The Media Online’s weekly round up of people, account and business moves in media.
This week’s BIG move: SABC puts record straight on Covid-19 funds application
The SABC has set
the record straight on its application for additional funding from National
Treasury. In response to the
Communications Workers Union, the public broadcaster said it had submitted an
application for additional funding through an adjustments budget to finance
unforeseen and unavoidable expenditure within a financial year. It anticipated
a revenue loss of R1.5 billion due to Covid-19.
It said its
inherent and unique responsibility as the primary carrier of public content and
messaging in line with its public mandate was to ensure millions of South
Africans are provided with important and credible information regarding Covid-19
in all official languages and across its television, radio and digital
platforms.
It therefore had
to embark on a number of activities for business continuity, including
displacing revenue-generating programming across its three free-to-air channels
to accommodate all public announcements and media briefings relating to the
COVID-19 pandemic, as well as amplifying news and current affairs content. The
SABC has not received any COVID-19 relief funding to date.
It denied the CWU’s
claim that there was transparency and accountability on the utilisation of
bailout funds, which was granted for clearly defined priorities and which the
SABC has adhered to.
There are monthly
meetings between the SABC, DCDT and National Treasury to monitor the
utilisation of the bailout funds.
People moves
Condolences pour
in for Sbusiso Mseleku
The media community is mourning the death of veteran sports journalist, Sbusiso Mseleku, who died from a Covid-19 related illness in the Midvaal Private Hospital this week.
“His unmatched
passion for journalism and football spoke for itself. Arguably one of Africa’s
most celebrated football writers, Mr Mseleku effortlessly painted beautiful
football pictures with both his written and spoken words. During his extensive
sports career, he also served the public service broadcaster as a Sports
Analyst, on key SABC sports projects including the Africa Cup of Nations
(AFCON),” the SABC said.
“He has left an
indelible footprint in the sports fraternity, and his immense contribution has
laid a firm foundation for other sports journalist to follow.”
The South African National Editors’ Forum said Mseleku’s distinguished
journalism career spanned an incredible 33 years. He had recently started his
online company S’busiso Mseleku Sports also using the Facebook platform.
His former colleague, City Press football writer Timothy Molobi‚
currently editorial manager for news and sports‚ described Mseleku as, “The one
who put City Press on the map for football”.
“I’m still shocked by the passing of one of the best story tellers in
the country. Personally, I learnt a lot from him as he took me under his wing
when I started working with him at City Press.
He taught me the values of journalism. He was a good mentor and
motivator. Sports journalism, in particular, is lost without him,” he said.
Filmmaker, producer and creator of popular SABC soapie Muvhango, Duma
Ndlovu‚ who was also a close friend took to social media announcing Mseleku’s
passing. He wrote: “Last night I lost a dear friend, a brother and cousin, Sbu
Mseleku. The veteran sports journalist succumbed to COVID -19 around 9 pm last
night and his family is still trying to come to terms with his passing.”
Ndlovu said South Africa had lost another giant to the Coronavirus as S’bu’s
life and work spoke for itself. He said,
“I think for me the message is that we as a country should take the
Coronavirus very seriously‚ and observe all the protocols‚ because we should
not be losing figures such as S’bu to this disease”.
SANEF extended its deepest condolences to his family, friends and
colleagues.
Franklin Templeton appoints
Julian Ide as head of EMEA distribution
Franklin Templetonhas appointed Julian Ide as
head of EMEA Distribution effective at the completion of Franklin Templeton’s acquisition of Legg
Mason. Edinburgh-based
Ide will remain as CEO of
specialist investment organisation, Martin
Currie. He will report into the recently announced Head of
Global Advisory Services, Adam Spector.
Using his vast
experience in the investment management industry, Ide will play a leading role
in further developing the organisation’s distribution strategy and unlocking
opportunities for growth in the EMEA region.
Business moves
OFM introduces niche business show
OFM has launched a brand new niche show focusing on all things business-orientated.
Central South Africa not only contains many economic power hubs, but also ingenious innovators and entrepreneurs, who ensure this bourgeoning region prospers. The OFM Business Hour showcases these pioneers’ contributions, the latest business news, and even tips on how to better manage your finances.
Hosted weeknights from 18:00 to 19:00 by Cyril
Viljoen and produced by Aaron Masemola, The Business Hour was born out of the
success of The Agri Hour – another niche show focusing on the agricultural
market, broadcast weekday mornings between 05:00 and 06:00.
Says Tim Thabethe, OFM’s Programme Manager:
“The Business Hour on OFM was born from a need to funnel all of Central South
Africa’s business interests into one place. It is a platform that speaks to the
region’s entrepreneurial spirit and shares its greater intellect
and knowledge base. Although not restricted to interests within the Free State, Northern Cape, North West and the Vaal, the Business Hour on OFM pulls together content from across South Africa for the benefit of all to learn, grow and prosper under the true essence of ‘Living the Real Good Life’ – OFM’s call to live the best quality of life, under the Central South African sky.”
