Carte Blanche exec producer John Webb on Derek Watts: 'His passion never dimmed'.

by Thinus Ferreira

With the entirely of Sunday's episode of Carte Blanche on M-Net (DStv 101) at 19:00 which will be dedicated to and be a tribute to Derek Watts who died earlier this week after losing his battle against cancer, the show's executive producer John Webb says Watts' "passion never dimmed".

The entire hour of Sunday's Carte Blanche will be devoted to Derek Watts and to remember and honour the work and legacy of the veteran anchor on the South African current affairs show, with the "gentle giant" who has become one of the longest enduring presenters and faces on South African television.

Diana Lucas is the producer of Sunday's Derek Watts' look-back and tribute Carte Blanche episode done by Combined Artistic Productions.

"Where do you begin to eulogise a man who has meant so much to so many people?" says John Webb, Carte Blanche executive producer. "This Sunday, the Carte Blanche family stands together to pay tribute to our beloved colleague and friend, Derek Watts."

"Our superlatives exhausted, what is left to be said about Derek Watts not already reflected in the thousands of tributes that followed news of his death? From politicians to sports stars and fellow hacks, the memories and messages have been overwhelming."

"Still, I wonder if any of us have done true justice to the legacy of this remarkable man. How do you capture a life lived as Derek lived his; one squeezed of every ounce of adventure and possibility and promise yet one so devoid of selfishness? I have tried - as I’m sure others have, too - but my words are inadequate."

"No matter which I choose, or how I order them, nothing that comes from my lips brings to life the images of the man in my head. The best I can do - we can do - is to live a life that leaves others in a similar quandary when our time comes."

Webb says "Derek was a remarkable man, fearless in the pursuit of justice. He was a beacon for the forgotten and downtrodden, and a steadying hand amid chaos and anxiety. He embodied the ideal, 'umntu ngumntu, ngabantu' (I am because you are), connecting with people from all walks of life and treating each with dignity and respect. He dedicated his life to telling South Africa's story."

Webb explains that in 1988, producer Bill Faure approached Derek to co-host a new show, Carte Blanche, which would air on M-Net every Sunday night. 

"Forty years old, easy-going, sports mad Derek might not have been an obvious choice, but his charisma and the chemistry he shared with co-host Ruda Landman created a dynamic partnership that audiences found irresistible."

"As Carte Blanche grew and evolved, covering the seminal moments of South Africa's changing story, Derek too went from strength to strength. The stories he told reflected this: from reporting on the Boipatong Massacre where the crew filmed through the night as Derek confronted politicians and gave the victims and their families a much-needed voice, to traveling to the foot of Mount Everest and every possible corner of South Africa."

"In the 35 years he spent with the show, his passion never dimmed and he never lost his unique ability to connect with people. We will miss him tremendously, but we draw strength and inspiration from the incredible legacy he leaves behind."

"Our deepest condolences to his beloved Belinda, Tyrone, Kirsten, and his siblings. Lala ngoxolo Papa D, ugqatso ulufezile. Umzamo omhle uwuzamile. Rest in perfect peace."

ALSO READ: Sunday’s Carte Blanche will be an hourlong Derek Watts tribute episode.

ALSO READ: Veteran Carte Blanche anchor Derek Watts dead at 74 after losing his battle against cancer.

Sunday’s Carte Blanche will be an hourlong Derek Watts tribute episode.

by Thinus Ferreira

His longtime former colleagues Devi Sankaree Govender and Ruda Landman might very well return to the Carte Blanche studio this Sunday evening on M-Net (DStv 101) at 19:00 when the whole hour of the show will be a tribute episode to Derek Watts who died earlier this week after losing his battle against cancer.

Today kykNET (DStv 144) will rebroadcast a sit-down interview with Derek Watts when the episode of Hannes Aan Huis in which Hannes van Wyk talks to Watts at his home, will be shown again at 17:30.

Meanwhile, behind-the-scenes the Combined Artistic Productions show has immediately started to rework Sunday's entire episode as a tribute programme to Derek Watts.

John Webb, Carte Blanche executive producer, says that an hour feels like too little time to honour and showcase Watts' massive contribution but we're going to try our best.

Devi Sankaree Govender told TVwithThinus that few people are aware that Derek Watts "hated doing confrontational interviews. He hated it with an absolute passion and I had no idea about this because I was watching Derek from the time I was 15 years old when Carte Blanche started".

"I never would have guessed that. I joined Carte Blanche in 2002 and I just had this leaning towards catching the crooks and the bad guys and it was just something that I loved doing."

"It didn't take Derek long before he came up to me the one day and he said: 'I'm so happy that you do these stories and you do it so well because it means I don't really have to do it because I don't like confronting people - it makes me feel awkward."

"The thing with Derek is that he was just genuinely such a nice guy. He was the real deal. He actually felt bad for the skelms. He always remarked on that he just really found it difficult. He did ask the thought questions in his own way and he was always able to get answers out of people in a very gentle, almost kind, kind of way."

"He never like the confrontations and in a way we bonded over my confrontations because he was just so grateful and always acknowledged it when I did great work which I appreciated as a young journalist just starting out."

"I got to work with my television icon - one of the people along with Ruda Landman and Manu Padayachee, so I know I was the lucky one." 

ALSO READ: Veteran Carte Blanche anchor Derek Watts dead at 74 after losing his battle against cancer.

Carte Blanche on M-Net unveils new Tron-like lines-of-light set at Stark Studios as current affairs show plans to add more in-studio interviews.

by Thinus Ferreira

After years of using repurposed SuperSport and other sets, Carte Blanche on M-Net (DStv 101) is back using its own dedicated set for the weekly current affairs magazine show which plans to do more in-studio interviews.

