Public Service Broadcasting Bill latest
Posted: 21 January 2010 | Newsletter | Categories: Children, Media Freedom and Performance
Thank you to everyone who signed our petitions to extend the deadline for the Public Broadcasting Bill. With the pressure you helped generate, an extension was granted up to January 15, 2010.
However, currently, it seems that the Bill will be going forward without a Parliamentary Review Process. This is despite the submissions by both MMA and the SOS coalition that call for a review based on the fact that the Bill is unconstitutional and vague in its current form. The implications of the comments from the minister appear only to have been picked up by Business Day in yesterday’s edition, otherwise see the original statement.
In this newsletter: MMA’s response to the PSB Bill, the new media for children’s website and the blog by William Bird about funding and the SABC.
MMA response to the Public Service Broadcasting Bill
MMA submitted their response to the bill. We are remain particularly concerned that the bill is being rushed through without the necessary research.
Click here to read the submission
SOS response to the Public Service Broadcasting Bill
The SOS submission includes research into public broadcasting in South Africa and a number of suggestions for the future of the SABC.
Media website for children
Have a look and send any children in your life to the children and the media website. This will help children make healthy decisions about what media they want and get them thinking about the media they are exposed to.
Why pay for an unpopular public broadcaster?
The current blog by William Bird, the MMA director, addresses the credibility and (something we don’t often want to discuss) popularity of the SABC in a discussion on funding. Many of the letters sent through our campaign reflected sentiments about having to pay for SABC television.