eNCA's Michelle Craig jumps to rival Newzroom Afrika, will now co-anchor the TV news channel's new amber-infused third morning show version AM Report alongside Ayanda Nyathi.

by Thinus Ferreira

Michelle Craig is the next eNCA (DStv 403) on-air personality who has left the scandal-engulfed eMedia Investments' TV news channel in Hyde Park for a new perch as the new co-host of the Linden-based Newzroom Africa (DStv 405) that will debut its third morning show iteration, AM Report on Monday.

Newzroom Afrika ended its first morning show try, Breaking Dawn in December 2019, followed by morning version of Newsfeed.

Now the South African TV news channel is teaming Michelle Craig - the latest high-profile on-air talent defection from eNCA - with the existing Ayanda Nyathi. Benjamin "Benji" Leshoro will do sports coverage on the new amber-toned morning show.

AM Report will compete with the country's most-watched breakfast show - Morning Live on SABC2 and SABC News (DStv 404) produced in-house at Auckland Park; as well as Expresso on SABC3 produced by Cardova Productions from its Tokai studio in Cape Town.

Other morning show competitors include The South African morning with Xoli Mngambi and Jane Dutton on eNCA (DStv 403) who have both been removed from the air this week for unexplained reasons.

Then there's also a new third version of The Morning Show produced by Cheeky Media that will also return to the e.tv airwaves on 11 May after it went off the air because of the Covid-19 national lockdown in South Africa and had to let staffers go.

"AM Report will get viewers set for the day with a zesty combination of hard news and current affairs, delivered with the channel's charactistic passion and purpose," says Newzroom Afrika that just celebrated its first anniversary on 2 May 2020.

"With a fast-paced combination of the latest updates on the big news of the day, hard-hitting studio interviews and live crossings to our field reporters across the country, AM Report will provide a dependable survival guide for the day ahead, bringing viewers up to speed on key news developments that affect us all," says the TV news channel.

AM Report will review the morning's big news stories in the newspapers and look at compelling photographs, opinion pieces and cartoons in popular print and digital media. "The show will also take viewers on an agenda-setting tour of the day's news diary."

"Candid discussions with newsmakers will add further depth, insight and relevance to the big stories as the anchors interrogate the issues and engage with viewers," the channel says.

Michelle Craig says she's "looking forward to kicking off the news cycle each day and setting the pace with Newzroom Afrika's team of committed TV news professionals."

Katy Katopidis, Newzroom Afrika's news director, says "Michelle Craig will bring fresh energy and experience to the breakfast offering for viewers with her engaging journalism style and hard-hitting approach".

"We are thrilled to have Michelle on board. She is one of those special journalists who is truly passionate about her craft and understands the importance of telling human-centric stories. We are so looking forward to watching Michelle, Ayanda and Benjamin take breakfast television to the next level."

eNCA adds special series, Women of the Liberation, for August, profiling untold stories of women who played a role in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.

eNCA (DStv 403) has added a special series, Women of the Liberation, for August, starting on Sunday 4 August at 20:30 that will be profiling remarkable women who played an important role in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.

While the stories of South Africa's freedom fighters during the apartheid era are often well-known, many stories from especially women have not been heard or profiled.

In Women of the Liberation, eNCA pays tribute to the women of the liberation struggle in South Africa in a series of stories about struggle, perseverance and survival.

Produced by Helene Nieuwenhuis and Mmanaledi Mataboge-Mashetla, and hosted by eNCA’s female anchors, each episode of Women of the Liberation features a unique story from each woman's perspectives.

In the first episode broadcast on Sunday 4 August at 20:30, eNCA anchor Michelle Craig visits the home of Nomonde and Dorothy Calata in Cradock – the wife and daughter of the murdered anti-apartheid activist Fort Calata.

The year 2019 marks the 34th anniversary of the brutal killings of the Cradock Four and to this day nobody has ever been held accountable for the murders. Nomonde and Dorothy opens up about the events that changed their lives forever.

Other women featured in eNCA's Women of the Liberation series include Dr Navi Pillay, the South African jurist who served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the political exiles mother-and-daughter Gertrude Shope and Lyndall Shope-Mafole, as well as the struggle artist Judy Ann Seidman.

In transition, TV news channel eNCA promises a personalised news presentation experience with its latest schedule revamp, including Uveka Rangappa anchoring premium prime time.

Facing added competition in the local TV news channel field, eNCA (DStv 403) will today announce a revamped schedule that will come into effect from Monday 29 July - together with a new look - that promises a more personalised news presentation for viewers.

The latest eNCA schedule change will include some big anchor moves being implemented just a year after the channel's last schedule change, including moving morning maven Uveka Rangappa to the evening as eNCA's new prime time star.