Avatar Launches #EndInequality Corruption Watch Campaign
Avatar Agency Group has launched the #EndInequality
Campaign with Corruption Watch, highlighting how corruption maintains the
status quo and the poor and vulnerable continue to suffer the most. This
campaign encourages people not to look the other way when confronted with
corruption.
The campaign uses aerial photographic shots that clearly
depict the divide that still exists today between the rich and poor in South
Africa. It shows how in 2020, the evidence of inequality is
glaring at us every single day.
Johnny Miller, founder of Unequal Scenes, said: “I’m proud
to align my project mission with that of Corruption Watch. Unequal Scenes was
designed not just as a photographic project, but a home for creatives,
activists, scientists and journalists to connect and strategise creative
approaches to make the world a more healthy, fair, and equitable place.”
Veli Ngubane, chief creative officer of Avatar, said the opportunity
to work with Corruption Watch on this campaign, using Johnny Miller’s striking
images, could not have come at a better time, when the message is as relevant
as ever. “The stark inequalities in our country have been brutally exposed by
the global pandemic, and this visual representation of our reality will, we
hope, inspire people to get involved and do their part in ending corruption,
and work towards a more equal society.”
Influence marketing – Ogilvy SA enters the fray
Dylan Joubert
Ogilvy South
Africa has launched its own Influence Marketing division, entitled InfluenceO,
with Dylan Joubert at the helm.
InfluenceO will
assist clients in making the most of this new channel as part of their
marketing mix and will offer an end to
end, full service and integrated approach that does not only focus on
identifying influencers as so many other platforms do, but develops strategic
and creative answers to brand briefs.
Head of InfluenceO, Joubert, said it has never been more important to be
agile, especially in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The winners will be
the brands who see the opportunities to partner with influencers in strategic
and creative ways in order to land their message – especially in a time of
social distancing and economic recovery,” he said.
Wunderman Thompson
Launches PRISM Sport + Entertainment in South Africa
Wunderman Thompson
is making a strategic bet on growth in sponsorship with the launch of a new
unit of PRISM Sport + Entertainment.
The new unit will
be part of the Wunderman Thompson offering in South Africa and marks the
expansion of London-based PRISM Sport + Entertainment into the South African
market.
Sponsorship
veteran, Qondisa Ngwenya, will lead the unit as managing director. PRISM South
Africa will have a decidedly modern take on sponsorship marketing, including
both traditional sponsorship consultancy plus digitally-powered capabilities
adapted to a post-COVID-19 environment.
“For three
decades, brands have been choosing PRISM for our industry-leading expertise on
the most effective ways to engage sport and entertainment audiences – whether
that’s digital, print, broadcast or experiential,” said Jamie Copas, PRISM CEO.
“We’re pleased to enter the dynamic South African market with the reputable
Qondisa Ngwenya to help clients navigate sponsorship effectively.
Africa’s first virtual communication platform Glue VP launches in South Africa
Africa’s first virtual communication and collaboration platform conceived and developed by Africans has been launched in South Africa. Glue Virtual platform – GlueVP – is the brainchild of Zimbabwean-born Professor, Richard Chinomona, a visionary and a passionate innovator determined to create solutions to further African economies and advance social impact solutions.
Designed by Africans for Africans GlueVP is intended among other purposes to assist African states in dealing with cyber security issues that are endemic in an increasingly virtual world.
The GLUE Virtual Platform combines the functionality of major virtual platforms. It provides high quality and affordable access for users with real-time support and security. Communication on the platform is fitted and secured with an end-to-end encryption to protect users from third party infiltration.
“Have you ever imagined the security risk posed by having African governments conducting high level cabinet meetings that discuss sensitive or strategic issues about their respective country governance on a virtual platform that is managed and controlled in a foreign country? It is our hope that GlueVP will provide real time security to users, in ways that safeguard the integrity of African affairs” said Chinomona.
LM Radio refreshes
A Spring refresh is on the cards for LM Radio
as it cements itself as a major player in the Gauteng media landscape.
On 1 September, LM Radio will launch its new
daytime line-up, with the renowned Radio and TV Personality and F1-guru, Sasha
Martinengo continuing to anchor the breakfast show from 06:00 to 09:00. He will
be followed by the fresh and exciting talent of Sihle Ndlovu, who replaces the
evergreen Errol Ballantine who leaves the station after several years of loyal
service.
A major coup for LM Radio is the return of
Radio Hall of Famer Brian Oxley, who will be re-joining the Gauteng team to
anchor the 12:00 to 15:00 slot. Oxley is a veteran broadcaster with nearly 40
years of experience working at some of the top radio stations in the country.
