BREAKING. Sello Maake ka Ncube joins hunger striking action against SABC.

You're reading it here first. I'm breaking the news here first, but in a few hours the Hunger Coalition (with their blog here) will make the dramatic announcement that the renowned actor SELLO MAAKE KA NCUBE has joined the hunger strike fight against the SABC.

There is a press conference at 12:00 and later in the day I will bring you a wrap-up and update on what happened.

The protest started almost two months ago now, when director/producer Michael Lee, stopped eating as a way to demand transparency and partnership from the SABC and especially to highlight the threatened slashing of local content. He reached a month before he started eating again.

Michael handed over to six other protestors. Five stopped short of their original vows of 21 days, including the student producer and director of a documentary about the protest but some are going, new ones like Sello are joining and giving continuous momentum to their cause and keeping the spotlight on the SABC's local commissioning and budget cut woes.

BREAKING. Michael Lee, hunger striker angry at the SABC, is eating again - but he has a message . . .

You're reading it here first. Michael Lee, the TV producer who went on a hunger strike in protest against the SABC, is eating again.

''People keep asking us what we want, why it is worth starving. And we keep saying, we're not starving, we're just taking a break from food to see what it's like, and to make a statement. The statement is in short the SABC belongs to the nation and the nation needs to be consulted''.

You will find his blog at:

http://www.hungerprotest.wordpress.com/

Documentary made on SABC's local production cuts

The Afda film student Aluta Mlisana (who is also fasting like film producer Michael Lee) is producing a documentary on the SABC's local content commissioning cuts.

The SABC has postponed R500 million worth of local TV production work which is having a DEVASTATING effect on the local production industry.

Michael Lee, joined by Aluta held a press briefing today at Atlas Studios that the SABC did not attend, although invited.

Michael has been on a hunger strike against the SABC's ''injustice and inhumanity'' for the PAST 31 DAYS!

''This protest is not designed to injure its participants,'' Michael said. ''Our specific purpose is to create awareness that causes the community to put an immediate stop to the thing that threatens the nation's health posed by the SABC's lack of transparency.''

''The SABC's turnaround plan seems to be a threat to the national interest - a strange position for the public broadcaster to be in.''

''The slashing of local content spend will lead to the sharp decline of the creative industries. The way they have handled the payments and contracts non-transparently has led to the closure of many companies and this process is accelerating.''

''The result? Repeats increasing steadily into next year and beyond, a similarly radical decline in original programming and a crash in the local production industry.''

Read more and follow the hunger striker's blog entitled HUNGER here:

http://hungerprotest.wordpress.com

BREAKING. SABC hunger strikers holding a press conference

You're reading it here first. A press conference is taking place on Wednesday, held by the hunger strikers - local producers and people working in the local TV industry - who are NOT EATING out of disgust with the public broadcaster's treatment of the local production industry and the slashing of the amount of locally commissioned shows.

The press conference is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 9 September, 10:00 at Atlas Studios, Milpark, Johannesburg.

Producer Michael Lee (who has entered his 5th week of fasting) has since been joined by several other hunger strikers who you'd be able to hear from on Wednesday. They will talk about WHY they're doing it, HOW they're doing it and their personal motivations.

''The hunger action is a carefully considered, rational statement about the starving of an industry through mismanagement, arrogance and a lack of planning by the SABC.''

If you want to follow what they're doing, you can read their excellent blog called HUNGER at:

http://www.hungerprotest.wordpress.com/

Hunger striker. . . not endorsed

''I'm holding out pretty well,'' says Michael Lee, TV producer/director who entered his fourth week of a hunger strike against the ''callous SABC'' (check my earlier posts).

''I'm beginning to get hungry finally. For the first time since the first couple of days, I don't really feel so lekker. But I'm still going.

You might not know it, but Michael - who has lost 11kg's already - is the treasurer for the The South African Screen Federation (Sasfed).

If you're wondering, this is what Sasfed has to say:
''SASFED does not formally approve of Mr. Lee's hunger strike past 21 days for safety reasons. We feel it most unfortunate that Mr. Lee has found it necessary to continue in his protest, a clear sign of the desperation of our industry's current situation. SASFED will continue to offer any support it can to Mr. Lee and others joining this protest, but will continue to insist he and any others have sufficient medical supervision.''

BREAKING. SABC called out as ''cruel, arrogant'' and ''overpaid fools''

You're reading it here first. The local TV producer/director Michael Lee has just entered his fourth week of a hunger strike/fasting in protest of the SABC.

The public broadcaster radically slashed local production budgets and commissioned basically half a BILLION rand LESS in local programmes for next year.

Michael who has lost 11kg over the past 22 days, has some choice words for the SABC (which I'll get to below). Secondly it seems misery loves company. He just got 3 people to join him since today.

Michael who is producing a film called State of Emergency? and looks at the past 30 (struggling) years of filmmaking in the country, says the SABC's problems go right back to the beginning.

''The SABC is an inhumane institution, and almost always has been. Their actions, as well as the public statements of Kaizer Kganyago and others, shows very clearly that all this noise they've been making about telling African stories is a bunch of empty rhetoric. In reality, they don't care about the audience. . . and they certainly don't care about the people who provide the content that is supposed to build the nation's voice''.

He calls the SABC ''cruel, arrogant and foolish'' and says ''these overpaid fools are trashing people's livelihoods and identities''.

''All we are asking is that they work together with us to get out of this crisis in a way that works for everyone and does not destroy what all of us, including the SABC, have worked so hard to build. . .to keep South African television growing, alive, and vibrant.''

Three people joined him today:
Gwen Britz a recruitment consultant in the media industry.
''It is inhumane that the public broadcaster is willing to impact so negatively on so many lives and the economy.''

Thabiso Mafane, a TV writer.
''Like everyone else I'm gatvol of the repeats on SABC, the state the industry is in because of them, and I intend to show them we are really serious that they should pick their socks up.''

Ingi Brough, former band member of the all-girl group Clout.
''I was totally disgusted when I saw someone else has put together the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency, outside of Africa. That should be us. If we're not careful, everyone else will be telling our stories, like it was in the past.''