Media Monday - hot topics and topics that make us hopping mad! 23 January 2012

Posted: 23 January 2012 | News - Newsletter | Categories: Democracy and Governance, Media Freedom and Performance

On the menu this first Media Monday for 2012:

·         The SABC has a CEO - Yay or Nay?

·         Jimmy Manyi’s MDDA gig - what was all the noise about again?

·         Limpopo crisis: what are we being told, what should we be told?

Will the new broom at the SABC sweep clean? 

When we asked you Media Matters Enthusiasts, at the end of last year, what your 2012 wishes were for the SABC, we had no idea that even greater things (according to some) were afoot at the public broadcaster. Hardly a month into the New Year, the Department of Communications (DoC) announced the appointment of a new CEO for the embattled SABC.

The appointment came against the backdrop of concerned bodies constantly calling for the position to be filled, with the SOS: Support Public Broadcasting Coalition even picketing outside the SABC building late last year. The Coalition called for visionary leadership and, among other things, permanent GCEO, GCOO and GCFO to be employed. And the SABC responded! The SOS Coalition welcomed the appointment, wished the new CEO Ms. Lulama Mokhobo well, noting that she has her job cut out of her. Of course, there are a still few more concerns with the SABC.

Whether or not Ms. Mokhobo’s appointment will bring the necessary goods needed by the SABC remains to be seen. But in your view, what changes can be expected from her? Do you feel this appointment (of the new GCEO) is enough to turn the SABC’s fortunes around? Or is it only the tip of the iceberg, as the SABC problems require much than just an appointment or two to fix? A step in the right direction, you think? Or even before the questions posed above: do you even care that the SABC now has a new CEO?

Facebook or Tweet us with your thoughts on this issue; we would love to hear from you!

Manyi’s MDDA appointment causes a stir – but why was that again? 

The appointment of Lulama Mokhobo to the SABC GCEO post was not the only newsworthy story, and certainly not the only appointment the Zuma government has made last week. The Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) also got five new board members who will serve in their new posts for a term of three years. And no, it was not only Jimmy Manyi who made the cut; four other people did as well, despite almost most the media attention focusing only on Manyi.

Four other appointments were those of Phenyo Nonqane, Rene Alicia Smith, Ingrid Louw and Thato Mahapa, but, as mentioned above, much of the focus has been on Manyi’s inclusion on the MDDA board. We are wondering why Manyi has been hogging the spotlight, opposition parties’ outrage at Manyi’s appointment, perhaps, or media’s own doing?

The Democratic Alliance (DA) and Congress of the People (COPE) disagreed with Manyi’s appointment. The DA called for the appointment to be revoked, while COPE said the appointment did not make sense and should be halted immediately. The Freedom Front Plus (FF+) also found Manyi’s appointment worrying.

The Presidency, via its spokesperson Mac Maharaj, defended the appointment, indicating that the law allowed President Zuma to make three of nine MDDA board appointments. It would seem from Maharaj’s statement that Manyi’s MDDA gig was not done outside the boundaries of the law, so why the noise then?

Coverage of the MDDA board appointments have clearly been clouded by the inclusion of Jimmy Manyi’s name in there, so much that many of us still do not know who the other members are, and what they bring to the MDDA table. Our earlier question still remains: did opposition parties that create this noise in the media about Manyi, or did the media up the hype, especially after Manyi’s various run-ins with the media?

Limpopo crisis – is the media asking the right questions? 

Limpopo Province is reportedly in crisis with reports that the Province is in a R2-billion cash-flow crisis. But the ANC in the province denied there was a financial crisis, rather preferring to use the words “financial challenges” to refer to whatever that is going on there.

Schools in the province are said to be facing a funding crisis that could result in them not being able to cover their basic operational costs, including electricity bills. Hospitals have run out of food as government failed to pay service providers.

But, much of the news and analyses about the Limpopo situation is focused around corruption and factionalism. Limpopo premier’s alleged close political relationship with ANCYL president Julius Malema has been trotted out quite often, which in turn points to Malema and President Jacob Zuma’s political disagreements.

One voice that seems absent in the whole issue is that of the ordinary people in Limpopo. Of course we hear news about relatives of patients in provincial hospitals having to bring in food for their brothers and sisters, as a result of the situation, and schools affected badly due to lack of basic educational material as a result, but is that enough?

Surely the poorest of the poor in the province are the one who are going to be hardest hit by the crisis? Are we to see the debate moving away from political corridors down to the people on the ground? If this has been going on for quite some time, and only being realised now, maybe people have been feeling the pinch for quite some time now, but not knowing what the causes were?

Question is: is the media, in its reportage of the Limpopo, asking all the right questions? What should the people of Limpopo know about this matter? And, what should the media be telling the people?

How have you found the media’s reportage of the situation? Find us on Facebook and Twitter and let us know what your thoughts are.