The latest Carte Blanche set, designed and constructed in advance of the 35th anniversary this coming August of the Combined Artistic Productions show, was unveiled last night during the show's broadcast.

John Webb, Carte Blanche executive producer tells TVwithThinus that since "Carte Blanche is celebrating 35 years on air in August, and we felt it appropriate to acknowledge that milestone by 'freshening up' our set".

"We have also introduced more frequent in-studio interviews and felt we needed a dedicated space for those discussions, as well as room to choreograph some movement into our live studio links."

Conceptualisation of the new set design started in early February, with construction of the Tron-like set that got underway at the beginning of June.

The black shiny floor, shaped like the head of an ice hockey stick, is complemented by rectangular cut-out frames with the set tonality shaped by Tron-like "lines-of-light" to highlight the various frames and the floor stage's soft border.

"Our intention was not to depart too dramatically from the set and lighting scheme our viewers have grown accustomed to, but to make sometimes subtle changes that provide a contemporary feel," John Webb explains.

Carte Blanche is broadcasting from Stark Studios in Randburg from where shows like kykNET's Binnelanders, Toks 'n Tjops, In Gesprek and Prontuit are also done from.

The new Carte Blanche set was designed by Dewet Meyer from JDM Unlimited and the lighting design was done by Joshua Cutts from Visual Frontier.

Carte Blanche anchor and 'patriarch' Derek Watts reveals cancer fight.

by Thinus Ferreira

Derek Watts, the iconic South African TV anchor of Carte Blanche on M-Net (DStv 101) on Sunday nights, and considered the weekly current affairs show's "patriarch", has revealed his cancer fight amidst an ongoing health battle, saying he's determined to return to the show he's anchored for 35 years when he's better.

The highly-respected journalist and TV presenter standing 1.9 metres tall who has been with Carte Blanche for 35 years, suffered a big health scare in late March which landed him in hospital, and on Sunday night revealed that he's privately been battling cancer as well.

The veteran Carte Blanche anchor was diagnosed with severe sepsis after he collapsed in Hoedspruit during a family trip and said that he had to learn to walk again with the help of a physiotherapist.

On Sunday night, a frail-looking Derek Watts in a taped recording made on Saturday from a Netcare hospital bed, revealed his cancer battle to Carte Blanche viewers but noted that he planned to return to the show when he's better.

Last year Derek Watts was diagnosed with skin cancer that had spread to his lungs. With the support of his family and specialists, he was able to continue presenting Carte Blanche, but the sepsis infection in March complicated his cancer treatment.

"Another short hospital stay, but I'm fine - I'll be out of here soon," Derek Watts said. 

"Really just wanted to say to our viewers - thank you for all the love, the messages, the prayers that give us all hope. and thanks of course for continuing to watch Carte Blanche. I'll be back soon, have a magic week and cheers for now."

The Hillbrow-born TV presenter who grew up in Bulawayo joined the South African public broadcaster's SABC News division in 1985 and later co-anchored its Top Sport sports magazine show.

He jumped to M-Net when the pay-TV channel decided to start Carte Blanche in 1988 as a new South African current affairs magazine TV show two years after M-Net had launched.

Derek Watts was the original co-host of Carte Blanche alongside Ruda Landman and has been with the Combined Artistic Productions produced show for the past 35 years - door-stopping various criminals caught in the act and doing interviews around the world, taking him from Mount Everest to the nuclear aircraft carrier George Washington during the Gulf War. 

MultiChoice in a statement on Sunday night after the episode confirmed that "Derek Watts will be stepping back from his work to focus on his health" for the time being.

"While this news is undoubtedly disheartening, we remain hopeful and optimistic about Derek's journey toward recovery. We have complete confidence in the expertise and dedication of his medical team, who will provide the best possible care and support throughout this process."

John Webb, Carte Blanche executive producer, in the statement, says "Derek has touched the lives of many throughout his remarkable career, and his unwavering spirit has been a source of inspiration for all. This was especially clear when, earlier this year, he was hospitalised with severe sepsis".

"Derek took enormous comfort from the thousands of messages he received during his recovery from sepsis. Following his cancer diagnosis, I know his resolve will be strengthened by the continued love and support of the people to whom he dedicated his working life. We join all of you in wishing strength and recovery to our patriarch, mentor, colleague, and friend."

Nomsa Philiso, MultiChoice Group CEO of general entertainment, says "M-Net would like to send a message of support and well-wishes to veteran investigative journalist and long-time Carte Blanche presenter Derek Watts".

"We hold him, his family and friends in our thoughts and prayers and wish him strength and courage as he fights this illness."

"The team at M-Net has the utmost respect and admiration for Derek and his commitment to the channel for the last 36 years. Derek's immense contribution to Carte Blanche forms the tapestry and legacy of the M-Net brand. We will continue to support him during this challenging time."

"During this challenging time, we kindly request that his privacy and that of his loved ones be respected, allowing him the space needed to focus on his recovery."

M-Net: Carte Blanche to continue amidst retrenchments as DStv's longrunning current affairs show axes last of its internal producers.

by Thinus Ferreira 

M-Net's venerable Carte Blanche on Sunday nights will continue on DStv amidst retrenchments which are seeing the show do away with the last of the investigative magazine show's remaining internal producers, as well as a few other staff.

John Webb, Carte Blanche executive producer, in response to a media query from TVwithThinus, confirmed that Combined Artists, the production company responsible for the long-running Sunday night magazine show had taken "a very difficult decision to restructure".

