Clover and Cardova team for a 9th season of Tropika Island of Treasure on SABC3 in 2019, set in Curaçao.

Clover will do a 9th season of its Tropika Island of Treasure advertiser-funded programme (AFP), produced by Cardova Productions, for SABC3, in 2019, this time using the Dutch-Caribbean island of Curaçao as backdrop for its multi-ep marketing reality show.

The 8th season of Tropika Island of Treasure Maldives was broadcast from February 2018 on SABC3, with no broadcast date yet known for Tropika Island of Treasure Curaçao.

Tropika Island of Treasure Curaçao will include Simphiwe Ngema, Kay Sibiya, Nadia Japhta, Siphesihle Vazi, Ntando Duma and Bouwer Bosch, as well as 6 viewers who will once again have to pay to enter by first buying Tropika.

"We’ve got an amazing group of celebrities who’ll join us for the ride on an entirely new Caribbean island, with a whole new set of challenges and fun.," says Barbara George, Tropika brand manager. 

TV CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK: Such a yawn 3 episodes in, I can literally not give a proper review of the 8th season of Clover's Tropika Island of Treasure Maldives on SABC3 due to the show's slow start.

Three episodes in, the lethargic and white-washed, over-exposed 8th season of Clover's Tropika Island of Treasure on SABC3 is such a yawn to watch (nobody has even been eliminated yet. Don't ask.) that I haven't even been able to do a review about this weird slow-burn, no-burn advertiser-funded production (AFP) yet.

What I've already noticed - and remarked on - is how Clover and Tropika's communication around the show to the press has been worse than the previous season in my opinion, and how it hasn't done Tropika Island of Treasure any favours with the media in creating a good impression.

In fact it's created somewhat of a bad impression with this TV critic, and I think also with others covering the medium of television who I've spoken to since and who shared their thoughts with me.

As I've said, we're now 3 episodes into this "Survivor-lite" type product placement show from Cardova productions. I wanted to specifically wait (which I usually don't do) to sample more of the show before I give an honest impression in terms of a review of the new Tropika Island of Treasure season).

Of course Clover and Tropika didn't bother to do anything to try and show or preview Tropika Island of Treasure to TV critics and media who it didn't invite to Sun City or even told either beforehand or afterwards about the media event held there in January.

This lack of help to even show the show - part of the list of why I said the communication is way worse than before - of course meant that there was no way to actually see the show before it started airing. It signaled to me and others covering television, that it didn't matter to Tropika to actually get the show in front of the eyes of TV critics - something programmes actually do do when they believe in their shows and want to let viewers know through letting those covering television know.

Also note that because it's an AFP, SABC3 publicity isn't responsible for communicating about the show, but Clover and Tropika's marketing and publicity are and the people they designate to do so.

I decided to watch Tropika Island of Treasure Maldives old school - as a linear broadcast, but 3 episodes in, I'm flummoxed by how uneventful and borderline boring it is.

Nothing much has been happening in Tropika Island of Treasure, and that says a lot in this modern TV era where viewers need a pay-off per episode or a hook to lure them to watch the next one.

I truly thought that after 3 episodes TVwithThinus would be able to post a review. But no. So little of substance has been happening - nobody has been voted out, there's been no big challenges, (there's has been a lot of Tropika bottle shots), that it's all been pretty "blah" with apparently more lower grade "celebs" than in the much better 7th season.

Of course nobody has explained the change of more initial "set-up" type episodes, and the change in approach.

Of the Sun City press briefing and what was said there - as I've remarked before - there's been nothing. If there have been stories about the quotes and answers that originated from there - if actually anything of substance was asked and answered there - it passed me by.

Where is the game master introduced in the previous season? Why has this role suddenly been eliminated?

Why is the season set in the Maldives - a place that tourists are warned about and that nobody wants to travel to at the moment while it is in the grip of political unrest?

How is the bad political situation in the Maldives impacting on the show that is, one would suppose, once again being done in conjunction with Maldives Tourism that presumably wanted Tropika Island of Treasure to make it look good and is now somewhat wasted effort?

