When it came to television in South Africa today and television news, the eNCA (DStv 403) owned the overall story and covered all the angles in brilliant rolling TV news coverage of Oscar Pistorius who allegedly shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in the head in the early hours of this morning at his house.
The police is investigating a case of murder and will oppose the bail application of Oscar Pistorius on Friday.
The ongoing news coverage on the eNCA and how the channel mines sources to break news instead of repeating wire services information, works different story angles to provide a comprehensive view, have reporters stationed everywhere and book studio guests was textbook excellent today.
Any South African media student wanting to work at a 24-hour news channel would have found insightful lessons and great practical, real-time lessons and examples of how to do it right today by watching the unfolding coverage on e.tv's news channel.
As eNCA reporters fanned out from Oscar Pistorius' Silver Woods Estate gated community to the court, Reeva Steenkamp's parent's home in Port Elizabeth, Athletics South Africa and elsewhere, eNCA Eleni Giokos anchored the bigger part of the day's rolling coverage on the channel during the morning and into the afternoon today.
Reporters also compiled ongoing additional background and perspective pieces.
Eleni Giokos' ongoing presentation as well as her on-air interviews and phoners were very well done. She never showed fatigue, asked pertinent questions and kept her cool during some technical problems due to the duelling State of the Nation Address coverage which kept happening during the day.
During the police press briefing in front of the gated Silver Woods Estate it was the eNCA asking the most questions, as the rest of the international news channels mostly listened.
The excellent Karyn Maughan with a great legal background and perspective covering criminal cases for the channel reported live from Silver Woods Estate many times today, and also filed a taped report.
eNCA reporters such as Ben Zaid, Mia Willemse, Gary Boruchowitz and Phakamile Hlubi all filed stories. Shahan Ramkissoon was at court in case Oscar Pistorius appeared for a bail application and he was also doing live reports.
Several in-studio guests were invited and pitched for interviews at the eNCA's Hyde Park headquarters.
The eNCA immediately utilized its still-new "Breaking News" bumper and used it often and absolutely appropriately. This was breaking news and breaking news that mattered.
Also keep in mind that the eNCA actually pre-planned and geared up to cover president Jacob Zuma, the opening of parliament in Cape Town (Iman Rappetti in floral red did good work but from an interest point of view it simply couldn't compete) and the State of the Nation Address.
It was interesting (and fantastic) to see how the eNCA instantly and completely were willing as a news platform to adapt to breaking news and a new news situation confronting the newsroom on a day of duelling stories and despite a lot of work, stories and plans which now probably never saw the light of day on broadcast which were probably already done for the State of the Nation Address.
It was apt, appropriate and riveting to follow the eNCA's news coverage today regarding Oscar Pistorius and it was done well.
A big news story doesn't mean the information falls into your lap. Great news must be mined and found. The eNCA kept finding it and bringing it and the channel proved its worth as a news channel on MultiChoice's DStv with international channels from Sky News to Fox News Channel quoting, using and referencing the eNCA on their air and news bits being broken by the channel.
Anybody - any journalist or reporter who's ever worked in a zany, understaffed, over-pressured newsroom when big news breaks - knows the pressure, stress, logistical problems, the suddenly escalating costs, the too little time, the critical decisions.
Undoubtedly there must have been a lot of stress behind the scenes of this South African TV news channel today, trying to work it all, work it well, get it on air and get it on air quick. Viewers didn't see that stress though - they just got good television news. And the eNCA deserves recognition for that. It was a TV news job done well.