TVwithThinus understands that Carte Blanche is doing away with its last three internal producers whose names are shown weekly on the end-credit roll, as well as cleaning staff and handling social media activities.

"As part of this process, it is considering making several roles redundant impacting the internal research/production and social media teams, as well as two positions among our support staff.  In total, six members of our team will be affected," John Webb says.

"This decision was not arrived at lightly nor without due consideration of alternatives.  Difficult as it is, we believe this process is both necessary and correct."

According to the show "Most of our inserts will continue to be produced by our external team of freelancers.  We are encouraging the three affected members of our internal research/production team to pivot into freelance roles – a process we intend facilitating."

Nadine Moonsamy, M-Net spokesperson, says Carte Blanche will continue in its Sunday night timeslot as usual. 

The iconic current affairs magazine show which made its debut in 1988 on M-Net will reach its 35th year on the air in September 2023.

Carte Blanche on M-Net reports from Ukraine tonight after Russia's invasion: 'What has life become in the small villages as the country became a war zone?'

by Thinus Ferreira

The weekly investigative magazine show Carte Blanche on M-Net (DStv 101) is reporting from Ukraine for tonight's edition at 19:00 to witness first-hand the devastation after Russia's unprovoked invasion and war with its neighbouring country. 

"We agonised over sending someone to Ukraine: why this war and not others? What access are we likely to get? Is it worth the risk? Do South Africans care? Some questions were easier to answer than others," says John Webb, Carte Blanche executive reporter.

"But, having despatched a producer and cameraman to the region, our challenge now is to tell a compelling and relevant story. And, without losing sight of the immediate human cost, examining the catastrophic impact on global food and fuel pricing should bring home this war’s many unexpected consequences," he says.

Anina Peens is in Ukraine on Sunday night as presenter and producer as Carte Blanche counts the human and economic cost of Russia's invasion which will enter its sixth week next week. 

Anina Peens joined a group of volunteers to take aid supplies into Ukraine, and it was a long and uncertain journey.

Despite promises of peace, Russian air and ground attacks remain unrelenting despite Ukraine’s commitment not to join NATO. Meanwhile, the African Development Bank has issued a warning of a large-scale food crisis as natural gas, wheat, and fertiliser prices skyrocket.

"What has life become in the small villages where Ukrainians attempt normality even as their homes and country have become a war zone?" Carte Blanche asks. 

Coronavirus: M-Net's Carte Blanche to continue with new episodes through Covid-19 on Sundays, will do 2 stories looking at the growing pandemic in South Africa and globally.

by Thinus Ferreira

The weekly investigate and current affairs programme Carte Blanche on M-Net (DStv 101) will continue on Sunday evenings at 19:00 through the weeks of South Africa's national lockdown period and will this Sunday once again feature stories about the growing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa and globally.

While production of the weekly current affairs show produced by Combined Artistic Productions, has been impacted similar to a lot of other locally-produced South Africa TV shows, Carte Blanche has quickly adapted. Some inserts have already been pre-recorded for playout and production staffers are also working remotely as far as possible.

Similar to this past Sunday, Carte Blanche will stay on the Covid-19 pandemic story that's dominating headlines in South Africa and abroad with two inserts - one following its impact in South Africa, and one looking at the global impact so far.

Presenter Claire Mawisa and producer Sophia Phirippides will firstly look at the economic devastation of the national lockdown in South Africa as the panic of the lockdown is beginning to set it for members of the public and businesses forced to close.

As the global community fights to contain the pandemic and already depressed economic activity all but grinds to a halt, Carte Blanche examines how South Africans are bracing for the impact.

Then presenter John Webb who is also producing the second insert is examining how Europe and especially Ireland is trying to prepare for the peak in the steady rise of Covid-19 cases.

With Europe currently the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts estimate that Ireland is only likely to see infection rates peak around June and July.

John Webb meet a sports broadcaster, lawyer, tour guide and charity founder from Ireland trying to make sense of life as the Irish government clamps down on free movement and tries to enforce social distancing.

"The Irish I've been speaking to are wathing Italy closely, worried something similar will happen here," he says. "After all, it's only a 2-hour flight away. But they're also determined to see this thing through with a smile on their face."

"Pity the Irish government, though, who have had to get this nation of writers, musicians and raconteurs to stop socialising. Luckily for the most part, the Covid-19 penny has dropped and much of this country has gone quiet."

In other inserts on Sunday evening Carte Blanche will look at the ongoing spate of robberies targeting luxury wristwatches. Presenter Derek Watts and producer Kate Barry speak to the widow of a British tourist who was robbed and killed and investigate what drives the trade in stolen watches and Rolex gangs.

Then Carte Blanche also investigates the dilapidated Bloemfontein zoo where animals have been neglected and some left to die in the months after the provincial department of environment closed the zoo's doors for business.

The Bloemfontein zoo has become the latest casualty of the bankrupt Mangaung municipality with presenter Masa Kekana and producer Stenette Grosskopf investigating.

'NOWHERE SEEMS TOO FAR AWAY.' How Carte Blanche's John went away yet stayed - and in his next chapter made DStv's M-Net viewers part of a bigger, worldwide Webb.

When they leave, they - and their shows - say they'll stay. But they hardly ever really do and you can't at all blame them.

Yet, since the veteran Carte Blanche presenter John Webb emigrated to the United Kingdom a year ago, he has actually not just kept to and made good on his promise to remain and keep reporting on Carte Blanche - he completely shattered and surpassed all expectations.

John Webb didn't disappear off TV screens and he refused to fade away.

