Debora Patta goes global as TV correspondent for CBS Evening News and seen globally on Sky News.

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Debora Patta is back on television, appearing on global television on Saturday evening in the United States and early on Sunday morning for the rest of the world less than a month after the South African TV news woman signed off from e.tv and her longrunning weekly investigative show 3rd Degree which was instantly cancelled, following behind-the-scenes upheaval at e.tv's news division.

Debora Patta filed the lead first story - Nelson Mandela back in hospital - for the CBS Evening News in America on Saturday evening from the Mediclinic Heart Hospital as a correspondent from Pretoria.

Debora Patta did the same for the CBS Evening News back in March.

The CBS Evening News is shown daily, globally, on Sky News (DStv 402) which is a direct competitor 24-hour news channel right next to the eNCA on DStv channel 403 on DStv's news channels' line-up.

Debora Patta's story for the CBS Evening News about Nelson Mandela was noteworthy to careful observers: out of all the TV reports it was the best one.

She not only interviewed presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj on camera but also included very interesting - and relevant contextual facts - from Nelson Mandela's biography putting into context his long struggle with lung disease.

Against All Odds from the eNCA replaces and takes the 3rd Degree slot on e.tv on Tuesdays at 21:30 from this Tuesday.

Against All Odds with Mpho Lakaje is taking the timeslot and replacing the abruptly cancelled 3rd Degree on e.tv on Tuesdays at 21:30 starting from this coming Tuesday, 21 May.

3rd Degree ended this week Tuesday after last week's shock announcement about the end of the current affairs investigative magazine show after 13 years.

Against All Odds, originally an eNCA show and currently still running, is now getting repurposed for free-to-air viewers.

Mpho Lakaje profiles South African people who, despite various setbacks and environmental circumstancess achieve seemingly impossible goals.

BREAKING. Debora Patta says goodbye as 3rd Degree on e.tv ends after 13 years: 'A challenge and pleasure to have anchored this show'.

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Saying she was honoured to have done 3rd Degree for 13 years for e.tv and for South African TV viewers and warning and reminding South Africans and the media and press of the importance of good investigative journalism and to keep shining a light to change the world, the indomitable TV news woman Debora Patta signed off as the anchor of 3rd Degree and ended the longrunning current affairs programme on e.tv she started.

"After 13 years on-air, 3rd Degree is coming to an end. It's been an incredible challenge and an absolute pleasure to have anchored this show," Debora Patta told viewers. "I have worked with some of the finest people in the business and I am honoured to have worked with every single one of you both on and off air."

Debora Patta had thanks for 3rd Degree viewers - and a message for all South Africans and the press about the importance of investigative journalism in her final e.tv on-air goodbye.

"Thank you to all the loyal 3rd Degree viewers. You remain our inspiration and we thank you for allowing us to tell your incredible stories. Good investigative journalism is crucial for the fabric of our democracy. I salute everyone who continues to speak truth to power, to shine a light, to get behind the official facade and to change the world, one story at a time. Goodbye."

The final episode of 3rd Degree looked back at the first moments of the first episode of 3rd Degree in May 2000 and highlights of the show over the years and the gamut of stories that was covered.

Last week e.tv shocked in a shoddy media-poor announcement saying that Debora Patta is leaving e.tv and that 3rd Degree is suddenly ending. It was as abrupt and unprofessional as it was perplexing.

Earlier today e.tv suddenly announced that the repeat broadcasts of 3rd Degree following after tonight's final episode is suddenly pulled off the schedule. e.tv didn't give a reason and didn't respond to a media enquiry asking why.

3rd Degree started on 11 May 2000 on the then fledgling e.tv, South Africa's first commercial free-to-air TV station which was in desperate need of gravitas local programming, buzz-making programming and some type of current affairs magazine show. Debora Patta stepped forward and brazenly and boldly led a team charting a new and unique current affairs type investigative magazine show.

