|
Now you see it, now you don't, now you see it, now you don't: such is the farcical situation with the controversial documentary on President Thabo Mbeki, which the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) had scheduled for screening on Sunday.
The FXI is disturbed that, once again, the documentary has been withdrawn, and will not be screened on Sunday. Why it changed its mind once again when it had decided to screen it, is beyond understanding. This is yet another indication of chaos inside the broadcaster, where different units of the same organisation talk past one another, and then land up working against one another. We do not buy the argument by SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago, that the booking on the SABC's programming schedule was provisional. This shows an unacceptably cavalier approach towards its own schedule. As the FXI has noted recently, the SABC has withdrawn other controversial programmes at the eleventh hour: something that the Corporation appears to do all too easily, and without public accountability. The latest withdrawal of the Mbeki documentary confirms the impression that the public cannot trust the scheduling information the SABC puts out, and should treat its contents with a pinch of salt. The comment that the SABC is still in discussion with the producers about changes to the documentary is astonishing, given the fact that the broadcaster has had a year to sort out these matters. In fact, it is our understanding that only once the producers had cancelled the contract with the SABC, and signalled their intention to show the documentary elsewhere, did the SABC finally respond and agree to its broadcast, subject to agreed-on changes being made. If the SABC is not satisfied that the necessary groundwork has been done to warrant the showing of the documentary on Sunday, then it has only itself to blame. Readers have left 3 comments. 1. SACK SNUKI
ANTHONY POSNER, Unregistered Perhaps if Na'eem Jeenah, The FXI's director was spending less of his valuable time "boycotting Israel", he might run a more effective campaign re The SABC ?
SACK SNUKI !! 2. THE FXI AND THE ANC
ANTHONY POSNER, Unregistered THE FXI'S campaign does not explicitly demand the dismissal of The ANC's Snuki Zikalala .
I conclude that The FXI may be scared of The ANC as it is unwilling to state the following words.... "SACK SNUKI."
It is obvious that any FXI "worth its salt" would be shouting... "SACK SNUKI" loud and clear! 3. THE FXI HAS LOST ITS WAY
ANTHONY POSNER, Unregistered Dear Jane Duncan,
ZIKALALASABC is not a typo. It is a fact.
Although I have signed The FXI's ICASA petition , and have encouraged others to do the same, it will achieve nothing.
The ANC has spoken: "The board had decided that he (Zikalala) should be given a verbal warning jointly by the group's CEO and the chairman of the board … that he be instructed to co-operate in the remedial steps recommended by the commission, and that he be warned that should the conduct in question be found to occur in future, stronger action will be taken," said Padayachie. (The Star 8/3/07)
On Feb 28th 2007 Na'eem Jeenah (FXI) emailed me with your organization's position on the matter:
"It is also foolish to believe that people's work cannot
objectively be done because of which organisations they belong to. If you read our complaint
carefully, you will notice that we do not object to Snuki Zikalala being a member of the ANC;
our objection is different from that."
So The FXI's position is clear. Zikalala can stay.
The FXI does not object to a senior ANC member, trained in Communist Bulgaria, running the news room and current affairs. Even after he created a blacklist of journalists!
As I wrote in my email to Na'eem Jeenah, "the FXI, like The SABC, has lost it's way."
The only hope left, therefore, is for the print media to demand that Zikalala should be sacked and be replaced with a non-partisan journalist who believes in "freedom of expression" rather than in an ANC ruling party agenda.
I once again quote your hollow words,
VIVA < FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION> VIVA
|