In fact, the highly-respected journalist did the opposite. Over the past year, John Webb has helped to elevate South Africa's long-running, weekly investigative programme on M-Net (DStv 101) that has remained outstanding, to even more eye-popping and must-see appointment television on Sunday nights at 19:00.

Bringing incredible production values and visuals to Carte Blanche inserts as he continues to file multiple extremely interesting inserts and interviews from the United Kingdom and across Europe, John Webb as producer and presenter has managed to successfully infuse the venerable current affairs show in its 31st year of pay-TV existence on DStv with something incredible - a great international flavour.

To a masterful extent in a manner of speaking, the intrepid John and his reporting wanderlust has made Carte Blanche and DStv subscribers, on almost a weekly basis, part of the "world wide webb".

TV viewers might see and then have an underlying awareness that something is of above-average quality - or not - but rarely sit down to deconstruct exactly why that's the case.

Yet, when Carte Blanche and the seemingly indefatigable John Webb in October 2018 broadcast a fascinating insert on global warming when he went to Sweden on assignment to report on global warming, utterly mesmerising visuals and can't-look-away storytelling formed part of the package.

It was beautifully shot.

Part of the incredible scene-setting shots included fly-over landscape panning scenes of the Swedish wilderness along winding roads. It was absolutely movie quality and obviously done using a camera drone - a seemingly small touch that literally elevated the entire story and enhanced it in scope, content, visuals and substance.

You just don't really see that in or on South African weekly television but the effort, the thought, and the enhanced production values in that indelible moment raised the bar yet again of what Carte Blanche is and what it shows to M-Net viewers.

The incredible quality of camerawork, combined with interesting topics and well-done research that are part of John Webb's filed overseas stories have now been seen - and noticed - several times since.

#Hurricanes, tornadoes and flash #floods have become more frequent as climate experts warn that the effects of #climatechange could soon be irreversible. Don't miss #CarteBlanche Sun at 7pm on @MNet @journojohn @DStv ch 101 pic.twitter.com/Tbi8fQNiDa

— Carte Blanche (@carteblanchetv) October 12, 2018

TVwithThinus decided to reach out to John Webb not just about his incredible and dedicated work over the past year for Carte Blanche but to find out how working for the Combined Artistic Productions show has been different since he's now been doing global stories from afar and reporting on stories that have a resonance for South African and African viewers on DStv.

"The most significant difference has been taking on the additional challenge of producing as well as presenting the inserts," says John Webb.

"It's heightened my regard for the Carte Blanche production team which has - for 30 years - generated amazing content in often very taxing conditions and with very short turn-arounds."

"You're taking responsibility for something which is only a concept when you begin shooting - a collection of thoughts and images in your mind's eye - and trying to find the visual and human components that bring it to life."

"Not only that, but then you have to bring it to life in a way that draws people into their TV rooms on a Sunday night - and, while doing that, you're booking yet another Uber and thinking about what to buy your crew for lunch," John Webb explains.

"It's also brought home the central role of the presenter - not only as the person guiding the viewer through the complexities of any given story, but as someone to turn to for help with the creative process and bounce ideas off."

"In my case, the absence of a second set of eyes and ears can sometimes be a little disconcerting," he says. "In those instances, it helps to have a camera operator not afraid to voice an opinion."

Tales from a true international TV correspondent
And who now comes up with the story-ideas that will find John Webb in Italy the one week, interviewing experts about Brexit and what the impact will be for South Africa the next, or literally standing in the middle of a frozen river somewhere in Europe?

"These are discussed and dissected at our weekly editorial meetings," he says. "The ideas come from the producers themselves, the editorial and management team or our excellent researchers. They're pitched, discussed, refined and then either approved or turned down."

"It's a thorough and - quite rightly - rigorous process. The challenge for me is finding ideas that will make it through that process unscathed," says John Webb. "And that means stories that aren't being shot in Europe simply for shooting in Europe's sake."

"For example, a piece-to-camera in the middle of a Norwegian fjord might look extraordinary, but there'd be very little point filming one if what was happening in Norway wasn't in some way relevant to a South African audience."

"So, while there are always interesting events unfolding in the northern hemisphere, our task is to seek out the ones we think our viewers will feel a connection with. It's an inexact science and it's always extremely helpful to have the input of the editorial team in Johannesburg, as well as the other producers and presenters."

"Thankfully, I think our audience responds to a wide variety of stories. The key is ensuring they're well-told and well filmed. And, given that we're in the story-telling business, as long as we get that part right, we're on the right track."

Then I ask John Webb - who already travelled extensively to several places and countries around Europe the past few months, how this experience has been.

"Travelling is one of the great privileges of this job," he says. "Driving through the magnificent tundra of the far north of Sweden or sharing a bowl of clams with a cameraman in downtown Lisbon isn't part of the job description of too many other professions."

"It also helps that nowhere seems too far away when you're flying within Europe. I can board a plane in Dublin at 6am and be shooting pieces-to-camera in Munich three hours later."

"There's also an upside to using local crew when shooting abroad. They tend to show great enthusiasm as amateur tour guides and are often very knowledgeable. A story in Germany last year involved a long drive from Munich to Stuttgart."

"The cameraman, while driving at obscene speed down the autobahn, filled me in on just about every historical aspect of the areas we were passing through.  My life would be poorer for not knowing how deeply some Germans feel about asparagus!" says John Webb.

Of camerawork that lifts a story
And the very noticeable high production quality of some of the inserts - how has this been made possible?

"I've been fortunate in finding capable camera operators," says John Webb. "When almost all your stories are shot abroad, this can be a bit of a lottery, you're never entirely sure what you're going to get."

