

Jani Allan (born 11 September, 1953) is a former South African journalist and radio commentator, best known for an alleged affair with right-wing AWB leader Eugène Terre'Blanche. At the time, Allan was working as a columnist for the Sunday Times newspaper.

In 1992 she lost a high-profile libel case against British broadcaster Channel 4, related to their reporting of her relationship with Terre'Blanche.

Allan later returned to the South African media with a column and forum on MWeb and then as a radio-show host on Cape Talk radio. Although no official reason was given, she was fired from Cape Talk radio in 2000; a year earlier the station had been instructed to issue an apology to the Jewish community after a controversial interview on her show. [cite web|url=http://www.bccsa.co.za/templates/judgement_template_121.asp|title=Case No: 1999/35 Cape Talk - Religious convictions or feelings of the Jewish Community|publisher=Broadcasting Corporation of South Africa]

She currently resides in the USA and has made several radio-show appearances. In particular she has been vocal about Afrikaner rights issues, particularly South African Farm Murderscite web|url=http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20040620111324523C719376| title=Whites are facing genocide, says Jani Allan| publisher=IOL |date =2004-06-20] . She works as a freelance journalist. [cite web|url=http://famous.adoption.com/famous/allan-jani.html| title=Jani Allan (South African model and journalist| publisher=Adoption.com| date =2002]

Biography

Allan was adopted by a British-South African couple at a young age and divided her childhood between Britain and South Africa. Prior to becoming a journalist, she worked as an English teacher at Wynberg Boys' High School and Bryanston High School. She then worked as a columnist for The Sunday Times newspaper in South Africa. Allan's first marriage was to South African businessman Gordon Schachat. She later married an American, but the couple have since divorced. She is also a close personal friend of IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi [cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19970406/ai_n14117510 | title=HOW WE MET -Jani Allan and Mangosuthu Buthelezi | publisher=The Independent |date=1997-08-06] .

Association with Eugène Terre'Blanche

In 1988, the Sunday Times published Allan's interview with the right-wing militant Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging leader, Eugène Terre'Blanche, in Allan's "Face to Face" column. The two met several times after the interview, and Allan accompanied the AWB to some of their rallies and reported for the Sunday Times. Allan wrote of her fascination for Terre'blanche: "Right now I've got to remind myself to breathe ... I'm impaled on the blue flames of his blowtorch eyes."cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE7DF1731F934A35753C1A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=5| title=Rumblings on the Right| publisher=New York Times| date =07-10-1990] These words led to speculation regarding an affair, particularly when they were photographed together at the Paardekraal Monument in Krugersdorp on December 27th 1988. Following the meeting, Terre'Blanche allegedly rammed his BMW through the Paardekraal Monument's gates. The crash prompted police and media appearances, and Allan and Terre'Blanche were photographed together on the Paardekraal monument steps. A case of crimen injura was laid against Terre'Blanche relating to the damaged gates, with Allan subpoenaed as chief witness for the defence. Ultimately Allan was not required to testify, and Terre'Blanche was acquitted. [Youtube video : [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOAJlk287Ok SABC: AWB Paardekraal court case report - 24 March 1989] ]

In July 1989, the affair allegations led Cornelius Lottering, member of breakaway AWB group "Orde van die Dood", to place a bomb outside Jani Allan's Sandton apartment. There were no casualties in the blast and Lottering was convicted. [cite web|url=http://www.doj.gov.za/trc/amntrans/pta/lotteri1.htm| title=TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION| publisher=South African government | date =1998-03-23]

Libel case against Channel 4

In 1992, Allan sued Channel 4, the British broadcaster, for libel, claiming that in the documentary The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife by Nick Broomfield she was presented as a "woman of easy virtue" [cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/W/wtc4/history/timeline.html| title=History Timeline| publisher=Channel 4 | date =] . The documentary-maker, Broomfield, who was following the AWB and its activities, claimed that Jani Allan had had an affair with Terre'Blanche. The significance of the case led to its inclusion in the 1992 annual edition of Whitaker's Almanack. [cite book|first=Hilary|last=Marsden|title=Whitaker's Almanack 1992
publisher=J Whitaker & Sons ]

Allan was represented by the late Peter Carter-Ruck in the case and Channel 4 was represented by the late QC George Carman. She later admitted to Carman "Whatever award is given for libel, being cross-examined by you would not make it enough money." [cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07EFDE153AF93BA35752C0A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1| title=George Carman, Libel suit Whiz, dies| publisher=New York Times | date =2000-01-08] and went on to state that Carman puts his victims through a "bloodless abattoir", delivering them into the "bone yard of damaged reputations". [cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/sep/23/law.huttonreport| title=The gloves come off| publisher=The Guardian | date =2000-09-23]

The case sparked intense media interest in both Britain and South Africa. Several character witnesses were flown in from South Africa [cite book|first=Nadine|last=Dreyer|title="A Century of Sundays: 100 Years of Breaking News in the Sunday Times, 1906-2006"
publisher=Zebra] . Terre'Blanche also submitted a sworn statement to the London court denying that he had had an affair with Allan. Allan's case was dealt a heavy blow by the statements of her former flatmate, Linda Shaw, the Sunday Times astrologer. Shaw admitted that she peeped through a keyhole and witnessed Allan in a compromising position with a man. Several previously undisclosed details of the alleged affair began to unfold, and Allan's personal diary was also instrumental in the case, which Allan eventually lost on August 5 1992. Although the judge found that Channel 4's allegations had not defamed Allan, he did not rule on whether or not there had been an affair. [cite web|url=http://www.carteblanche.co.za/Display/Display.asp?Id=3021| title=Century of Sundays| publisher=Carte Blanche| date =2006-05-03]

In 1994, during an interview with SABC, Allan accused witnesses in the case of being paid to lie and said that losing the case had served a purpose, as her disillusionment with the justice system had led her to find God and become a born-again Christian. [cite web|url=http://70.84.171.10/~etools/newsbrief/1995/news0103| title=JANI ALLAN - BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN| publisher=Sapa | date =1995-01-02]

In a 2002 BBC film "Get Carman: the trials of George Carman QC", Allan's case was dramatised [cite web|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/200204080039| title=Judgement day| publisher=New Statesman | date =2002-04-08] together with a number of other high-profile Carmen cases.

