''There's a truly positive spirit of optimism about starting the new eNuus.''
So the veteran TV man Freek Robinson tells me. He's the new main anchor of eNuus, the new daily Afrikaans TV bulletin at 19:00 on kykNET (DStv 111) produced for the Afrikaans satellite channel by e.tv's eNews division that kicked off this evening.
Earlier this weekend I spoke to Freek Robinson about this new chapter in his TV career, to find out how he and the rest of the eNuus team are preparing for the brand-new TV bulletin, how his presentation will be different to how viewers have seen him before, what the most interesting thing about eNuus is so far, why eNuus is starting today, how he will describe the atmosphere at eNews and the eNews Channel, how he thinks the creation of eNuus is going to alter or change the TV landscape in South Africa, and what it is that he hopes to achieve with eNuus going forward.
For his answers on all of these questions and more and my full interview with Freek Robinson about the new eNuus, click on READ MORE below.
Freek, how was the experience thus far working on eNuus and preparing for Sunday's first broadcast?
Very intensive but at the same time very exciting and a positive experience because there is a positive attitude here, the will and drive to be successful and a sense of professionalism.
In terms of your TV presentation, moving back behind a news desk, how will the way in which viewers are now going to see you differ from how people have seen you previously as a news reader on the SABC and doing Fokus on SABC2?
It's quite a while ago that I just did normal news reading and over time I started to specialize in interviewing and actuality shows. Now I return to where I've been a few years ago and that's reading the news, but now with the difference that I'm the main news anchor. It's a bit more formal, there's less of your own personality that's allowed to come through because you're there to bring the news of the day across, but the benefit here is that I'm a part of the production process. I don't just read the news like a parrot but I'm a part of the process of working with the news before the bulletin goes to air so there is much more of myself in it than before.
What's the most interesting thing at eNuus so far?
Wel, to return to a place where there's a positive spirit. It's wonderful to work at a place where there's a positive spirit because everyone has the desire to success and to see and to help you succeed. Whereever people can lend a hand, give advice, encourage - even management as well as ordinary production crew - you can just see that they're all driven to see that things work; that things succeed. People are encouraged and supported which is the way it should be at any successful company and this is definitely the case here.
I don't know how much it means for South Africa as a whole, but it means a lot for the Afrikaans community. Up until now there's been a limited TV news service that's been available to the Afrikaans community and now it gets expanded. News and actuality on kykNET will be done by e.tv's news division, eNews, in other words the Afrikaans community will be getting a much bigger spectrum of news and then also now the choice between getting their TV news in Afrikaans from different broadcasters.
Why start eNuus with its first broadcast on Sunday, 18 July, 2010? Why not wait until the beginning of August?
I don't precisely know the answer to that, I have to be honest with you. I think the idea is just to start as quickly as possible and get this off the ground as quickly as possible. And choosing a date . . . well, the quicker the better. Co-incidentally 18 July is the day of Nelson Mandela's birthday so it's a great day to kick off the beginning of eNuus.
How will you describe the atmosphere at eNews and at eNuus?
It's very positive here. There's truly a positive spirit of optimism about starting the new eNuus bulletin. There's an established news division at e.tv which has been going for a number of years now and they're geared and professional and we as Afrikaans people are now joining them. The journalists who are already there have a desire to see that we succeed. They gladly help us and show us and support us and I think its fantastic.
As a new chapter in your career, what is it that you would like to do and achieve with eNuus?
Firstly to just have the product that we're delivering now - a daily eNuus bulletin - be as great as we can possibly get it, to do it in the most professional way in terms of the content, the quality and just broadcast a news bulletin that will hopefully find a place within the community. Secondly, to look and see if its not possible to expand a bit in the future - that you maybe, instead of broadcasting one half hour bulletin a day, expand to broadcasts in the afternoon and later in the evenings so that you can in all likelihood once day in the future get to a place when you can tune in during multiple times during the day as an Afrikaans viewer and be able to get TV news in Afrikaans.
eNuus, daily on kykNET (DStv 111) at 19:00, repeat at 23:30 on weekdays