"Where I'm unable to rely on the recommendations of colleagues, I do my best to research their work online. It also helps to know if they're shooting with up-to-date gear."

"I also think that, when you've worked for Carte Blanche for a while, you recognise the importance of spending time shooting well-considered 'b-roll'. This is the footage that generally covers the voice-over in a script and the rule-of-thumb is that you can never have enough."

" But, if you ensure that what you do get is well shot, then it can make an extraordinary difference to an insert. As for the drones, well, at the outset, I should admit to being an absolute sucker for drone footage shot in good light," says John Webb.

"I think the aesthetic impact is undeniable. But, on some stories they've become a crucial device in helping to tell the story."

"Even the best scripting in the world can't fully capture the brooding grittiness of somewhere like Emalahleni or the sheer magnificence of the Arctic Circle in the way that a drone can.  There's always a danger that these shots can be overused, but I think the additional dimension shot with such stability can really lift a story," he explains.

"All of which, I hope, contributes to a product that is pleasing on the eye.  It's something that we pay a lot of attention to at Carte Blanche and I think our viewers - given their own investment in HD technology and beyond – have every right to expect of us."

Reaching out in the dark with a new contribution
When you moved, did you really think or envision that you would do such a lot of stories and inserts, I ask. Was it a resolute goal from the beginning, or something that developed and continued more organically?

"I certainly hoped to do as many but, in a lot of ways, I was reaching out in the dark," says John Webb. "I wasn't sure I would be able to regularly find stories that my colleagues would consider interesting and worthy of an insert."

"I'm absolutely thrilled that it's worked out that way and delighted that my executive producer, Wynand Grobler, sees the value in global content."

And what does he want to say about this new chapter of working for Carte Blanche from the United Kingdom? "I'm sure I'm going to be accused of cheerleading here, but I think it's important to say that Carte Blanche, even by global comparisons, is a unique product," he says.

"I simply don't see, outside of the flagship programmes on the major networks, anyone in any other part of the world with our level of content."

"Of course, there's astonishing programming being produced all over the world at any given time, but to broadcast up to five world-class inserts week-in and week-out is quite unprecedented.  And the ability to make my contribution from thousands of kilometres away is a rare privilege," says John Webb.

Creative visuals, yet meticulously factual
I also knocked on the door of Wynand Grobler, Carte Blanche's executive producer, for answers to some questions about John Webb's global contribution.

"Since his relocation overseas, John has been able to bring a fresh global perspective to the programme and to specific inserts," says Wynand Grobler.

"While more than 90% of Carte Blanche content is local, Carte Blanche recognises that our viewers are worldly citizens who appreciate multiple outlooks - and now we can bring that home where relevant."

"There are numerous examples: We recently produced a story on the possible impact of Brexit on South Africa. John's presence in the United Kingdom made it possible for us to physically show our viewers what an Irish border looks like and what the complicated intellectual debates around it really mean, rather than to merely refer to it."

"But the first consideration is always to be relevant to our viewers," he says.

About how Carte Blanche decides when and how many inserts to do and use from John Webb or when to include those, he says "there is no rule as such".

"Each story idea is subjected to editorial scrutiny like any other, its relevance to South African viewers debated and its practicality considered. John plans to regularly return to South Africa and produce and present stories while here too."

"John is an exceptional journalist and astute presenter who is creative in his visual approach to stories while being meticulously factual," says Wynand Grobler. "He has a knack for telling stories that are accessible but thought-provoking."

"This gives him the ability to bring a fresh take to South African problems by looking at solutions that have been successful elsewhere in the world."

"John recently visited the city of Lisbon to get the lowdown on the unconventional methods the city used to deal with its drug problem. This also applies to South Africa, a country with an equally serious drug problem, which Carte Blanche has featured on numerous occasions in different guises."

"While addressing the problem head-on, his stories bring a sense of hope and the suggestion that there are solutions to be found to many of the country's complications."

Wynand says "every aspect of John's work is of exceptional quality and compares favourably to the best from around the world".

"His stories bring an added dimension to the show which we hope viewers will appreciate. We look forward to more instalments from him."  


Carte Blanche is broadcast on M-Net (DStv 101) on Sundays at 19:00.

Carte Blanche is available on MultiChoice's DStv Now Catch Up, and is also made available to international Showmax subscribers.

M-Net's Carte Blanche starts a YouTube channel - for the right to see it online.

M-Net's long-running and award-winning weekly investigative and current affair programme, Carte Blanche has started a YouTube channel, giving viewers without DStv the right to see some of it online.

Carte Blanche on YouTube loaded its first video on 21 January this year and has since followed it up with ongoing selected inserts from the broadcast show done by Derek Watts, Devi Sankaree Govender, Claire Mawisa, Macfarlani Moleli, as well as John Webb who is now adding incredible international reporting from across the United Kingdom and Europe.

Content range from 12-minute inserts including expose investigations and profile pieces, to specially produced clips for Carte Blanche's YouTube audience like Macfarlane Moleli explaining and giving tips on how people who want to send footage to the show should film it on their smartphones.

Whole episodes of the Combined Artistic Production produced show are however not shared.

It's not clear what the strategy and reason are behind Carte Blanche's latest platform and brand extension - M-Net was asked multiple times over many weeks - but adding some content to YouTube will clearly have a two-fold impact.

Firstly, the venerable 30-year old show is getting a large new sampling factor and more additional exposure beyond pay-TV viewers. With literally thousands of views, many people have already watched the combined and growing collection of Carte Blanche videos in just a month and a half.