From the outset 3rd Degree and Debora Patta knew that they couldn't be Carte Blanche - the premier investigative and current affairs show on M-Net - e.tv had neither the budget or willingness to support such a bold new venture and neither had eNews the experienced in-house journalists and production staff at that time.

So 3rd Degree molded itself out of its own new mould - a feisty and utterly fearless Debora Patta tackling stories with a team of producers in a take-no-prisoners approach, asking and demanding answers to tough questions.

A lot of viewers were startled by Debora Patta's form of no holds barred journalism but they came to realize quickly that she got answers and inside doors even when they were not opened.

BREAKING. Debora Patta leaving e.tv; 3rd Degree abruptly ending; Debora Patta resigns to pursue freelance opportunities.

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Debora Patta and e.tv is parting ways with e.tv's longrunning weekly investigative and current affairs show, 3rd Degree, anchored by Debora Patta, with 3rd Degree which will suddenly be ending next Tuesday 14 May after Debora Patta leaves e.tv.

So shocking and sudden is Debora Patta's departure that 3rd Degree is ending too.

There appears to be indications that Debora Patta and e.tv's split was possibly not entirely amicable - Debora Patta's shocking departure contains no finely-transitioned future for 3rd Degree and tellingly a press statement from e.tv and it's 24-hour news channel, eNCA, contains no drop-in quote from Debora Patta.

Debora Patta was the executive producer and anchor of 3rd Degree and is leaving to become a freelance broadcaster. Debora Patta's shocking departure comes just a few month's shy of 3rd Degree's 13th anniversary.

The show debuted in August 2000 on the then-new e.tv TV channel which started in 1998 and where Debora Patta worked since e.tv started.

Debora Patta and 3rd Degree quickly became a new South African television popular culture touchstone with her "take-no-prisoners" approach of strong and often brazen interrogation-type interviewing techniques.

When the eNews Channel started with Debora Patta who played an instrumental role in setting up South Africa's first independent 24-hour TV news channel, 3rd Degree also branched out with an additional half hour of the show entitled 3rd Degree Plus.

Debora Patta was appointed editor-in-chief of e.tv news in 2005 but four years later in September 2009 she resigned citing work pressure and that she wanted to concentrate more on producing the demanding 3rd Degree. She said at the time that she wanted to "follow my passion for journalism".

The 3rd Degree name became synonymous as a TV brand with Debora Patta's firebrand signature style and even almost 13 years later 3rd Degree still consistently ranks as one of e.tv top watched shows in terms of overall viewers.

Now 3rd Degree's production team will be reassigned to other shows while the eNCA looks at creating a new weekly current affairs programme for the two TV channels. "There were planned changed in the pipeline anyway," for 3rd Degree, says the eNCA, which the news channel says it won't be discussing.

TV with Thinus detailed the unusual and growing presence of Debora Patta this year on other TV news channels as she's started to clock up a lot of time in 2013 with appearances on international 24-hour news channels.

Debora Patta popped up on CNN International (DStv 401) in February to comment on the Oscar Pistorius drama. That wasn't so unusual since she was asked onto Amanpour as a local TV news expert.

Alarm bells however started to ring when Debora Patta suddenly showed up on the CBS Evening News in March - one of America's nightly TV news bulletins but which is simulcast daily on Sky News (DStv 402) and can hence be seen in South Africa but on a directly competing channel to eNCA. What's more is that Debora Patta wasn't on this news show as an analyst but as a full correspondent, reporting a story.

"Debora Patta will be leaving to pursue other interests as a freelancer for international news companies," says Patrick Conroy, the eNCA group head of news in a statement. "She tendered her resignation which was accepted by the management of eNCA and e.tv."

"It's simply time for a change," says eNCA.

"After 15 years of service Debora Patta wants to explore other options," says Patrick Conroy. "We've been in discussions about the future of 3rd Degree for several months. In the end she felt she wanted to try something new working as an independent freelancer. We agreed and will now explore a different on-air offering."

Monde Twala, the head of e.tv channels says "we'd like to thank Debora Patta for her 15 years of service and wish her well with her new business venture."