He replaces Tinky Pringle, who leaves the station after 10 years in the saddle.
Another familiar name and voice in Gavin
Buckle will drive listeners home from 15:00 to 18:00.
In other changes, Paul Nell and Dennis East
will also be leaving the station, while the Top 20 previously presented by
Chris Turner, will be changed to a Top 10 hosted by Chris Daffy. Gavin K will
host an additional 4 hours on a Sunday from 10h00 till 14h00, while LM Radio
News will move to the top of the hour, with Sport on the half-hour.
LM Radio’s Head of Operations, Lyndon
Johnstone, says the new daytime line-up will bring with it new imaging. “LM
Radio was built on the foundations of great music, and will continue to be
synonymous with the nostalgic hits that listeners have come to love. Lots of
work and investment has gone into making sure that the production elements and
imaging are on a par with top radio stations around the world. The refreshed
feel will combine the nostalgic music listeners are drawn to with the enhanced
production elements of a world class team.”
Samsung
and Moving Tactics reaffirm partnership
Samsung and Moving
Tactics have recently reaffirmed their partnership in Africa, which initially
kicked off nine years ago. Considering the challenges of Covid-19 across the
world, the use of digital signage solutions to provide crucial information to
the end-user quickly, accurately and now adapt to a socially distanced format
has never been more important.
According to Chris
Day, managing director of Moving Tactics, choosing to partner with a
world-leading display manufacturer such as Samsung gave them the opportunity to
offer their clients an effective pre-defined outcome.
“When you build
bespoke solutions, you want to have confidence in the capability of the
solution not only today but throughout its lifetime. Clients want to know that
their investment is sound and that the technology will deliver throughout
the contract period”, said Day.
For almost a decade, the partnership has allowed both companies to
solidify their position as true industry innovators and resulted in digital
signage installations being implemented for large burger fast food franchises,
large clothing and pharmaceutical retailers, with a CAPEX value exceeding R100 million.
The Witness:
Evolving with the times for both readers and advertisers
Now 174 years
old, The Witness continues to be a reliable news source and a family friend to
its readers, while providing advertisers with a trusted environment in which to
reach readers in the most affluent municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
The readership
of The Witness is concentrated primarily in the economically powerful
Umgungundlovu District Municipality. Residents of this area command the highest
monthly household income (R14 544) in KwaZulu-Natal, some 16% ahead of the
national average, according to the 2019 Publisher Audience Measurement Survey
(PAMS).
The Witness has
also, like the city of Pietermaritzburg, stood the test of time and historic
change. From the early days of being a British colony, to the centre of the
country’s political upheaval, to democratic change – this newspaper has seen
and reported it all. Most recently, while the country was anticipating the
arrival of Covid-19 from overseas in March, The Witness brought the story home
by reporting on South Africa’s ‘patient-zero’ identified in Hilton.
The Witness “is
a liberal, independent newspaper, and its success over 174 years has been
because this is in tune with the way our readers think. We are proud of our
diverse audience and our close community,” said editor, Yves Vanderhaeghen.
PAMS 2019 shows that the profile of the total Average Issue Readership (Paper
AIR/ Online Past 7 days combined) of The Witness, is now strongly skewed
towards Black (49.3%) and Indian readers (38.6%).
First for SA
television as virtual auctions shown live on Business Day TV
Broll Auctions
has concluded an exclusive deal with Business Day TV to live screen their
virtual auctions to more than 10 million viewers across Southern Africa.
Ish Hendricks,
group auctioneer of Broll Property Group, said when the 40 commercial
properties go under the hammer on August 26, they would become part of TV
history in South Africa as the first to be sold on auction on live TV.
“Virtual
auctions have been increasing in popularity over the past few years and
Covid-19 cemented the trend,” said Hendricks. “We have held two virtual online
auctions over the past two months, and the model has been so successful that we
have trebled the number of properties on offer at our upcoming auction and are
excited to take the concept onto the small screen with Business Day TV’s
backing.”
Hendricks brings
TV experience from his time as a finalist in the local version of reality show
The Apprentice, to bear during the 90-minute live screening.
France 24 in
English now available on Openview in South Africa
France 24, the French international news channel, reached an agreement
for the free-to-air broadcast of France 24’s English
channel on OpenView, South Africa’s leading free-to-air satellite TV
service platform.
Since August 1st 2020, France 24 is broadcast in English on channel
121 to over 2 million households, alongside 18 TV and radio channels
available via the Openview bouquet.
This widespread distribution in South Africa marks an important
milestone for France 24 English which is already distributed terrestrially
on a FTA basis in Kenya, Rwanda, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini,
Zambia, Malawi and the Seychelles.