It also feels as if there's more D-listers on the show than before, except for Melinda Bam. How exactly were these people chosen? None of these questions and others that I would have loved to ask at a media briefing, there's been any opportunity to ask.

It's striking how different and badly Clover's Tropika of Island of Treasure compare with M-Net's Survivor South Africa Philippines currently filming in the East Pacific. Months before its May broadcast, as a TV critic I've already had a huge amount of access, did interviews, was invited for an actual set visit and met the crew and producers and banked stories for Survivor SA. The same happened for other media.

Last year Tropika Island of Treasure was way better in my personal opinion (for the first time!) in how it actually handled the media, communicated and was in tune with what was needed after many years of just not getting it and not knowing how and what to do properly.

And it's not just this TV critic who the show created a bad impression with.

Two weeks ago at M-Net's Dancing with the Stars SA cocktail party a member of the media came to me and without me even asking, started to dish about the Tropika Island of Treasure Sun City media day and media briefing. I just listened and shook my head as I took another sip of my wine.

The person told me: "I did a lot of coverage and did a lot of tweets until I discovered other media are VIP and I'm not VIP. The moment I discovered some media are even staying over at Sun City but I have to go back, I decided I'm stopping the tweeting. I decided no more coverage and I haven't since".

The person told me: "We had to wait in a shuttle for other media to arrive and it was so warm. Not even like a cooler box with drinks." And then made big eyes: "And you know ... It's Tropika!"

Here's is someone who actually was at Clover's Tropika Island of Treasure media day and who was still left with a very negative impression at the end of the day because of how the person was made to feel about the brand.

It's anecdotes like these - and there's others but one is example enough - that just made me wonder why Tropika Island of Treasure didn't keep to what it did last year and how much better everything was.

It's the second year that the show is on SABC3 after jumping from SABC1 to SABC3 for the first time last year. Yet, somehow Clover isn't fitting in with SABC3's way of doing professional programming publicity at all.

I was even told that Clover and Tropika didn't invite me to the Tropika Island of Treasure Sun City media event because Tropika Island of Treasure would be at SABC3's recent programming media event and would be highlighted there. Awkwardly and badly it didn't happen.

Tropika Island of Treasure wasn't discussed, the show wasn't highlighted, and there was nobody appearing in the show or who produced the show there. There was nobody from Clover or Tropika even there as far as I could see.

There was nobody to meet, and nobody appeared on stage like the other shows' talent. Absolutely nothing - and I mean nothing - from Tropika Island of Treasure came out of the SABC3 event - and that after I was told there would be an opportunity to ask questions there and which is why I wasn't told about the Sun City media event.

How is a TV critic supposed to cover a "no-show"?

Well, I will give my time and watch a 4th episode of Tropika: Islands of Treasure - Maldives next week on SABC3 and then share thoughts. But more time and attention than that I'm definitely not going to give a show and brands that in my opinion failed to bother and should have done much more and better, much earlier in the game.

BACK TO TRASH? The upcoming season of Clover's Tropika Island of Treasure Maldives on SABC3 takes a dangerous dive back to worse when it comes to its show publicity - here's why.

Warning lights are flickering for the upcoming Tropika Island of Treasure Maldives whose shockingly bad and misguided PR has once again taken a terrible turn for the worse after the dramatic improvement of the previous season, Tropika Island of Treasure Seychelles, that was on SABC3 in 2017.

After the much better and much improved 7th season of the advertiser-funded production (AFP) in April 2017, the upcoming 8th season of the Clover SA brand reality competition show set in the Maldives, seems as if it is crossing back to trash as far as its publicity and actual show exposure in the press are concerned.

While Tropika Island of Treasure Maldives is supposed to start on 5 Feburary at 19:30 on SABC3, there's hardly been any publicity around the show or the contestants like last year for the 7th season.

Likewise the so-called "announcements" of the celebrity and other contestants got basically no exposure in the general media - and there's a reason for that.