SHOCKER! A rhino's dying cries: 3rd Degree on e.tv will shock Tuesday at 21:30 with amateur footage showing the illegal killing of a terrified rhino.

3rd Degree tomorrow night, Tuesday, 13 November, on e.tv at 21:30 is set to shock with horrific amateur video of a dying rhino, being killed illegally, desperately trying to escape. The terrified animal which can clearly be heard crying like a baby, tries to flee, as it is mercilessly shot again, and again, and again.

3rd Degree with Debora Patta is in possession of shocking amateur video footage that calls into question the decision at the end of last week to drop the charges against five accused in the illegal rhino trade case in South African courts which has been making international headlines.

While the Thai national Chumlong Lemtongthai has pleaded guilty and has now been sentenced for illegal trade in rhino horn, 3rd Degree on Tuesday plans to show that several other people were involved in at least one shocking incident of illegal rhino killing.

It was claimed that the other men implicated knew nothing about any illegal rhino hunting, but the terrifying and simply shocking video 3rd Degree plans to show on Tuesday night, tells a very different story.

In the harrowing video which is cringeworthy and very difficult to watch, it is very clear that South Africa's very strict rules for rhino hunting are completely flouted. Shot after shot is fired as a yelping rhino, crying like a baby, tries to get away from the illegal hunters who do not have a permit to kill the animal, as Chumlong Lemtongthai stands idly by.

Over 450 rhino have been slaughtered for their horns so far just this year as the endangered animal hovers on the brink of extinction.

On Tuesday at 21:30 3rd Degree plans to blow the lid on a wildlife trafficking syndicate that spans the globe from South African game farms to rhino horn dealers in South-East Asia.

BREAKING. Debora Patta and 3rd Degree on e.tv apologizes and has to say sorry about a Metrorail report.

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Debora Patta and 3rd Degree, e.tv's weekly investigative magazine show, had to apologize in Tuesday night's broadcast for a Metrorail story - a very difficult thing for a journalistic-based media outlet, especially an investigative TV show, to have to do.

Debora Patta had to apologize on the air for a producer who messed up in a July episode about Metrorail and in which 3rd Degree stated as a fact that a Metrorail victim had not received his money from a lawyer's firm - while in fact Metrorail had not yet paid the lawyer's firm the victim's money yet.

"In our 3rd Degree programme about Metrorail aired in the week of 9 July, we focused some of our attention on the plight on Bongani Mojafe whose leg had to be amputated after a Metrorail accident. In the programme 3rd Degree stated as fact certain allegations which were incorrect about the law firm Raphael Kurganoff Incorporated, the lawyers handling Bongani's case."

"We stated that that the law firm had been paid by Metrorail and had not paid the money to Bongani. It had also been stated that the law firm had been in posession of the money since April. It has been brought to our attention that at the time of broadcasting that programme, the money from Bongani's case had not been paid to the lawyers by Metrorail, and that the money was only paid to them on Friday, 20 July."

Debora Patta said "3rd Degree takes this opportunity to apologize to the staff of Raphael Kurganoff for the ascertion of incorrect facts. If we had ascertained these facts at the time, we could have presented the true position in relation to this matter. We regret the error and apologize for any embarrassement caused to the firm."

BREAKING. M-Net's Carte Blanche and e.tv's 3rd Degree are finalists in the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2012.

M-Net's investigate magazine show Carte Blanche and e.tv's investigative magazine show 3rd Degree are both finalists in television reporting in the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2012.

South Africa's TV industry has once again done well to have nominees in the continent's most prestigious competition honouring excellence in journalism.

The CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2012 - the 17th time this awards ceremony will be taking place - will be taking place in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia this year on Saturday 21 July.

While the SABC, South Africa's public broadcaster doesn't feature, South African print publications did make the cut to help up South Africa's stake in the various categories. Awards will be handed out at the gala ceremony which will have Isha Sesay of CNN International's NewsCenter and Franklin Tembo Jnr., a ZNBC presenter, as hosts.

