ADVERTISING - The Star on October 5 reported that the Internet site iafrica.com had had to take down a billboard which offended followers of the Hindu religion. The billboard, which was situated on Jan Smuts Avenue in Randburg, was taken down on October 3 after a flood of complaints and even a death threat from members of the Hindu community. The billboard showed a picture of a cow with Hindu deity Mother Saraswathi's picture on its forehead in the form of a traditional dot worn on the forehead by Hindu women, while the other half of it showed a plate with grilled steaks with the phrase "Only What You Want". According to The Star, the Hindus were upset as Mother Saraswathi is the goddess of knowledge in the Hindu religion, and they believe that the cow is holy. Another controversial billboard depicted Mother Mary with a pallet of contraceptive pills. Catholics and Hindu expressed their disgust and anger at what they described as "naked blasphemy" against their religions. Marketing director at iafrica.com Cecil Lyons, said that the billboards were part of an outdoor advertising campaign which aimed at showing that no matter what your beliefs, you could find what you wanted at iafrica.com. Ashwin Trikamjee, president of the SA Hindu Maha Sabha, an umbrella body of SA Hindu organisations, said that the billboard came at the worst possible time because prayers for Saraswathi throughout the world had started. He said that the billboard was totally insensitive advertising. However, Lyons said he had sent out an apology to all those who had contacted the company. Lyons said: "The gist of the campaign was to say our society is diverse and that there are many different lifestyles and beliefs, and whether you want information on heterosexual or homosexual relationships, whether you are vegetarian or eat beef, you could find what you are looking for on the net at iafrica.com".

DEFAMATION -- Mail & Guardian on October 6 reported that its editor Phillip van Niekerk and The Star's associate editor Lizeka Mda recently had served court papers on Minister of Public Enterprises Jeff Radebe and the ANC, kicking off a law suit that could set a crucial precedent in the country's defamation law. According to M&G, Van Niekerk and Mda have asked the Johannesburg High Court to rule on Radebe's allegation before the SA Human Rights Commission that Van Niekerk penned an article critical of President Thabo Mbeki under the byline of Mda. What is unprecedented about the lawsuit is that Van Niekerk and Mda are not asking the court to award damages but to instead rule on the veracity of the statement, and then order Radebe and the ANC to publicly retract and apologise, the newspapers reported. In the court papers, as well as in statements to the media, both Van Niekerk and Mda have repeatedly denied the allegations, describing them as scurrilous and defamatory. Both journalists said the allegations have damaged their credibility and reputation, and called on Radebe and the ANC to retract their statement. The statement has been affirmed several times and both Radebe and the ANC have refused to retract or apologise. They also have not been able to provide any proof of the allegations as requested by the SAHRC. In his affidavit, Van Niekerk said he was not interested in money. "It is a poor substitute for an unequivocal finding, retraction and apology by which the slur on my reputation is removed and an end put to its ongoing harm. The commission has referred the matter to the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions to investigate possible criminal charges against Radebe in terms of legislation governing the SAHRC.

JOURNALISTS -- Sunday Independent on October 1 said that the South African media was not doing enough to help fight the HIV/Aids crisis in the country and must report on it as if covering a war. According to Clem Sunter, co-author of the only book dealing with HIV/Aids in South Africa, the media failed to report on the small victories being made and focused on the squabbles taking place at government level. He was speaking at the Sanlam Future Business Leaders Week in Grahamstown on September 29. He said that the media left many stories untold. "There are fantastic breakthroughs, but the papers don't headline them". Sunter also mentioned the lack of research. He said that the key means of combatting HIV/Aids was education. "It's an inexpensive weapon and we need to scale up educational initiatives," he said.

- On October 3, The Star reported that the suspension of its City Editor, Prince Hamnca, has been lifted following an internal disciplinary hearing in which he pleaded guilty to working for an outside concern without permission from the newspaper's editor. Hamnca's suspension on August 31 arose from an investigation of irregularities within the Demarcation Board, which in turn resulted in the board suspending its chief executive officer, Lulu Zitha. The deputy editor of The Star, Mathatha Tsedu, said an investigation had been launched to see if the newspaper's ethical standards had been compromised by the work Hamnca purportedly did for the Dermacation Board. "We found no evidence of such dereliction of duty," Tsedu said. But Hamnca was found guilty of accepting outside employment without authorisation and was given final warning.

PUBLIC BROADCASTING - Mail & Guardian on October 6 reported that a controversial proposal by the board of the SABC to refer senior appointments to the Cabinet for approval was likely to be challenged in Parliament. According to M&G, chair of the SABC board Vincent Maphai told the National Assembly's portfolio committee on communications that the appointment of three senior executives, including its CEO, would be referred to the Cabinet for approval. Although Maphai conceded there was no legal requirement why this had to be done, he said there was no provision in the law preventing this step. Inkatha Freedom Party MP Suzanne Vos, a member of the committee, said that she was planning to launch a legal challenge to the proposal. She said she would lodge a private member's motion in Parliament to make it illegal for the Cabinet to approve senior staff appointments at the SABC. She said that she believed the proposal conflicted with the provisions in the Constitution governing the public broadcaster. She also said that she would request the committee ask Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri and Director General of Communications Andile Ngcaba to give evidence about who told the SABC to refer the appointments to the Cabinet. Meanwhile, FXI in a statement warned that freedom of expression, journalistic, creative and programing independence simply could not be protected if Cabinet was allowed to appoint people to key positions, as it could lead to interference in the affairs of the Corporation and compromise the integrity of the Board. FXI called on the Board and the government to respect a far more important and appropriate protocol with respect to public broadcasters, namely the protocol of protecting their independence and integrity. Ends