With a diverse team of journalists of more than
35 nationalities and a strong network of correspondents across the
world, France 24 gives its audiences a global outlook on international
current affairs through hourly news bulletins, as well as
many shows about culture, economy, technology, sport and much more. France 24’s
work is regularly recognized internationally and has been
awarded several times for its work.
Openview is South Africa’s first free-to-air satellite TV service
platform which offers non-stop entertainment for the whole family, with local
and international shows.
Making moves
FIFA teams up
with African Union, WHO and CAF to promote campaign against domestic violence
in Africa
FIFA is joining
forces with the African Union, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the
Confederation of African Football (CAF) to jointly address the issue of
domestic violence by launching the #SafeHome campaign across the African
continent.
The initiative
is designed to support women and children victims of domestic violence,
particularly as stay-at-home measures in response to COVID-19 have put them at
greater risk. A number of African football stars are supporting the campaign
via video awareness messages distributed on social and traditional media.
“I am glad that
today we can launch this campaign on the important topic of domestic violence,
which is significantly exacerbated by COVID-19 lockdown conditions and movement
restrictions, together with our partners, the African Union, WHO and CAF,” said
FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “It is our duty to leverage the immense
popularity of football in Africa to raise awareness on this societal challenge
with a very clear message: violence has no place in homes, just as it has no
place in football.”
L’Oreal announces a partnership with POWA
L’Oreal has announced
a partnership with POWA. Since the lockdown started, there has been a rise in
GBV. As such, L’Oréal supports the empowerment of women and champions for self-worth.
L’Oréal embarked on a EmpoweRED campaign, which aims to raise funds to assist
women affected by gender-based violence (GBV).
In 2016 L’Oréal
Professional African Salon Institute offered POWA a pilot partnership programme,
where five survivors receive scholarships to study Hair Care for eight months.
For this campaign, L’Oréal Paris collaborated with 12 female social media influencers, who added their voices to the clarion call to combat the scourge of gender-based violence in South Africa. The women also promote the L’Oréal Paris Rouge Signature EmpoweRED lipstick range and L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Red Cream, as a portion of the sales in the month of August will be donated to POWA.
Facebook launches avatars across Sub-Saharan Africa
Facebook has launched Avatars in Africa to give people new
ways to express themselves online. Avatars are digital personas that enable
people to engage across Facebook and Messenger in a more personal and dynamic
way.
“Facebook is
home to some of your most personal content and we want to allow people to share
and react to that content in the most personalised way possible,” said Nunu
Ntshingila, regional director, Facebook Africa. “We’re excited to give people
more options to convey their identity on Facebook, allowing them to share in a
more personal, light-hearted way.”
Avatars include
hundreds of global sticker packs and integrations with GIF providers and can
also be shared across Facebook and Messenger.
BBC Focus on
Africa radio celebrates 60th Anniversary
BBC Focus on Africa radio launched in 1960 and
by 15 August of the same year it had become a permanent slot on the BBC
World Service airwaves.
Focus
on Africa was born at a time when only 17 countries on the continent had gained
independence with many more fighting for liberation. Dorothy Grenfell
Williams and Ugandan Israel Wamala played pivotal roles.
Wamala was one of the early presenters before becoming the first overall
editor of the programme.
As
Focus became popular, it changed transmission times in order to reach new
audiences and became essential listening for people all over Africa
eager to know what was happening in their own countries and beyond. Focus
quickly endeared itself to the audience as a trusted source of news about the
continent. It earned a reputation for holding power to account in young African
nations, during civil wars, military coups and crisis. Its presenters were
revered for asking probing questions everyone wanted answers to. The programme
frequently received hundreds of letters from its growing base of listeners in
Africa and other parts of the world.
Focus
on Africa reaches audiences globally around the world on digital platforms as
well as radio.
The
programme has also reinvented itself with the launch of Africa Todaypodcasting,
providing its audiences with daily news about the continent. In addition, the
FOA Radio team have built on the fact that Africa is the world’s youngest
continent with an average age of 19, and have recently launched The Comb podcast to engage younger
audiences.
For the Diary
2020 Virtual South
African Book Fair programme announced
The South African
Book Fair 2020 programme has been announced and the tickets for this fully
virtual event are now available to purchase.
An entry ticket for only R50 gives you access to the full three-day event taking place between 11-13 September and featuring an engaging, stimulating and entertaining programme and the Fair’s signature industry marketplace. Tickets will be available via the South African Book Fair website.
The organisers of the South African Book Fair have taken care to curate a virtual event that has something for everyone. It also offers a way of supporting, connecting, growing and showcasing the South African publishing industry during the enormous challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Want to continue this conversation on The Media Online platforms? Comment on Twitter @MediaTMO or on our Facebook page. Send us your suggestions, comments, contributions or tip-offs via e-mail to glenda.nevill@cybersmart.co.za.