Joy Summers from Carte Blanche on M-Net is a finalist, as is Megan Small and Clive Mitchell from e.tv's 3rd Degree. Those are the only television contenders from South Africa considered good enough in this year's CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2012.

Print finalists from South Africa include Adriaan Basson and Piet Rampedi from City Press newspaper, Demelza Bush, Craig McKune and Verashni Pillay together as a team for the Mail & Guardian Online, and Antoine de Ras from The Star.

In total the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2012 has 34 finalists in 12 categories.

"The growing quality of the entries we pored over is a reflection of a growing continent claiming its place in the sun," says Ferial Haffajee, judge and editor-in-chief of City Press newspaper. in a statement.

"We were impressed by the enhanced quality and competitiveness of the work before us; by the heart and soul poured onto pages and into pixels; by the adventurist spirit of the entries which came from more countries than ever before. In print, in radio, in television it is clear that African journalism is in a growth spurt, claiming its stake as world-class and globally competitive. A bit like our continent."

"The CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards are an investment we truly believe in, as journalists are one of the cornerstones of a nation," says Nico Meyer, CEO of MultiChoice Africa. "We need to continue to recognise them as they tell real stories that reflect the fabric of our diverse societies."

"The standard of entries continues to grow and the quality of submissions is testimony to the great levels of talent our continent holds. We are honoured once again to be a part of these awards which contribute immensely in shaping freedom of speech and a healthy and vibrant media."

"It is very important to us to help Africa not only find its voice but also to make that voice heard around the world," says Collins Khumalo, the CEO of MultiChoice South Africa. "The CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards gives a voice to journalists across the continent. We look forward to celebrating their stories and achievements."

3rd Degree Plus on the eNews Channel with Debora Patta still exists as a separate add-on show for special occasions.

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3rd Degree Plus, the additional half hour as an extra weekly add-on program from Debora Patta which the eNews Channel (DStv 403) launched with; then silently dumped; isn't permanetly gone - as viewers would have seen last week.

3rd Degree - simulcast on e.tv and the eNews Channel ran over into an additional half hour last week. It was not specifically billed as 3rd Degree Plus (the on-screen intertile simply showed 3rd Degree during the start of the second half hour), although that is effectively what the extra half hour was/is: 3rd Degree Plus.

Debora Patta and e.tv ended her blog a while ago (although the 3rd Degree end title sequence kept showing and including the non-existent blog address for about a year along with the show's contact details before it was eventually removed), and 3rd Degree Plus also quietly slipped off of the eNews Channel's schedule. Sources tell me it became too difficult from a logistics and booking point of view to get guests to sit for another half hour as 3rd Degree Plus, especially when 3rd Degree handled some kind of pre-taped story for the whole half hour.

3rd Degree Plus hasn't been a regular weekly show on the eNews Channel for a very long time, but it's not permanently gone, as the additonal half hour last week showed when the pre-recorded story regarding Gauteng's controversial e-tolling, went longer into a live in-studio debate with Debora Patta as moderator.

''Add-ons of 3rd Degree will only happen when there is a call for it, for instance a debate that is vigorous and needs to run for an extended time, like the e-toll debate. It's definitely not a weekly occurrence,'' e.tv tells me.

Programming note: 3rd Degree on the eNews Channel tonight looks at the financial crisis of the bankrupt Limpopo provincial government.

e.tv's and the eNews Channel (DStv 403) weekly investigative programme  3rd Degree tonight at 21:30 looks at the shocking financial crisis of the Limpopo provincial government which has been declared bankrupt and is more than R2 billion in the red - without having anything to show for that money and fiscal waste.

[Programming note: e.tv has UEFA Champions League, so 3rd Degree will only be shown at 21:30 on the eNews Channel and not e.tv.]

How did a province with an annual budget of R43 billion manage to empty its coffers five months before its financial year end?