Secondly, it might help drive uptake of DStv Premium under consumers who see the programme with its quality content that is only for top-tier subscribers and who want to get M-Net.

It's the same phenomena as the 290 000 views that the first episode of The Bachelor South Africa got - also on M-Net - after the entire first episode was placed on YouTube, dramatically helping to drive interest, buzz and sampling of that brand-new Rapid Blue produced format show.

TVwithThinus asked Nomntu Mnengi, M-Net publicist in mid-February about Carte Blanche's YouTube move and was promised M-Net is working on the questions, and was asked multiples times again in several follow-ups, although no answers have been forthcoming a month later by 7 March.

Some of the questions M-Net was asked was why the Carte Blanche YouTube channel was started, how Carte Blanche decides what to place on YouTube and how long, what the vision is of and for this brand and platform content extension, what Carte Blanche wants its YouTube channel to be, and if whole episodes would ever be placed on YouTube.

M-Net's Carte Blanche to celebrate 30th anniversary with a special 90-minute 'look back' live studio broadcast on 26 August with memorable moments, showing how truth does bring change.

The planned, special live studio broadcast on Sunday 26 August of M-Net's (DStv 101) long-running weekly investigative magazine show, Carte Blanche to celebrate its 30th anniversary on South African television will include a look back at its memorable moments, highlights and groundbreaking investigations over the past three decades - showing how truth does bring change.

The Combined Artistic Productions show with its signature theme song and currently with presenters Derek Watts, Devi Sankaree Govender, Claire Mawisa, John Webb and Macfarlane Moleli, remains a Sunday night 19:00 TV staple with a mix of investigative and consumer journalism stories, profile interviews and agenda-setting exposes based on a similar format as America's 60 Minutes.

As a South African TV institution, the special 30th birthday episode of Carte Blanche on 26 August will be an extended 90-minute broadcast from 19:00 until 20:30, and will include a look at some of the show's historical moments and the groundbreaking TV journalism investigations that the show brought to viewers over three decades under its slogan of "the right to see it all".

Devi Sankaree Govender who has been with Carte Blanche for the past 16 years, told Jacaranda FM in an interview that the special 30th anniversary episode will look back at some of the best stories over the years, "stories that have affected the country, stories that brought about change".

"We're looking at the investigative stories, the catching crooks stories, the happy stories, the adventure stories - marking 30 years, and 30 years of the fact that truth does bring change."

In an interview with 702 Devi Sankaree Govender said "Carte Blanche has been the greatest privilege of my life because I've had access to people and situations that ordinarily I wouldn't have access to".

"A big part of transformation for me, is transparency. And the only way you're going to get that, is if you're not afraid to ask the really tough questions. People don't like to be put on the spot," said Devi Sankaree Govender.

"When you're sitting across from somebody during an interview, it's just about you and that person. It's not about clever, fancy questions with big words. It's about keeping it real, asking questions that matter, but more importantly, finding some kind of direction."

"I'm a sucker for 'I'm sorry'. Very few of the people I interview actually say 'I'm sorry'. If you're sorry, then let's see how we are going to fix this together," she said.

M-Net's Carte Blanche explains the on-air absence of John Webb, saying he is still part of the show but has left South Africa for Ireland.

The reason why John Webb has dropped off M-Net's (DStv 101) Carte Blanche is because he no longer lives in South Africa.

TVwithThinus, as well as viewers who asked, noticed the absence of the highly respected journalist and TV presenter on M-Net's weekly investigative magazine show on Sunday evenings at 19:00, produced by Combined Artistic Productions with George Mazarakis as executive producer.

In response to a media enquiry, M-Net says John Webb remains one of the Carte Blanche presenters although his diminished on-screen appearances in inserts in the magazine show are due to the fact that he's left South Africa.

"John Webb has been based in the United Kingdom and Ireland for quite a while so when we have overseas stories, John is the logical choice of field presenter for Carte Blanche. John is also producing some stories for Carte Blanche at the moment," says M-Net.

"In short, he remains one of the Carte Blanche field presenters."

John Webb's in-field absence means a heavier lifting load for the remaining Carte Blanche presenters.

The longtime presenter and anchor Bongani Bingwa left Carte Blanche in March and was replaced in the anchor chair by Macfarlane Moleli who joined Carte Blanche in September 2017 after just 5 months with the show. His promotion came ahead of Claire Mawisa who has been with the show for a much longer time.

The other two presenter-anchors are Derek Watts and Devi Sankaree Govender - meaning Carte Blanche is in effect short on one presenting person.

The multiple award-winning Carte Blanche will celebrate its 30th anniversary in August as South Africa's longest running television programme.

Carte Blanche sexism? M-Net's weekly investigative magazine suddenly makes Macfarlane Moleli an anchor after just 5 months with the show, although Claire Mawisa has been there much longer.

Carte Blanche on M-Net (DStv 101) comes across as extremely sexist after suddenly promoting Macfarlane Moleli who has been with the show for just a few months to the anchor chair, instead of Claire Mawisa who has more experience on the show and who has been with the show several years longer than Macfarlane Moleli.

Macfarlane Moleli is replacing another man, Bongani Bingwa in the Carte Blanche anchor chair despite being part of the weekly investigative magazine show for the shortest amount of time - just 5 months - out of all the presenters.

Carte Blanche shocked on Sunday evening when anchor Derek Watts in the closer of Sunday's episode announced that "next Sunday our new anchor Macfarlane Moleli, our new anchor, will be joining us in the hot seat, as we say goodbye to Bongani Bingwa, who's made such a valuable contribution to our show for more than a decade".

