INDEPENDENT BROADCASTING - On June 8, e.tv announced that its CEO Jonathan Procter had resigned. Sapa reported that Procter's resignation follows the simmering tension between the station's major shareholders, Hosken Consolidated Investments and Vula Communications. Marcel Golding, the deputy chairperson of HCI will take over as acting CEO of the station. According to Sapa, insiders said Procter was pushed after a growing power struggle within the station, which resulted in the recent controversial management appointment of Richard van Wyk as station manager. E.tv said its board had accepted Procter's resignation and expressed appreciation for the key and active role he played in establishing the station. Procter had been with Midi right from the start with involvement in licence bidding, setting up of the station and then running it since its inception in October last year. Midi also welcomed Golding's appointment. Meanwhile, Golding said that e.tv remained confident about its prospects. "While competing in a tough market, e.tv has already secured a significant proportion of the television market share and its audience figures have steadily increased since its launch," Golding said. e.tv is already available on digital satellite through signal distributor Sentech's Vivid platform. According to e.tv, it will seek as many channels of distribution as possible within its rights framework to bolster its revenue as a free channel.

PUBLIC BROADCASTING - On June 3, the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa ruled that news broadcasts by the SA Broadcasting Corporation on May 19 on the Max du Preez issue contravened clause 2 of the BCCSA code. The ruling was a result of a complaint brought by FXI, Friends of the Public Broadcaster and the Committee to Re-Instate Max du Preez. The three parties complained that a news item which informed viewers that Du Preez's contract as producer of Special Assignment was being terminated, lacked balance, was factually inaccurate and lacked editorial independence. The BCCSA said the SABC references in the news item negated the balance necessary. It said the references to insurbodination, swearing and obscene signs created a duty on the SABC news room to at least obtain a comment from Du Preez on the matter, something that was not done.

The commission said that the ruling had nothing to do with the SABC's lack of independence but rather with the unbalanced content of the news item itself. The SABC had to broadcast the commission's summary of the judgement in its entirety on June 5 to 6 in the two languages the controversial broadcast was aired in, English and Afrikaans. Disappointing to FXI was the Commission's ruling on editorial independence. "The judgement seems to suggest that the panel misunderstood our complaint in that it ruled that editorial independence can only be placed at risk when an external force is active in demanding changes to a news item. FXI believes that internal interference can be just as dangerous as outside interference," said FXI in a statement. Heading the commission, Professor Kobus van Rooyen said the claim that the SABC lacked independence was unfounded.

Allegations of factual inaccuracy were not dealt with by the commission because it was the subject of a legal dispute between Du Preez and the SABC.

PUBLIC BROADCASTING - "The Citizen" on June 2 reported that the Federal Alliance spokesperson Jan Bosman said it was laughable for the SABC to claim protection of its editorial independence when it was so blatantly biased in favour of the ANC. Bosman said "The SABC is now worse that it was under the National Party rule. It has failed dismally in its task and function to be independent, to provide news and to inform". Bosman was responding to claims made by the SABC chief executive of news Enoch Sithole that political parties were trying to influence SABC reporters. Bosman said the SABC has denied the reality of South Africa by limiting debate on its channels to the old political debate, not allowing new parties some exposure, suppressing new political thought and fixing the agenda to suit the ANC. Meanwhile, Sithole in his article in "The Citizen" on June 9, indicated cases of intimidation, coercion and interference in the SABC's editorial decision-making by political parties. He wrote "We cannot allow anyone, especially politicians to dictate to the public broadcaster who to include in what programme. If anyone feels that we are not abiding by the laws, there are clear redress mechanisms. Intimidation and interference are not among them". Sithole insisted that Parliament should look into the matter. He said "In fact, the next Parliament will be expected to pass the Open Democracy Bill that has been waiting for the past four years. In that law, penalties should be provided for those institutions that will refuse journalists and the public access to information". He added that penalties should also be built in for those that will prevent journalists from doing their job.

Earlier last week, the IBA and the BCCSA made rulings that suggested that there was no evidence of biased reporting on the SABC side prior to the June 2 elections.

PRESS FREEDOM - Sapa reported that an international journalists' watchdog group on June 8 condemned an Angolan Government Minister for intimidating the press and expressed concern about attacks on reporters covering the country's civil war. In an open letter, Reporters Without Frontiers rebuked Information Minister Pedro Hendrik Vaal Neto for threeatening violence against representatives of media organisations which he alleges support the Unita rebels. Vaal Neto earlier said that media reporting of Unita's claims of battlefield victories was unpatriotic. Unita has overrun about 80% of Angola since war resumed last December. TELECOMMUNICATIONS - "Business Day" on June 1 reported that Vodacom and the SABC launched a cellular telephone news service which news addicts will be able to dial into from any telephone from June 15. According to the newspaper, newsbreak will initially feature three minute bulletins, updated hourly on local and international news, business and sport. SABC journalists and the wire services will provide the new service's bulletins. Judy Sandison, SABC editor of special news services said the broadcaster would run a test phase from June 15 to June 30 between 6am and 6pm everyday before the full 24 hour service begins on July 1. Callers would be able to access newsbreak from anywhere in the world.

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