Tonight 3rd Degree visited two towns in Limpopo where projects awarded to the politically well connected were done so badly that they left communities worse of than the were before and with millions of rands lost forever.

Programming note: Debora Patta and the Muslim Judicial Council square off in a pre-recorded sit-down interview in 3rd Degree tonight on e.tv.

3rd Degree tonight at 21:30 on e.tv and the eNews Channel (DStv 403) with Debora Patta will most likely once again be one of those must-watch TV moments as Debora Patta will be squaring off with the Muslim Judicial Council's (MJC) executive member, Moulana Abdul Fataagh Carr.

I'm told it's a pre-recorded sit-down interview that viewers will see tonight in 3rd Degree.

After the massive public outcry and controversy swirling around the MJC after 3rd Degree's pork expose and non-Halaal meat scandal, the show ignited a firestorm the past 2 weeks with newspapers and the public demanding answers from the MJC.

In a sit-down interview tonight, the MJC under pressure, agreed to talk to Debora Patta in what e.tv calls a ''no holds barred interview''. 3rd Degree struggled for weeks to get answers from the MJC, the body that controls Halaal certification in the Western Cape.

Programming note: 3rd Degree tonight on e.tv looking back and following up on popular and award-winning stories this past year.

The investigative magazine show 3rd Degree tonight at 21:30 on e.tv is once again doing its regular update show, looking back at some of the year's popular stories and following-up with the subjects and people to see what's happened since.

Tonight's 3rd Degree update show will revisit the elephantiasis sufferer Nana Ntombela in her home in rural KwaZulu-Natal, will talk about the Dewani extradition case and follow-up on various government actions (or inactions) following exposes on tender corruption.

The past year has also been a great year for 3rd Degree that won four awards for its work. The show will look at these award-winning stories that's been recognized by judges for outstanding journalism.

Programming note: 3rd Degree only shown on the eNews Channel on Tuesday night; will be 'new' on e.tv on Wednesday morning.

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3rd Degree, e.tv's weekly investigative magazine show with Debora Patta will not be shown on e.tv this coming Tuesday, 13 September, although 3rd Degree will continue and broadcast a new episode on the eNews Channel (DStv 403) on Tuesday in its regular timeslot of 21:30.

3rd Degree will not be shown on e.tv on Tuesday night since the show is pre-empted by the UEFA Championships League soccer, but 3rd Degree will still get its repeat broadcast - and therefore be brand-new on Wednesday morning, 14 September at 10:00 on e.tv.

3rd Degree on 13 September will look at the issue of job creation in South Africa with the government of president Jacob Zuma that has set the ambitious target of 5 million new jobs by 2020. ''How do we go about creating these jobs, with our major trading partners teetering on the edge of a second recession? Some say the only way to open up opportunities is to relax out stringent labour laws,'' says the show.

3rd Degree will meets textile workers in Newcastle KZN, many of whom are prepared to earn less than the legal minimum wage, just to have a job.

SAD. e.tv fails in telling the press about the one hour live 3rd Degree Election Special debate on television right now.

By the way... e.tv's website is also down. No reason why is given and e.tv gave no indication of when the broadcaster's website will be back online.

''You can engage with us on our blog on the e.tv website that is www.etv.co.za/blog/debora'' said 3rd Degree presenter and executive producer Debora Patta at the end of the live show.

Uhm. No. That's not possible at the end of the live show since the e.tv website is down. It's all disappointing.

Programming note: Soap actress Candice Derman to open up e.tv's 3rd Degree this coming Tuesday about her years of sexual abuse.

This coming Tuesday, 22 March in 3rd Degree at 21:30 on e.tv soap actress Candice Derman will be talking to Debora Patta about the terrible sexual abuse and rape she endured for years by her stepfather. 

Candice Derman who've starred in e.tv's soaps Backstage and Scandal! hid her terrible secret for, but finally broke her silence about the sexual abuse she endured from 8 until 16 in her autobiography Indescribable.

In a highly emotional episode this Tuesday the actress will be sharing her heartbreaking journey back to those terrible years, how she's been dealing with it and where her life is today.

