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BBC gets the same signal as SABC

Console Tleane

Published in Business Day, 7 March 2005

THE long-celebrated independence of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is under threat. A proposal tabled by Labour’s Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell suggests that the BBC’s 77-year tradition of self-governance, overseen by a board of governors, be overhauled. The board of governors will be replaced by two bodies — a trust, and an executive board accountable to the trust.

One of the major problems with the existing BBC model is its lack of accountability to any organ other than its board of governors, which plays the role of policy-maker, regulator and monitor.

Jowell’s proposals should be welcomed in so far as they separate powers and functions. Regulatory functions would be vested with the Office of Communications, the British equivalent of the Independent Communications Authority of SA.

The government has not forgiven the BBC for its stance against the war in Iraq , particularly Andrew Gilligan’s report that the government had “sexed up” intelligence to justify the war. Despite Lord Hutton’s findings that the broadcaster “erred” in airing Gilligan’s reportage, and the resignation of BBC director-general Greg Dyke and chairman Gavyn Davies, the resentment remains.

The BBC will continue to receive public funding, with approximately R20bn from licence fees allocated for the current year.

Since the demise of public broadcasting in the US , most of the world, SA included, has regarded the BBC as a model of public broadcasting. But perhaps the most compelling reason to be concerned about what is happening to the BBC has to do with two similar developments unfolding in SA.

There have recently been disturbing signals of increasing political pressure on the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The health minister recently demanded coverage of an event at which she was speaking, and the broadcaster complied. The resignation of the broadcaster’s group CEO was also attributed to political pressure.

There have also been repeated failures by the SABC to broadcast stories that are in the public interest, which opens it to criticism of bias towards the ruling party.

The SABC received a its first real, dedicated allocation in Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s budget last month. For the financial year 2005-06, it will receive R400m. Last year it received R40m for the closure of the Bophuthatswana Broadcasting Corporation.

This money is a sign that the African National Congress is planning to realise its 2002 national conference resolution to have a fully funded public broadcaster by 2012. Some of the money will also be used to move the SABC from analogue to digital transmission and to bring about other improvements.

There will be additional investment in the SABC from government departments such as education and communications, for educational programme sponsorships. This financial investment should be welcomed as it will build a well-resourced public broadcaster able to provide quality broadcasting. The income from licence fees is a drop in the ocean of the SABC’s financial needs.

But is the SABC being rewarded now that it is committed to churning out state propaganda? The R400m allocation comes after the SABC wrestled the development of two African language television stations, SABC 4 and 5, from the communications department.

We can only hope that threats to the independence of the BBC will not have ripple effects on our shores. The rhetoric of both governments sounds the same.


Tleane, a researcher at the Freedom of Expression Institute, is co-author of Public Broadcasting in the Era of Cost Recovery: A critique of the SABC’s crisis of accountability (2003).