Columns and publications

Allan got her break with the Sunday Times (South Africa) when she was appointed gossip columnist with her "Just Jani" column, in which she interviewed South Africa's celebrity elite and personalities in the entertainment world, as well as foreign celebrities such as Robert Moore. She also wrote several pieces on celebrated South African contactee and UFO photographer Elizabeth Klarer [cite book|year=2004|first=Lauren |last=Beukes|title=Maverick: Extraordinary Women from South Africa's Past|publisher=Oshun] . Tertius Myburgh (then editor of the newspaper) appointed Allan as the political columnist of The Sunday Times. Interviews in her political column, "Face to Face" ranged from guests such as Winnie Mandela to Eugene Terre'Blanche. She famously described Pik Botha as " "A black-belt bullshitter".

Following the failed assasination attempt on her life in 1989, she fled South Africa and relocated to London. She returned to South Africa in 1996, having established a radio show in Cape Town, she was contracted by Mweb to launch a website with a weekly column, letters page and live chatline [cite web|url=http://www.jaywalk.com/kev/design/Design3.htm| title=Jani Allan on Mweb| date =1/1/1998] . David Bullard accused her of plagiarising his work in one edition of her MWeb column [cite web|url=http://www.btimes.co.za/98/0426/columns/columns.htm|title=Sorry, Jani, I don't fall off horses|publisher=The Sunday Times] . Between 2004 and 2005 she contributed a number of columns to Christian and conservative, right-wing publications and sites such as the Jeff Rense website, AfricanCrisis, WorldNetDaily and she also published a number of columns on her personal blog. [cite web|url=http://groups.msn.com/janiallan/articles.msnw| title=Previous columns| date =2004-2005]

Sections of the "Just Jani" columns published in The Sunday Times have been compiled into the wit/humour genre book "Face Value" by Jani Allan. [cite book|first=Jani|last=Allan|title=Face Value|publisher=Longman]

Radio

In 1997 she took up a position as a host on Cape Talk Radio, a Cape Town-based radio show and launched her show "Jani's world", which aired on Friday evenings between 9 p.m. and midnight. The show became one of the station's most popular, but became controversial in September 1999 when Allan interviewed American right-winger Keith Johnson of the Militia of Montana. Johnson denounced homosexuality, race-mixing and former South African President Nelson Mandela and offended Jewish listeners with his antisemitic views on rabinnical teachings and Judaism. Although Allan distanced herself from these views, she offended a number of listeners in that she did not acknowledge it was a mistake to broadcast the interview [cite book|first=David Singer,|last=Lawrence Grossman|year=2000|title=American Jewish Year Book 2000|publisher=Amber Jewish Committee] . Due to the negative reaction from listeners, including the South African Jewish Board of Deputies [cite web|url=http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=7&click_id=90&art_id=ct19991103203712988B212275| title=Station to apologise for Jani's gaffe| publisher=IOL | [http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=7&click_id=90&art_id=ct19991103203712988B212275] | date =1999-11-03] she was instructed to issue an apology two days later. Her contract was terminated in October 2000, although no official reason was given; when questioned, the station manager, Lucia Venter, claimed that " "All the announcers receive positive and negative feedback. Allan does not necessarily get more than others." [cite web|url=http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/0,,2-7_930943,00.html| title=Radio station fires Jani Allan| publisher=News 24|date =2000-10-24]

Since arriving in the Unites States, Allan has appeared on a number of radio shows. On 17th June 2004, Jani Allan appeared as the guest on the conspiracy theorist Jeff Rense's show. During the show, which had a listenership of 17 million, Allan accused the South African government of a genocidal campaign against white Afrikaners and she encouraged Americans to sponsor white Afrikaner "refugees". She later became the regular Friday night weekly guest-commentator. In January 2005, she appeared on the "Flipside with Robby Noel", broadcast on Republican radio and became a regular weekly commentator on the Friday night show. Jani Allan has also appeared on the Larry Pratt show, discussing gun laws in place in South Africa and on information corner radio.

Other

Following her unsuccessful court case in London, Allan began to work with former SABC journalist Cliff Saunders, who had a press agency in London. Yet Allan was, according to her own account, unknowingly and allegedly working as a spy for her boss. She said she was unknowingly employed to gather information on the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and its actvities as well as its members. Allegedly, Saunders was a previous apartheid spy and was now working for the new African National Congress (ANC) government and the IFP's activities were supposedly of much interest to the ANC. [cite web|url=http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=ct20000227222234900S1258 | title=Allan claims she was an 'unwitting' spy | publisher=IOL | date=2000-02-27]

References

External links

* [http://groups.msn.com/JaniAllan/janiallansfrontpage.msnw Blog]
* [http://www.jrnyquist.com/jani_allan_letter_on_mbeki.htm Jani Allan letter on Mbeki]
* [http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.search&keywords=Jani+Allan Jani Allan @ WND]
* [http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=487129 biographical account]