BREAKING. E.tv ''thrilled'' after Sam Rogers wins the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist of the Year award.

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KAMPALA, UGANDA. - E.tv is thrilled about the South African TV channel's journalist Sam Rogers winning the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist of the year award for 2010 - the second time that she's clinched this prestigious journalism prize.

I'm first with reaction from e.tv after Sam Rogers won out of 2 074 entries from more than 40 African countries in this year's CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010 that took place last night in Kampala, Uganda.

''Sam Rogers' documentary was broadcast on 3rd Degree on e.tv. It provided a compelling and searing insight into the social injustice and treatment of albinos in Tanzania,'' Debora Patta, 3rd Degree's executive presenter and host, tells me. ''We are thrilled that Sam Rogers has won the highest prize in journalism in Africa for a second time.''

I also got reaction from Patrick Conroy, group head of the e.tv's eNews division. ''eNews also had a TV reporter, Rose Ramsay in the finals,'' he says. ''This shows that the quality of both eNews' current affairs and news is of a very high standard. We're working very hard to improve all the time as a news team.''

ALSO READ: Sam Rogers from eNews wins the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist of the Year Award for 2010.

Debora Patta on the 10th anniversary of e.tv's 3rd Degree: ''Despite what I've seen, the darkness of people - I've seen the very best of people.''

3rd Degree with anchor Debora Patta is celebrating its 10th anniversary tonight at 21:30 on e.tv with a very special episode looking back at the past decade and some of the highlights of the award-winning investigative magazine show.

Over the past 10 years 3rd Degree has grown to become the number one investigative and current affairs show on South African television with roughly 1,8 million weekly viewers. In an exclusive interview I spoke to Debora Patta about what stories have made her emotional over the years, her hard-hitting on-air persona when she grills people in the 3rd Degree hot seat, and what some of the challenges was when 3rd Degree started out a decade ago.

In my must-read interview with Debora Patta, she has some surprising answers when she talks about when and why she was ''really very stressed'' and ''lived in terror'' during the early start-up days of the show. She reveals what one of her great skills are, what she has learnt and seen from spending time with the dark side of humanity, and what her vision is for the next ten years of 3rd Degree.

For my full interview with Debora Patta, click on READ MORE below.

BREAKING. e.tv's 3rd Degree turns 10; will celebrate with special anniversary episode on Tuesday.

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3rd Degree, the weekly investigative magazine show on e.tv with presenter and executive producer Debora Patta is turning 10 years old and will celebrate the milestone of a decade with a special party on Tuesday in Johannesburg as well as a special tribute episode and anniversary episode on Tuesday at 21:30 on e.tv.

As an award-winning current affairs TV show, 3rd Degree with a weekly TV viewership of 1,8 million viewers, has branched out and expanded with the creation of the eNews Channel (DStv 403) where Debora Patta now also host 3rd Degree Plus, an additional show often follow-up and extending the issues and subjects focused on in the main show.

In Tuesday's special episode of 3rd Degree the show will look back at ten years ''of chasing con artists down narrow passageways, catching scam artists and crooks red-handed and holding the powerful to account. Not to be missed,'' I'm told.

BREAKING. 3rd Degree camera man physically assaulted in racially motivated attack.

E.tv cameraman Kabelo Mokhine (27) was physically attacked in Ventersdorp yesterday while filming an interview for e.tv's weekly investigate TV show 3rd Degree.

Kabelo Mokhine was with e.tv's 3rd Degree anchor Debora Patta when he was struck in the face by a white man's fist while filming an interview that Debora Patta was conducting with a woman. 3rd Degree visited Ventersdorp in the wake of the murder of AWB leader Eugene Terre'Blanche this past Saturday. The police is investigating a case of assault. Kabelo Mokine has been a camera man for five years.

TV stars share their Christmas wishes.

I asked a few local TV stars how they will be spending Christmas day tomorrow, and for their special Christmas wishes.

