ADVERTISING- South African Press Association on October 17 reported that a row at Independent Newspapers over free advertising space given to the government had been amicably resolved on October 16. Independent group's chief executive Ivan Fallon attended a meeting of editors in Cape Town. Sapa said sources within the group said it had been decided at the meeting that in future editors would be consulted before decisions of this nature were made. The dispute arose when Independent Newspapers management, without consulting its editors, took a decision to give free adverts last month to the government to promote its views on HIV/Aids. The Independent Group's decision, which was publicly praised by Essop Pahad, Minister in the Office of the President, raised serious questions about the relationship between Independent and the government.

BROADCASTING COMPLAINTS - "The Citizen" on October17 reported that a ruling on the complaint against Radio 702 presenter John Robbie by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of SA was expected to be handed down in two weeks time. The hearing held in Johannesburg followed complaints filed by two members of the public against the station after Robbie had a verbal clash with Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang over the cause of HIV/Aids a month ago. The station was represented by its lawyers and top brass who included Neo Masote and Broomberg. The two complainants brought the matter to the attention of the BCCSA after Robbie called the Minister by her first name and told her to go away when she failed to answer a question put to her. Robbie also described the Minister's views on Aids, while still on air, as rubbish. He has since apologised for his outburst. The BCCSA is expected to make a ruling in two weeks' time.

FREE SPEECH -The Star on October 17 reported that Hansie Cronje's lawyer Leslie Sackstein had said any United Cricket Board's attempt to prevent Hansie Cronje from carving out a career as a cricket commentator went against his right to freedom of speech. Sackstein claimed that the UCB's resolution to ban the disgraced former cricket captain for life was unlawful, and a formal demand had been directed at the UCB to withdraw the resolution. Sackstein said that it was unacceptable that his client could lose out on a potentially lucrative career as a cricket commentator in newspaper columns or on television. "While the UCB may refuse Cronje accreditation to operate as a media worker at its cricket grounds, as UCB president Percy Sonn had already intimated, there was nothing preventing him from working as a presenter in a television studio," said Sackstein. Sonn had said Cronje was to be regarded as persona non grata in any activity related to cricket. Sackstein said that he had written to the UCB. UCB spokesperson Bronwyn Wilkinson confirmed that the board had received the letter.

JOURNALISTS - - Sowetan on October 17 reported that the police's internal investigation unit had lunched an investigation into allegations that one of President Thabo Mbeki's bodyguards assaulted journalist Bobby Brown at a Commonwealth function held at the Cape Town Civic Centre on the night of October 15. Police spokesperson Captain Andre Trout said that the Cape Talk radio journalist laid an assault charge against a member of the Presidential VIP Protection Unit at Caledon Square Police Station. Brown allegedly persisted in securing an interview with Mbeki, despite being warned earlier by the bodyguard not to ask the President any questions. Brown said that he was punched several times in the stomach and manhandled.

JOURNALISTS - The Nat Nakasa Award on October 18 was given jointly to Mathatha Tsedu, deputy editor of The Star newspaper and Wolfram Zweker, transport and environment editor of Beeld newspaper at a function in Johannesburg. Baldwin Ndaba, columnist and senior journalist at the Diamond Field Advertiser, was given a special mention for his tenacious approach to journalism in the face of threats and provocation. The award was named after journalist and writer Nat Nakasa who died in exile in the United States on July 14 1965.

PROTESTS - South African Press Association reported on October 20 that the Media Workers' Association of SA said it planned to mount a campaign to protest against the wage gap between managers and employees at media companies in South Africa. Gauteng regional organiser, Oupa Moatshe told a news conference in Johannesburg that his union had conducted a six month survey into salaries paid by all media companies in SA. He said the survey showed a huge wage gap between managers and employees and between black and white journalists. He said that this situation had resulted in quality staff leaving their companies for better paying institutions, newsrooms becoming "juniorised" and morale within the profession being low.

Moatshe cited the SABC, Allied Publishing, Beeld, City Press, Sowetan/Sunday World and the Independent newspapers group as examples. At the SABC, some black employees with about 20 years of service earned less than R100 000 per annum, while their white colleagues with the same years of experience and responsibility earned twice as much. "Our research has also established that historically, whites within the SABC have had an opportunity to be provided with skills, resources and training to perform certain jobs," he said. Moatshe also said that Allied Publishing had retained one of apartheid's most notorious pieces of legislation in the form of job reservation. He said that the majority of senior positions at Allied Publishing were held by whites while blacks filled 80% of the lower grade jobs. At "Beeld", he said, six years after the country's first non-racial general election, the majority of blacks still remained unskilled.

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