Bongani Bingwa dropped Carte Blanche to join the SABC as the new SABC News weekday prime time co-anchor next to Francis Herd on SABC News (DStv 404) and SABC3, with Macfarlane Moleli who will be behind the Carte Blanche anchor desk from 18 March.

For years only Derek Watts and Bongani Bingwa as two men alternated as anchors of Carte Blanche, before Devi Sankaree Govender was finally allowed since the middle of last year to anchor episodes of the Combined Artistic Productions show broadcast on Sunday nights from the Randburg studio.

Despite years of experience as an investigative TV journalist and having also anchored hours and hours of studio coverage during the Oscar Pistorius trial on MultiChoice's Oscar Pistorius Trial channel on DStv - ironically produced by the same production company responsible for Carte Blanche - Devi Sankaree Govender was for some reason not used or seen as a Carte Blanche anchor until mid-2017.

Since Devi Sankaree Govender joined Carte Blanche in 2002, it means it took her - as the first female anchor since Ruda Landman left - 15 years to make it to the show's anchor desk.

Claire Mawisa, with TV presenting and in-studio presenting experience joined Carte Blanche in April 2015 as a field presenter and since then has done dozens of stories. She is a year older than Macfarlane Moleli.

Macfarlane Moleli quietly joined Carte Blanche in September 2017 as a field presenter just 5 months ago.

Interestingly, neither M-Net nor Combined Artistic Productions issued any official statement or press release when Macfarlane Moleli joined Carte Blanche in late-2017, as was the case with Claire Mawisa in 2015 and others previously, with Macfarlane Moleli's addition as a new presenter that came across as decidedly low-key.

Now Macfarlane Moleli has suddenly been appointed as a studio anchor on the show, above Claire Mawisa who has been with the show longer, who has done more stories, and who has more on-the-ground and behind-the-scenes experience with the actual news magazine show.

Carte Blanche was asked why Macfarlane Moleli has suddenly been made an anchor on the show and why he was chosen as a man to replace Bongani Bingwa who also happens to be a man.

With Devi Sankaree Govender who had to wait years before being made an anchor, and with Claire Mawisa who joined Carte Blanche before Macfarlane Moleli, Carte Blanche was also asked why she has not been allowed to anchor or to become an anchor before Macfarlane Moleli who has been with the show for a far shorter time than Claire Mawisa.

M-Net in response to a media enquiry says "why Macfarlane got the anchoring job, it’s quite simple: He comes with a huge amount of live studio anchoring experience under his belt from his time at eNCA and the SABC. Hosting live TV is a very unique skills set that Macfarlane already joins the team with."

"Macfarlane has spent the past two decades honing his presenting and investigative journalism skills on issues around current affairs, politics, economics, business, sports and environmental affairs," says George Mazarakis, Carte Blanche executive producer. "He is a seasoned studio presenter and we're thrilled to welcome someone of his calibre to our team of highly experienced anchors".

Carte Blanche says "Macfarlane Moleli has more than 14 years' work experience as a journalist in the media and entertainment industry under his belt. Most recently he worked at Kaya FM, following a 5-year stink at news channel eNCA."

"Macfarlane was also a former prime time newsreader on SABC3 for the 19:00 news. During this time he hosted 180 Degrees on SABC News International, as well as the drive time news and current affairs anchor on "The Touch Down show on Touch Central."

When Claire Mawisa's name is searched for in online search engines, lurid stories doesn't come up like one last year about Macfarlane Moleli where headlines blare 'Lover' says Macfarlane shattered her heart with things like an alleged girlfriend, Lerato Phakathi, who told The Daily Sun that he allegedly "has a tough time keeping 'it' in his pants".

Carte Blanche will celebrate its 30th anniversary in August. The show's current roster of presenters are Derek Watts, Devi Sankaree Govender, Claire Mawisa, Macfarlane Moleli and John Webb who is apparently relocating overseas and leaving South Africa but who will still be doing inserts for the show.

Investigative news mags - because they value and protect their credibility and integrity in a genre of television where the faces directly represent the credibility and trust of viewers built up over years of doing stories and interviews - usually promote from within.

America's 60 Minutes, the BBC's Panorama and the BBC's interview show HARDTalk only elevate insiders from within the fold to the prestigious rank of anchor presenter, and only after many years of having built up a cache of credibility and having proven their mettle through a vault of stories and interviews.

Another 90 minute extended Carte Blanche episode on M-Net on Sunday at 7pm looking at the Guptas, highway rock throwing and dictator Robert Mugabe's playboy sons.

There will be another 90 minute extended Carte Blanche episode on M-Net (DStv 101) on Sunday at 19:00 of the broadcaster's weekly investigative magazine show due to the higher than usual age restriction of the film following afterwards.

This week's Carte Blanche episode on M-Net has a fascinating look at the playboy sons of the Zimbabwe dictator Robert Mugabe, and further explores the Eskom state capture saga involving the controversial Gupta family.

Carte Blanche also profiles the young train rescue heroes from Kroonstad, looks at the apparent disarray within South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) political party, investigates the shocking highway rock throwing crime, and why telemarketing in South Africa has become out of control.   

First Strike From The AFU

This week the Asset Forfeiture Unit launched their first strike against international consulting company McKinsey and the Gupta-linked company, Trillian. Their preservation order freezes R1.6 billion, but that is just the beginning, says the NPA. They hope to recover another R50- billion. In an exclusive interview, Carte Blanche sits down with Suzanne Daniels, the Eskom executive, who was the first to recommend these companies pay back the money, but was suspended shortly afterwards.