The lack of broad exposure is because Clover and Tropika and its designated publicists went back to trash with a wrong approach of not releasing basic contestant information to all press and TV critics covering a show like this, but weirdly divvying up individuals to select, and oddly chosen, media outlets on a one-by-one basis. Some were not even the target audience of the show.

Unfortunately if you shout in a soundproof room, nobody will hear you and that's what Tropika Island of Treasure Maldives decided to basically do. Weird.

Furthermore the consumer-contestants were announced in an oddly staggered approach as "exclusives" for just one media outlet.

Lo and behold, on Tuesday Clover and Tropika had the audacity of lying and saying "contestants revealed for Tropika Island of Treasure Maldives" when a press release got sent to the media, making as if the contestants are being revealed now.

The problem of course is that they had already been revealed, with the media that got sent lukewarm, half-baked leftovers that were reheated as if the press is in the business of rerunning old news.

Its happening because Clover and Tropika's PR people - supposedly paid to communicate with the press and for strategies that get the press engaged but failing to do that properly - didn't want to give that information out to all press, properly, at the same time.

The result is that the majority of media outlets now won't touch Tropika Island of Treasure with a pole. Neither are a lot of them going to bother to feature and name contestants after they've been named in other media outlets before as dished up "exclusives" from what is supposed to be general-issue show information.

The 8th season of Tropika Island of Treasure Maldives was filmed at the end of 2017 in and around the Adaaran resort in the Maldives with Katlego Maboe from SABC3's morning show Expresso as the new presenter for this season.

 “Each season of Tropika Island of Treasure has something new and exciting for fans – and Tropika Island of Treasure 8 will be no different," says Miantha Padayachee, Tropika brand group manager, in a statement. for Tropika.

"We have an incredibly diverse mix of celebrities and contestants who will compete in all new and awesome challenges on one of the most beautiful islands on earth. Will there be excitement? Yes. Drama? Most likely. Plot twists? Without a doubt."

Without a doubt the PR and publicity of Tropika Island of Treasure Maldives is back to being way worse than the uptick before and during the 7th season.

This season, again, Tropika didn't bother to take any press to the actual island in the way that M-Net does for Survivor South Africa for actual on-set, on-location interviews and coverage.

Likewise the so-far misguided contestant reveal strategy for the upcoming season has already backfired.

Will there be a media launch event for Tropika Island of Treasure Maldives? Will Tropika issue a screener or show the media the first episode?

Will there be some kind of face-to-face media engagement with actual members of the press like for the previous season?

Will there be actual programmatic publicity and show information going out to all media at the same time, treating all media outlets equally, when it comes to the basic dissemination of show info going forward?

Tropika Island of Treasure Seychelles did all the right things for the 7th season PR wise but is now once again, sadly, shipwrecking the show.

Minnie Dlamini turns Tropika's TV paradise into hell as conflict erupts in the Seychelles after presenter discovers producers' plan to give her a co-host.

Presenter Minnie Dlamini has turned Tropika's TV paradise into living hell for the producers with her alleged diva demands and fighting in front of the contestants.

The advertiser-funded show's upcoming season on SABC3 started filming last week in the Seychelles.

Minnie Dlamini abruptly resigned as the co-presenter on SABC1's SoccerZone two weeks ago after jetting off to the Seychelles to present Clover's revived Tropika Island of Treasure.

The show is filming its 7th season and will jump from SABC1 to SABC3 when it is broadcast in March 2017, courting a more upmarket and sophisticated consumer audience. 

Sunday World reports that the embattled Tropika Island of Treasure producers went as far as eventually reaching out to the SABC to try and salvage the situation when Minnie Dlamini allegedly refused to come to an agreement over production issues that threatened to shipwreck the show running on a very tight production schedule.

Sponsor Clover, running the revived TV show under its Tropika brand, and the producers allegedly became fed up with Minnie Dlamini's diva demands.