With added competition coming from Newzroom Afrika (DStv 405) that has joined SABC News (DStv 404) as the triptych of TV news channels on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service, the eMedia Investments' news channel is changing its schedule a year after the 10-year old channel revamped its offering in July 2018.

eNCA will be moving Uveka Rangappa from the mornings to its most valuable prime time berth as part of the channel's most dramatic schedule shake-up as it does away with NewsNight after a decade and the timeslot getting rebranded as South Africa Tonight.

eNCA will also become the first South African TV news channel to rebrand various daypart programming blocks to new names and now linked to anchor name brands - similar to talk radio and what the trend has been in American TV news the past few years.

A physical relocation to a new Johannesburg news headquarters from the current office and studio complex in Hyde Park is being planned as well but the transition to the new news broadcasting hub won't happen in conjunction with the roll-out of the new eNCA schedule coming this Monday.

The new eNCA schedule will however be accompanied by a new look.

From 29 July Morning News Today on eNCA between 06:00 and 09:00 with Dan Moyane and Uveka Uveka Rangappa will be broken up into three different dayparts that will have a subtle tempo difference as the day moves along.

The eNCA live broadcast day will now start with First Take with Xoli Mngambi between 06:00 and 07:00, adding Jane Dutton whose prime time show was axed last month joining Xoli Mngambi from 7:00 to 8:00, and Jane Dutton anchoring solo between 8:00 to 09:00.

First Take with Xoli Mngambi will be a fast-paced hourlong show bringing viewers up to speed with overnight news and looking ahead to the day's expected news events.

South African Morning with Xoli Mngambi and Jane Dutton will look at the day's top stories and include some interviews and live crossings, while The Jane Dutton Hour at 8:00 will blend hard news and lifestyle interviews with Jane on occasion anchoring from the field.

eNCA is taking its cue from American morning shows, notably NBC's multi-hour Today Show, that starts off giving viewers the news during the early hours and transitioning to a softer news style blend including more interviews and talk as the day transitions into mid-morning.

eNCA Now between 09:00 and 13:00 is getting rebranded as Today with Dan Moyane between 09:00 and 11:00 with the morning anchor who will now present on his own and from a bit later than his usual extremely early rise. This timeslot will include live crossings to news events, analysis and interviews.


The rundown on eNCA afternoons
The Rundown will be on eNCA between 11:00 and 13:00, anchored by Michelle Craig, with eNCA Lunchtime between 13:00 and 14:00 becoming Live at Lunchtime anchored by eNCA editor-in-chief, Jeremy Maggs.

This daypart will be an "express mid-point daily update, including a dedicated business segment".

eNCA Now that ran between 14:00 and 17:00 is revamped as Upfront with Marcelle Gordon between 14:00 to 16:00, followed by Newshour anchored by Faith Mangope between 16:00 and 17:00.

Shahan Ramkissoon stays put at 17:00 but eNCA Live at Five is rebranded as The Lead with Shahan Ramkissoon where the anchor will do a consolidated and rapid-fire news bulletin.


eNCA's new news at night
It's the end of NewsNight at 18:00 with the biggest change on the eNCA schedule being Uveka Rangappa's day-night change to become the channel's new premium prime time anchor of South Africa Tonight between 18:00 and 20:00.

Uveka Rangappa will now duke it out against her former eNCA colleagues, now ratings rivals, during the exact same timeslot with Cathy Mohlahlana anchoring Newz@Prime on Newzroom Afrika, and Francis Herd anchoring Full View on SABC News.

The move also places a trio of women across all three local South African TV news channels at the forefront of delivering prime time television news in the country.

South Africa Tonight will include high-profile interviews and perspective on the day's big news events.

eNCA Now at 20:00 is rebranded as eNCA Nightline anchored by Vuyo Mvoko. This daypart will recap the day's news and include some panel discussions and longer interviews after most of the day's news is now known.

"The changes come after extensive audience research," says Jeremy Maggs, eNCA editor-in-chief. 

"We are matching our talented line-up to key hours in the day. This, accompanied by a new station look will give our audience the fast-paced product they have become accustomed to, entrenching our position as the country's most-watched news channel."

eNCA has started a series of Town Hall Debates with South Africa's political leaders that will debate in various provinces leading up to the country's general election on 8 May.

eNCA (DStv 403) has started a series of Town Hall Debates that the TV news channel will be broadcasting.

The first eNCA Town Hall Debate leading up to South Africa's general elections on 8 May took place in Cape Town on Thursday last week at 11:00 in the morning and was rebroadcast in full at 19:00 that same evening.

eNCA didn't communicate or announce the addition of its programming event-series to the press beforehand.

TVwithThinus asked eNCA about its Town Hall Debate series on Thursday after 11:00 after the recording of the first Town Hall Debate started in Mitchell's Plain in Cape Town with eNCA anchor Michelle Craig.

In response to the media enquiry, eNCA, in a general press statement it then issued to all media, says that "the aim of these Town Hall Debates is to give South Africans an opportunity to raise their questions and concerns with the political parties, and give the politicians a real understanding of what the people want ahead of the general elections".