Producer: Joy Summers

Presenter: Devi Sankaree Govender

Researcher: Tony Beamish

                         

Young Heroes

At just 12 years old, their selfless efforts to assist victims of the Kroonstad train crash have earned them the admiration of the entire nation. After witnessing the incident, the two boys fearlessly rushed to the scene to help the injured, pulling babies and the elderly from the train. Carte Blanche meets young South African heroes Evert du Preez and Mokoni Chaka.

Producer: Mart-Marie Faure

Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli

DA Future

As the governing party, the ANC is experiencing resurgence under the new leadership of Cyril Ramaphosa, trouble is brewing in the opposition camps of the Democratic Alliance. From Cape Town, to Port Elizabeth, to Johannesburg, major internal power struggles plague the DA.  Can the official opposition survive the political fallout in the Western Cape and its key metropoles throughout the country?  Carte Blanche analyses a party, seemingly in disarray.

Producer: Liz Fish

Presenter: John Webb

Highway Rock Throwing

It’s a deadly practice, often with fatal consequences. Gauteng and KZN have seen a renewed spate of rock throwing from highway bridges, causing serious damage to vehicles, claiming lives and injuring several motorists. But are these just reckless pranks or part of a devious plan to rob injured motorists of their valuables?

Producer: Nicky Troll

Presenter: Claire Mawisa

Telemarketing: Your Rights

We all loath those persistent telemarketing calls offering anything form insurance policies to cellphone contracts. Locally, it’s big business and when it comes to marketing phone calls, South Africa now ranks among the top 5 most spammed countries in the world. But is it legal to offer unsolicited credit or to keep your private contact details on a database after you’ve asked for it to be removed? Carte Blanche finds out what your rights are as a consumer.

Producer: Sophia Phirippides

Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli

Mugabe Boys

Pouring expensive champagne over a luxury watch to prove it's real is the kind of excessive behaviour that enraged Zimbabweans, but it’s also how Robert Mugabe’s sons, earned themselves an international reputation for party excess and big spending.  After years of splurging on lavish hotel rooms and designer clothes in South Africa, will Mugabe's fall from power put an end to his sons' jet-setting lifestyles?

Producer: Journeyman Pictures

MAN CAVE. Carte Blanche on M-Net and presenter John Webb ventures into the secret, massive 'Armageddon' Cave on Sunday at 19:00.

In what will be a jaw-dropping world exclusive Carte Blanche presenter John Webb will on Sunday night at 19:00 on M-Net (DStv 101) take viewers inside South Africa's secret "Armageddon" Cave - a seemingly endless cavern west of Johannesburg of which the location is still kept a secret.

About an hour west of Johannesburg, deep below the ground, is a cave that has yet to reveal the secrets of its limits to a very carefully chosen group of explorers and scientists who have descended into its endless darkness - and on Sunday Carte Blanche will be taking viewers along for the plunge, exploring this still off-limits place.

The Carte Blanche cameras descend into a cavern so massive in size that it's been named Armageddon.

In the early hours of the morning in the 1990's a farmer west of Johannesburg woke up to someone running to him screaming "There's a sink hole in the mealie field!"

Measuring 18 metres across and 50 metres deep - about as deep as a 12 block building - the sinkhole later gave way even further a few years later to reveal a massive cave.

Carte Blanche has now gained exclusive access to this super Armageddon Cave - on condition that its location in South Africa remains a secret.

Presenter John Webb takes a camera crew down the darkness and explores unchartered depths and astonishing geological formations.

"This is by far the most extraordinary thing I have ever done in my life," says John Webb. "Extraordinary and absolutely terrifying. No wonder they call it Armageddon".

"The Carte Blanche team, led by veteran producer Diana Lucas, felt privileged as do we all, to be allowed to enter this extraordinary space and bring a truly awesome and remarkable natural phenomenon to our audience," says George Mazarakis, Carte Blanche's executive producer.

BREAKING. M-Net adds additional weekly Carte Blanche hour on Sunday nights to cover the sensational Shrien Dewani court trial.

There won't be dedicated court trial TV channel from MultiChoice on DStv like the Oscar Pistorius Trial TV channel which lured a massive viewing audience but M-Net and Combined Artistic Productions will now add a new weekly, hour long, additional Carte Blanche hour to cover the already sensational Shrien Dewani court trial from this Sunday.

M-Net will also broadcast the closing arguments and the judgment when that is handed down in the case by Judge Jeanette Traverso live.

The British millionaire, accused of plotting the murder of his new bride Anni in 2010 during their honeymoon in South Africa, took the stand earlier this week following a long extradition battle, with the businessman admitting in the Western Cape High Court that he's bisexual and had sex with male prostitutes.

The businessman's Paris to Las Vegas jetsetting lifestyle, expensive wedding and drug-fuelled bisexual escapades, and admission of tense fights with Anni, instantly created major public interest from South Africans as well as abroad.

M-Net is now adding the weekly Carte Blanche Legal Round Table: The Shrien Dewani Trial to the schedule from this Sunday, 12 October, from after the Sunday night movie, using the same template and presenters as for the Oscar Pistorius Trial TV channel on DStv.

The weekly show will also be added by MultiChoice to its DStv Catch Up offering on the DStv Explora.

The tele-terrific Katy Katopodis, Primedia's editor-in-chief of Eyewitness News (EWN) who excelled during the Oscar Pistorius trial as TV moderator with her own show, as well as David O'Sullivan will present, while the Carte Blanche presenter John Webb will attend the trial in Cape Town and share his reporting and observations on a weekly basis as well.

"It is highly intelligent and informed television discussion at its best," says George Mazarakis, Carte Blanche's executive producer.