''Christmas day I will be spending with my parents in Cape Town. They will be coming over to my place and it's always a big responsibility. The stres will be high in the kitchen, but like everything else I'll get through it. I had such a crazy year. I don't want anything for Christmas - I think I already have everything. To have the people you love with you is all that is important on Christmas. For readers I want to say everything that is good and great and love. Enjoy the day with your family and for those not with family, be with your friends, because they're your family too.''
- Tammy-Anne Fortuin, All Access presenter on M-Net

''It remains a tradition to spend Christmas time at home. This year were privileged to have my mother in law from Europe here to visit us and on Christmas Eve we will have a family dinner at my brother in law. On Christmas morning I will be playing the organ at church after which we will throw some meat on the coals and swim with my two year old grandson in the swimming pool. A new Mercedez-Benz would be welcome (a guy can dream can't he!), but I think we all share a wish that crime, poverty and unemployment will end. It's my hearts wish that all South Africans will treat each other with respect which will make South Africa an even more beautiful country.''
- Riaan Cruywagen, SABC2 news reader

''On Christmas day my wife Christi and I will be spending the day with family in Gauteng. Most people jet off to Cape Town but we flew to Gauteng. I think 2009 was a long and a tough year, so for me the biggest gift is to just have some time off to rest. My biggest wish is for the children of South Africa and the children who might not get a gift tomorrow, or might not be sitting around a tree, or might not have a warm meal. I want every child to know that they are precious and wonderful and matter, because Christmas is about children.''
- Nico Panagio, Survivor SA host on M-Net

''I'm with my family in Cape Town with my mom who turned 80 this year and with my children and my brothers - also my brother visiting from London, the one who plays in Kumars. We are going to have a delicious family feat, also with friends. My biggest wish is for peace and joy in this country. And that crime will go down - we're all tired of crime now.''

- Vinette Ebrahim, Charmaine in 7de Laan on SABC2

''Christmas day we will be spending as a family. We're on holiday at the south coast and it's all about family. My wish for people is that they will carry and remember the message of Christmas in their hearts and will remember why we're really celebrating Christmas when they gather around the Christmas tree.''

- Michael Mol, Top Billing presenter on SABC3

''On Christmas day we will have a massive Italian feast cooked by me. I'm actually a very good cook I'll have you know! It will be in our garden and the whole family will be there. It's what we do every year. My wish is for a new kitchen and then also to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. I hope to do that this year. My wish for South Africa for 2010 is for more jobs and that we can leave the recession behind us and just less poverty in our country.''
- Debora Patta, 3rd Degree presenter on e.tv

BREAKING. e.tv responds to SABC claims that HIV/Aids doccie is biased.

You're reading it here first. I asked, and just got a super quick response from e.tv. I asked e.tv for a response on the news from the SABC that I broke here less than an hour ago where the SABC said less than an hour ago that they declined to show a TV documentary critical of the government's position on HIV/Aids because it was one-sided.

e.tv will broadcast the documentary, entitled ''The Price of Denial'' tonight at 21:30 in the channel's award-winning investigative magazine show, 3rd Degree.

The channel just told me that ''e.tv is broadcasting this documentary this evening because it's a powerful program that looks at the issue of 10 years of HIV/Aids in the country. E.tv has worked with the producers over the past month to put the final touches to the show and has offered all parties the opportunity to respond. Some declined.''


E.tv is very gracious here. I will decode and say what the channel politely says between the lines and doesn't want to spell out:

(1) The original documentary, as the producers gave it to the SABC was a work in progress and not finished yet. The SABC turned down the documentary without really allowing the producers to complete the TV project.
(2) Of course e.tv and 3rd Degree gave all sides the opportunity to respond with fair comment. Some people just didn't want to.

MY OWN OPINION:
Wider than just this once-off documentary being declined for whatever reason, is the SABC's trend this year of visibly sterring clear of any politically sensitive editorial or news material.
Zapiro's ZNews is now a big hit on the internet, that languished in SABC development hell as well.