“Things move very fast in the ICT sector, very fast!”, said an expert to me two days after I came into this portfolio, echoing the views of so many others who have engaged with me since. Two new 24-hour News Channels launched within a month! That’s quite something!
Look where we’ve come from since 1994! There were only two television broadcasters then. Now look! We have so many commercial, free-to-air, community and public service broadcasters. We need the fullest range of voices to be heard both as an expression of and a consoildation of our thriving, vibrant democracy.
Indeed, ICASA (Independent Comunications Authority of South Africa) is considering issuing more pay tv licences. Of course, part of the competition for more subscribers is over the content available. The Ministry is considering issuing a policy directive to ICASA to open up competition in this sector to give the public more choice on channels and programmes. Currently premium content is locked with one broadcaster, especially in terms of our country’s major sport of soccer, cricket and rugby. We need to ensure that this becomes more accessible to the widest range of citizens possible.
We are, in fact, working on a new broadcasting policy which will deal with free-to-air, commercial and community broadcasting. We intend to have this policy drafted by the end of March 2014 and would welcome your views on it, as we would other stakeholders and the public generally.
Let me, before I move on, congratulate you on the launch of the ANN7 and wish you well. And let me, in particular, welcome the representatives from India of Essel Media with whom South African shareholders have partnered to launch this new channel. This launch contributes in a sense to the strengthening of our BRICS ties, and comes, interestingly, after yesterday’s BRICS Business Council meeting in Johannesburg.
The launch of this new 24-hour news channel will contribute to more competition so hopefully leading to a higher quality and range of news as broadcasters search for unique stories to keep viewers. More South African stories, from across our beautiful country, will hopefully be told.
ANN7 launches at a time when the international news market is highly competitive, especially with the increasing influence of foreign broadcasters which have more financial power. We need to have a diversity of views, not just from CNN or the BBC. We need new angles on stories, new voices, and new issues, without violating universal journalistic principles such as accuracy and balance. Can ANN7 go beyond the approaches already in the market and come up with a new “new” on the continent?
I am interested to see that your editorial vision includes:
- Being “unashamedly pro-South Africa in coverage of its institutions, including the public sector, but critical of them when their actions discriminate against the common (person)”.
- “Connecting and informing communities across a united SA and beyond”
- Raising the “level of awareness and consciousness around issues affecting the people of SA and the continent”
- Being “critical, but fair and constructive”
An uncritical media is as equally damaging to the social fabric of a nation and a country as an over-critical media. The key for our developmental goals is to have a media that tirelessly seeks the right balances.
As the media, you can do a lot more to ensure that you provide knowledge and information to all South Africans, especially those in rural areas. These communities can use this information to empower themselves. Addressing our inequalities also means, of course, reducing the information and knowledge divide.
You will be competing with SABC, and as it is the public broadcaster, and government is the shareholder on behalf of the public, obviously, we have some concerns. But we understand that you are looking into some sort of cooperative relationship? Maybe some sort of complementary relationship, especially in view of the limited market? In any case, I read from your documents that you say: “Our collaboration with SABC will be like any other collaboration between broadcasting partners where we will share content of interest to each other. In all cases this will be on a win-win basis.”
Of course, an advantage of this new channel is that more people will be employed across the value chain, from presenters to drivers and other staff.
I am told that ANN7 will be a technologically very advanced 24x7 news channel with the latest newsroom automation systems and cutting edge electronic news gathering technology and graphic machines. I see in your documents you say: “Our integrated newsroom and studios are state of the art, equipped with robotic cameras, jib, video walls and the latest lights and equipment.The production would be end-to-end in High Definition (HD). Our Galleries are world class, fitted with Studer audio panels and Snell and Wilcox’s Kahuna vision mixers.” Well, I am a politician, not a broadcasting technical expert, but I’m told by those who know, that ANN7 has much technological promise. I hope you fulfill that promise.
Of course this is Women’s Month and we are glad to see that women are rewriting the scripts in the broadcasting sector. From previously being limited to being the “weather girls” women have begun to take leading roles in the broadcasting sector. Today women anchors hold their own with the best. We are pleased to see that Chantal Rutter Dros and Gerry Rantseli-Elsdon are among the women presenters at ANN7. We hope that, as with other women anchors, they inspire younger women to seek careers in broadcasting.
My time is limited. Let me end, by wishing you well and saying that I hope you will contribute to consolidating our rich and diverse democracy.
