Sign the petition
The SOS (Save our SABC) Campaign has launched a petition to push for the board selection process to be more transparent and accountable. They have hit the nail on the head, I would say.
Continue Reading Add comment July 20th, 2009
The SABC interim board
If we have learnt anything in the last two years in relation the SABC, it is that how you appoint the board is as important as who you appoint. The parliamentary committee which recommends candidates, it seems, has not taken on board this very basic lesson.
Continue Reading Add comment July 3rd, 2009
Testing the limits of free speech
It is certainly an appropriate time to be asking about the limits of free speech, and the right of people to use words and phrases which hurt others, and which may upset their sense of dignity.
Continue Reading Add comment June 8th, 2009
SABC: The good news
Organisations are popping up all over the place to engage in the fight over the future of the SABC. There is the SOS (Save our SABC) Coalition, and the Television Industry Emergency Coalition. A march on the institution is planned for next week. Online chat and email is buzzing with ideas, proposal, debates, memoranda and candidates’ lists.
Continue Reading 2 comments June 8th, 2009
Is the same plea any stronger in Afrikaans?
Hierdie is ’n pleidooi aan Jacob Zuma: Gryp die oomblik van jou verkiesing en jou verheffing tot president aan om jou verhouding met die media op ’n nuwe grondslag te plaas. Jy kan nie, jy kan eenvoudig nié jou presi?dentskap begin deur redakteurs, koerante, skrywers en spotprentkunstenaars te dagvaar nie.
Continue Reading Add comment April 18th, 2009
Fear and loathing in the industry
Latest news is that Mail & Guardian staff have been warned that they will be told in two weeks who is going to be retrenched and who can stay. Attempts are being made to prevent this, but things look tough.
Continue Reading 3 comments March 25th, 2009
More on the public editor
The idea of a public editor for the SABC is gaining traction. Asked to expand on the idea for the Save our SABC campaign, I said the following …
Continue Reading Add comment March 19th, 2009
Professional Journos’ Association?
At a time when journos are being retrenched across the country quicker than Wall Street bankers, there is a push to start a Professional Journos’ Association. A great idea.
Continue Reading 1 comment March 14th, 2009
Two cases to watch
There are two fascinating current legal actions worth keeping an eye on for their wider impact on our media.
Continue Reading Add comment March 9th, 2009
Watch the Biowatch case
It is worth keeping an eye on the Constitution Court fight this week between corporate giant Monsanto and the NGO Biowatch, because it will define the space that NGO’s have to use the legal system.
Continue Reading 1 comment February 16th, 2009
Get some popcorn. This is going to be a long show …
One things has become clear – the saga of the SABC board is going to drag on for months, leaving the organisation with uncertain leadership at a time when it is under serious political and financial pressure.
Continue Reading Add comment February 11th, 2009
End of the saga of the president’s girlfriends
I was struck by how dignified and appropriate was the President’s response to the collapse of the story of his pregnant, young girlfriend. He chose his words carefully, and he chose them well. “I will drop a line to the Press Ombudsman,” he said.
Continue Reading Add comment February 10th, 2009
Zuma’s wives, Motlanthe’s non-wives
The right to privacy, specifically for ANC and national leaders, is going to be a focus of attention this week, after some Sunday papers took us deep into the private life of President Kgalema Motlanthe. The did not push us as far as the Sowetan did last Monday, when they told us he goes to bed each night alone “like a monk”. But the Sunday Independent did let us know that apart from his estranged wife, he appears to have two lady friends, one of whom is half his age and pregnant.
Continue Reading Add comment January 25th, 2009