Jody Jacobs, eNCA's head of output, says "Political leaders will have the opportunity to address these concerns, clarify their positions on key issues and propose their solutions to the challenges facing our democracy".

After Cape Town that, eNCA plans three further Town Hall Debates with representatives from political parties in various provinces.

Durban (27 March): eNCA anchor Shahan Ramkissoon will host a debate at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) on Wednesday 27 March at 19:00.

Port Elizabeth (11 April): eNCA's political editor Vuyo Mvoko will host a debate at the Nangoza Jebe Hall (Centenary Hall) on Thursday 11 April at 11:00.

Johannesburg (25 April): eNCA's acting editor Jeremy Maggs will host a final Big Leaders Debate at the Johannesburg city hall, on Thursday 25 April at 19:00.

eNCA says that besides the TV broadcast the debates will also be live-streamed on the eNCA.com website.

eNCA updates its on-air look with a rebuild studio and video wall, adjusted timeslots and a Jane Dutton talk show.

On Monday 16 July eNCA (DStv 403), that turned 10 years old last month, is redoing its on-air look with a rebuilt Hyde Park studio that includes touch screens and a big video wall, as well as reducing the number of its on-air blocks including folding the afternoon slot News Day into a bigger midday slot rebranded as eNCA Now, and a prime time talk show for Jane Dutton.

From Monday Morning News between 06:00 and 09:00 becomes Morning News Today anchored by Dan Moyane and Uveka Rangappa.

Morning News Today on weekdays will look at overnight news stories and provides an overview of the day that lies ahead. The timeslot will also take a look at the lighter side of life in the country with human interest and lifestyle features.

The Lead between 09:00 and 13:00, News Day between 13:00 and 14:00 and Afternoon News between 16:00 and 18:00 all fall away and are folded into the more generic eNCA Now block from 09:00 to 17:00 with rolling news coverage.

eNCA Now will be anchored by by Xoli Mngambi, Jeremy Maggs, Michelle Craig and Thulasizwe Simelane throughout the day. Devan Murugan will be doing business news coverage.

News Night that used to start at 18:00 will now start an hour earlier at 17:00 from Monday anchored by Vuyo Mvoko and Cathy Mohahlana and go until 20:00 instead of 21:00.

News Night will continue to cover the day's big news stories.

At 20:00 on eNCA there's the introduction of Tonight with Jane Dutton, a new weekday talk show that eNCA calls its "flagship daily talk show" that will feature interviews various guests and newsmakers.

Jane Dutton returns to South Africa and e.tv from Al Jazeera.

The half hour Moneyline on eNCA falls away to make space for the hour long News Hour at 22:00 on weekdays, anchored by Shahan Ramkissoon and Siki Mgabadeli.

News Hour will take a look at the day's top news and business stories and will feature business reports as well as in-depth coverage of the day's news events.

Late Edition follows at 23:00, that eNCA calls " comprehensive, relaxed and conversational review of the day's news and a first look at the next day's action".

Mapi Mhlangu, eNCA's managing director and editor-in-chief, says the redone studio where news anchors will be able to move around more and the big video wall will make eNCA's "news delivery more contemporary, more interactive and faster moving".

She says that eNCA will continue to do "quality news".

"Audiences today have far more choice in a fragmenting television environment. My promise to the eNCA community is that despite the changing nature of news consumption, we will continue to rely on what has made us successful:  quality news that reflects the complexity of South African society, always mindful that we are a voice for ordinary people and their daily struggles," says Mapi Mhlangu.

BREAKING. eNCA 'will not comment' about Bhavna Singh; Michelle Craig to replace the dumped anchor on eNCA's News Day from 7 April.

"eNCA (DStv 403) will not comment on the departure of Bhavna Singh," Patrick Conroy, the managing director of e.sat, told TV with Thinus on Monday, with Michelle Craig who is now set to replace her on News Day.

It follows after the shocking and abrupt dumping of Bhavna Singh who co-anchored her last News Day on eNCA on Friday without so much as a pre-announcement goodbye from eNCA, a pre-leaving scheduling note, or a post departure update as to who is replacing her in the timeslot from the channel.

On Friday Sabido Investments, owner of e.tv and enCA, warned in a statement of retrenchments as it is looking at the possible closure of several divisions, including eCNA Africa.

At the beginning of this month e.tv moved its English prime time TV news bulletin from 19:00 to 20:30 with eNCA news anchor Pat Pillay who joined in 2004, who is also out.

An insider last week told TV with Thinus that "they [eNCA] have no money, so when contracts are up they are not renewing".

Patrick Conroy says "eNCA will not comment on the departure of Bhavna Singh. Her contract with our company ran its course and we wish her well in the future".

Asked about who, if anyone is replacing her, eNCA says Michelle Craig will partner with Andrew Barnes on News Day. "Michelle Craig has worked as a reporter and stand-in anchor for eNCA in the past".

Michelle Craig will start on News Day on eNCA on Tuesday 7 April.