Posts in TV
SABC and Icasa taken to task
Back in 2006, when Thabo Mbeki was still 
president of South Africa and Jacob Zuma was in the process of building his support base, the SABC – the state-owned public broadcaster – was beset with allegations that its head of News and Current Affairs, Dr Snuki Zikalala, was blacklisting certain political commentators. The commentators concerned were deemed to be anti-Mbeki and, as such, the Mbeki administration wanted them silenced. These rather disturbing allegations followed reports that Dr Zikalala had manipulated news coverage that related to the Zimbabwean elections in a manner that portrayed Robert Mugabe in a positive light.
Tags: freedom of expression, ICASA, political blacklisting, SABC, Snuki Zikalala
Digital TV only one year away
The debate about which standard South Africa 
will use for its conversion from analogue to digital television is at an end. After delays and an investigation by a specially appointed task team to look into the merits of the European standard DVB-T2 and the Japanese-Brazilian standard ISDB-T, Minister of Communications Roy Padayachie has announced that South Africa will move ahead with DVB-T2.
The decision has been largely well received with only some criticism coming from the National Association of Manufacturers in Electronics Components (Namec), which has said that the DVB-T2 standard will “perpetuate white domination and stifle government’s economic development plans”. It is currently deciding how to go about contesting the decision, which just goes to show that you can’t please all of the people all of the time.
Tags: digital tv, digital tv south africa, digital tv standard
M-Net doesn’t even merit a slap on the wrist
Is R5000 an appropriate fine for contravening 
the Broadcasting Complaints Commission’s (BCCSA) Code of Conduct for Subscription Broadcasting? On 13 October 2010 at 18:00, while promoting its lineup of horror films for Halloween, M-Net accidentally broadcast a promo featuring scenes of horror and violence. The first question is how a professional broadcaster such as M-Net screens anything by accident. The second question is whether the public over-reacted. The third question is whether fine suited the crime.
According to the BCCSA Code of Conduct for Subscription Broadcasting, scenes containing violence, explicit sexual conduct and strong language may only be screened after 21:30. It’s known as a watershed period when young children go to bed and adults settle in front of the TV. 18:00, when M-Net aired its horror promo, is considered prime family viewing.
Oprah’s OWN TV channel
Oprah Winfrey is no mere icon; she’s a media titan. She tops any list of 
powerful celebrities, and is rumoured to have more money than God. She’s loved and loathed in equal measures for her determination to break down barriers, uplift, empower and entertain. She’s spawned Dr Phil and made personal financial expert Suze Orman a household name. She loves surprising her audience with gifts, including the odd car, and women all over the world identify with her ongoing weight problems and the personal tragedies she’s overcome. She rules daytime TV, she’s captured print media with her magazine O and now she’s launched her very own TV channel called OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network). Oprah is a lot of things, but timid is not one of them.
Tags: oprah, oprah TV channel, oprah winfrey, OWN network
