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SABC3 is ''seriously concerned'' about its nightly flagship news bulletin at 19:00, the News @ 7 that is limping along without its longtime news anchor Mahendra Raghunath and a flurry of inept nightly replacements. Mahendra Raghunath has been taken off the air and suspended by his SABC news bosses after he allegedly spoke to the media about the apparent shambles that the SABC TV News division is in. His case before the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) will be heard on Friday, 16 April.
While normal viewers might not know, the news bulletins supplied to the SABC TV channels are delivered to them by the news division, over which the channels have little or no control - and SABC3 is NOT happy with Mahendra Raghunath suddenly begin taken off. I've also done several stories here as well as in the newspapers about the beleaguered SABC TV News department with a massive amount of unhappy, irritated, sad and angry SABC news personnel. A large number of them constantly talk about how bad it is there, to me as well as other journalists.
I asked SABC3 whether the broadcaster is concerned about not having Mahendra Raghunath reading the news anymore, also given Solly Mokoetle, the SABC group CEO's admission last month in parliament that SABC3's news bulletin is in a serious nosedive regarding its viewership which i told you about RIGHT HERE.
''It's a serious concern for the channel. It has been a concern because even before it came to Solly Mokoetle's attention [because] our viewers complained about it,'' Buli Siwani, SABC3's acting marketing manager told me when I asked her. ''Also the programming manager was not happy as well. He wants to make sure that this gets sorted out as well,'' she says. ''Also, the way of the delivery of the news – we have been saying for the longest time, the way that the SABC presenters are used is stuck in a formula. We need to be more dynamic with the times. Peoples' taste change and they're stuck in that box. I think now that they know that Solly Mokoetle is watching them, that something is going to happen. All along complaints from the channels have fallen on deaf ears.''
