Media Monitoring Africa

Is a move to more independent regulation of print media a good idea? If this means a new structure along the lines of that being proposed in Rapport’s Editorial then I am not so sure! Yes self regulation has its challenges but people seem to be happy, broadly speaking, with the system run by the [...
So we heard on the weekend that the SABC has a new initiative to help protect children.  Sounds good and they have some good partners like Childline but surely the SABC should be ensuring they fulfil their mandate with regard to children PRIMARILY through programming?  Where is their commitment to...
The SABC is in the news again – for all the wrong reasons – again.  We are almost getting used to this.  This time however it is different.  This time after an interim board had worked tirelessly to secure a loan agreement to allow the SABC to operate, after so many committed staff had ensure...
A story in the Sowetan (See http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=1134901), focused on how the SABC has bungled its own arrangements for finding a venue for its World Cup broadcast.  According to the story SABC’s World Cup broadcasts were originally intended to be based at Nasrec – whic...
Funding is one of the biggest problems the SABC faces.  But it seems to me that they are missing using some of their best programming and most profitable channels to answer some questions about how best to proceed.  A new and creative model and should explore some of the alternatives, and I think,...
Our public broadcaster is in crisis, nothing new there.  The SABC manages to confound and amaze, nothing new there either really.  It amazes because despite all the crises we really do need to give credit to those who ensure that it is still ticking over. Yes, the SABC also amazes for its unfalter...
Elections are coming and some say they may be sooner than we anticipate.  We say hooray!  We love elections at MMA.  There is a certain inexplicable joy at the prospect of monitoring a whole lot of media, analysing each news item, tracking the big stories and the little ones too, considering issu...
Sometimes you aren’t sure about telling people about something good in case it ruins it.  Usually in the case of a restaurant if you tell too many people about it, it can get too popular, lose its charm and authenticity and become rubbish.  In the current instance, I am thinking of a television ...