Media Monday - hot topics and topics that make us hopping mad! 18 July 2011

On the menu this Media Monday:

• Another one bites the dust at SABC as Interface presenter quits
• Media’s 67 Minutes of community (dis)service
• Empty tanks hogs the headlines
• And see how you can be our newest MMC!

Yet another significant resignation at SABC, this time on current affairs show, Interface 

The latest in the world of our public broadcaster the SABC is that the current affairs show Interface has lost a presenter and content producer Eusebius Mckaiser. In an email sent to the City Press, Mckaiser explained that his resignation was due to wage disagreements with the SABC. However, the resultant article published in yesterday’s City Press based on the email Mckaiser sent begs the question whether we are getting the full story here.

Are we going to miss Mr. Mckaiser on the show or will life on Interface just go on? Will it be business as usual on the show? Did you watch a few episodes of the show before his involvement; and a few shows when he was presenting it? Was there any difference; did you like it more under his stewardship? His departure from the show, is it typical of the SABC to let go of real talent?

In his email to City Press, Mckaiser mentioned that he knew from a number of his former colleagues at the broadcaster that some guests on Interface were unhappy about his questions. He specifically pointed a finger at Minister Jeff Radebe (and his communications team, including Mr Tlali Tlali), who he says had complained to the SABC (possibly directly to Mr Phil Molefe) that he (Mckaiser) had been "disrespectful" by grilling him too hard on the legality of the President's extension of the Chief Justice's term of office. Mr Matthews was asked by Mr Molefe to investigate the matter, according to Mckaiser.

Mckaiser wrote a note on his Facebook page about why he resigned from Interface, which is similar to the email he sent to City Press but with some additional thoughts. When Jimi Matthews was announced as SABC head of TV news earlier this year, he was duped an appointment that will turn things around for the better at the public broadcaster. Word was that the viewers who had dumped the SABC should start making flipping their way back to SABC channels because of Matthews’ appointment. Mckaiser also holds the same sentiments about Matthews, saying in his note that “Jimi has an excellent, in my view, vision, for turning around news and current affairs division at the SABC.”

If that is the case, it means then that Jimi needs all the support he can get to turn things around in the Corporation. And  resignations of people in the mould (people who need a show that is unashamedly dogged in holding our politicians and newsmakers accountable for their views and their decisions, as Mckaiser puts it, even if he says so himself) of Mckaiser are not helping that course. And he admits that his resignation is not helping the course to put pressure on the SABC to function properly as opposed to just walking away like he has done.

Media’s 67 minutes for International Mandela Day 

South Africa and the world are celebrating International Mandela Day today, and 67 minutes is all that is being asked of you and you to dedicate to doing something good for the world, and make a change. Today also marks Madiba’s 93^rd birthday celebration, and it is expected given the high standing that uTata possesses in SA and the world over, that the day will received a lot of media attention.

The Times newspaper today has dedicated a spot on every page to commemorate this day by featuring a different pictures of Nelson Mandela in what is clearly a nicely themed idea. On every page is either a picture or a drawing of Mandela, or anything that screams the old man’s name like Mandela Bridge in Johannesburg. The hope of course is that as media dedicates space and airtime to International Mandela Day, real issues affecting our societies are not shelved. Can our media show similar amount of dedication to other significant days like Women’s Day, World AIDS Day, etc? Such case include Soweto protesters’ plea against newly installed electricity billing systems in their homes, which they say result in them having to folk out ridiculous amounts of money for electricity. The protesters burnt the houses of both current and former councilors for allowing the installation of such meters, and some of them were arrested as a result of that.

eNews Prime Time last night aired a report about 67 minutes for Mandela, and showed Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane helping rebuild the houses as her ‘67 minutes for Mandela ‘contribution dedicated to doing good. The Government Communications and Information Systems (GCIS)  issued a statement on July 8 about the Premier’s visit.

The report also accessed some of the residents who were not happy about the premier’s gesture to the councilors but ignoring their plight in the process. The residents’ problems are dated back a number of years ago and no one looks to be trying to solve their problems, which could be what led to their frustration and violence (not that we support violence in any form). What is the message that the premier is sending here: that government is willing to quickly step up for one of their own, but not for the public?

Anyway, back to media’s coverage of the story: the SABC on the other hand just accessed the premier and not the residents. Granted, the day is meant well and directing our attention to the good that is being done out there to commemorate the day is by all means welcome. But should it be done at the expense of the needy and the people’s plight? Should the media shelve its critical analysis mandate and glorify this day’s activities and just glorify it?

On that note, we would like to wish a Happy International Mandela Day to all of you Media Matters Enthusiasts out there, and a very Happy 93^rd Birthday to uTata Dr. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela!

Fuel shortages shelves real issues behind the strike 

As the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union (CEPPWAWU) wage strike continues, media attention now seems to be moving away from the negotiations and the real causes and reasons behind the strike, to fuel shortages. Media headlines are about how the people are affected by the strike, especially with schools reopening today, and how taxi drivers are travelling long distances in search for fuel. But what do we know about what the workers’ demands are, and how they got to be where they are now?

Could it be that maybe the strikers do not want any media coverage so that they can intensify their protests without getting caught by the camera? Strikers are already known to get violent so as to be takes seriously. That is the reality of the situation according to Johny Steinberg in yesterday’s Sunday Times (“Waiting to implode: South Africa’s history of fear lives on”) where he says “Striking (metal) workers turn violent so that the world knows that their strike is serious”.

Protesters in Soweto were arrested for burning down houses of two councilors during a protest against electricity bills, and CEPPWAWU strikers could be trying to avoid that by warning the media to stay away or just staying out of media attention. Given the threat that our journalists find themselves in when covering strikes and protests, it makes sense that they stay away from such action. Unless if it’s just the media choosing to cover the story not from the workers’ angle.

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