Already on a tight production budget, the show's producers bristled when Minnie Dlamini demanded that her entourage accompany her to the Seychelles a day before she was supposed to fly from South Africa to the island paradise. She wanted her own stylist and social media team to go with her as well.

Minnie Dlamini allegedly went ballistic in the Seychelles when she found out that the Tropika Island of Treasure producers had decided to tweak the show format and add a co-presenter.

The production earlier this year announced that Jonathan Boynton-Lee, a presenter on SABC3's Top Billing will be brought in in the new role of Games Master on the 7th season of Tropika Island of Treasure who will encourage and talk the various teams through the challenges that will include physical and mental puzzles.

Minnie Dlamini had no problem with that. 

She was however angered when she discovered, after arriving in the Seychelles, that Cardova Productions wanted to add a full co-presenter with whom she would have to share the spotlight.

Conflict erupted since Minnie Dlamini who co-hosted on SoccerZone, doesn't want a co-presenter.

In a statement Minnie Dlamini says "Cardova and Tropika offered me the sole hosting position of the upcoming season which I signed on for. I specifically asked not to be considered if they were looking for two presenters."

"The last minute they wanted to introduce a co-host which I refused as per the initial agreement. There was conflict on the island as a result," says Minnie Dlamini.

According to the producers Minnie Dlamini got her way to take her own hair stylist along to the Seychelles but the request for a social media team was axed since the show already organised social media people to document the activities.

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 25 September 2015

9 ways to tell if a new TV show is going to be worth watching.
Really the day's must read article you should take time to read with 9 really absolutely true points.

Show me that smile again!
It's exactly 30 years ago that sitcom Growing Pains started. The cast then and now, and sing along with the theme song.

You won't believe this ... but it's true.
Morena Baccarin of Gotham on M-Net (DStv 101) is with child. And the baby daddy is her co-star Benjamin McKenzie. And Morena is still getting divorced.
And fans of The O.C. are going insane that Seth and Ryan are becoming dads at the same time! "The only way this could be better would be if they were having babies with each other."


The new Tropika TV commercial on SABC3...
...makes viewers feel like cancelling their SABC TV licences. Tropika's "irritating" TV ad with Gloria "has got to be the worst advertisement" ever.

TV pilot error: TV critics about reviewing shows in the binge-watching era.
Does it matter if the first episode is bad if a season represents the chapters of an overall novel?

Remake of The A-Team is in the works.
80's drama series the latest heydey TV show getting a possible reboot.

MultiChoice in Africa adding channels to lower DStv bouquet...
...before the 1 October price hike kicks in. MTV (DStv 130), Comedy Central (DStv 122) and TCM (DStv 137) opened to lower-tiered package together with BBC's channels as subscription increase for a 2nd time this year.

A strong premiere doesn't mean that a new TV show will survive.
Broadcasting&Cable reports that a new show that starts out with low ratings will definitely not survive beyond a first season - but often shows that start strong also flames out.

Heroes Reborn feels "pointless" in the glut of superhero shows.
Heroes Reborn is starting on Vuzu AMP (DStv 114) close on the heels of America.

Premiere of 2nd season of Empire is strong.
The second season debut of Empire on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131) has the show's second best viewership yet. The first episode of the new season outperformed everything else on TV in America.

Michelle Obama is going to appear on Doc McStuffins.
Will be animated for this hit pre-school show on Disney Junior (DStv 309).

Scandal's Olivia Pope "drinks way too much wine"
The character in The Fixer on M-Net (DStv 101) according to university study that analysed the addiction portrayal in the drama series.

Tropika drops it like its hot: Tropika done as sponsor of the advertiser-funded production Tropika Island of Treasure on SABC1.

Clover's Tropika brand is done with the advertiser-funded production (AFP) and reality show Tropika Island of Treasure.

Tropika Island of Treasure 5: Jamaica is currently being broadcast with the dead Reeva Steenkamp as a contestant who was shot dead in the head by her boyfriend, the paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius.

Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead and died a violent death three days before the advertiser-funded show was to start on South African television; SABC1 and the production company Stimulii decided to go ahead and show the programme.

On the day of the first episode of Tropika Island of Treasure 5: Jamaica on SABC1, Tropika gleefully tweeted about a "killer deal": 100 cases of Tropika today".

Tropika and the show received global exposure since February as news channels and news programmes across the world clamoured for clips from Tropika Island of Treasure 5: Jamaica as part of its reporting on the tragic Oscar Pistorius shooting death case.

The AFP jumped from e.tv to SABC1 for the current season. Tropika will no longer be a sponsor when the next season of the on-air marketing activation rolls around. The 6th season will take place in the Seychelles but Tropika's sponsorship is ending with the current season.

Neither Clover and Tropika, nor SABC1, nor the production company gave any reasons for the end of the sponsorship in a press statement, only saying that "the next season of Island of Treasure will see a new sponsor which will undoubtedly bring about a few exciting new changes to the format".

"Viewers should look forward to an even more entertaining season," says Vukile Madlala, SABC1 publicity manager in the statement.

Samantha Moon, Stimulii CEO says in the statement "Island of Treasure will continue to bring the hottest, quality entertainment to SA screens".

Tropika Island of Treasure 3 will premiers on e.TV on 20 February at 18:30. (Let's hope the treasure is a dictionary.)

If they can't even spell, how simply awesome do you think the television is going to be that they're making?

Well, Tropika Island of Treasure 3 will ''premiers'' on ''e.TV'' on the 20th Feb at 18:30 (wow, six words after ''e.TV'' in a row and no spelling mistakes. Record?).

Of course I haven't been invited to the launch in about two weeks time where the press will hobnob with the D-listers (those who decide to maybe show up this time) who's being sold to the gullable media as ''some new reality stars''. The press will get the chance to interview them after watching the ''premier episode'' (their spelling, not mine) and heat magazine will probably have breathless coverage (oh, but wait. heat magazine is the print partner.)

Of course to see how really truly awfully bad this advertiser-funded production (AFP) on e.tv - oops, I mean e.TV - will probably be, we'll have to wait for it to premiers on 20 Feb at 18:30.

ALSO READ: How Tropika Island of Treasure couldn't spell during the SECOND season in 2009

BREAKING. e.tv and Tropika Island of Treasure 3 involved in dubious contestant selection for terrible tropi-trash show.

You're reading it here first.

e.tv and Stimulii are involved in seemingly highly unethical behaviour regarding contestant selection for the new season of the downright horrible advertiser funded show Tropika Island of Treasure 3 in which one of the chosen contestants - ''selected from the hundreds of thousands of entries submitted either by SMS, MXit or on the Tropika Island of Treasure website'' according to the organizers - just happens to be not only a TV magazine writer, with a celebrity blog, with a radio slot, but also has a family member who have done marketing and promotion work for Tropika and for this exact specific branded show.

The organizers make it to allegedly appear as if Clayton Morar who works at TVPlus magazine has been randomly ''chosen'' as one of the seven seemingly normal contestants out of thousands to take part in the crass product placement heavy, extended brand integration TV show. The shill production aimed at trying to advertise Clover's Tropika brand is more infomercial than so-called ''reality show'' and will be filmed in Phuket from next week which could be an indication of why the specific contestant selection was made: pandering publicity. Even if Clayton Morar really were randomly chosen, he should have been disqualified by e.tv and Stimulii because of a blatant and very obvious conflict of interest when this was discovered. It wasn't done. And the consumer magazine TVPlus - in what way does it compromise its integrity because its reality TV writer who has to cover all reality shows seemingly fairly and objectively is suddenly in one himself?

Tropika Island of Treasure 3 will be broadcast on e.tv from February 2011. It seems to appear in a very distateful way, that e.tv, Clover, Tropika and brand agency Stimulii inserted Clayton Morar into the show hoping for much more free mileage, publicity and exposure for this absolutely terrible tropi-trash production.

This is inherently the danger: When broadcasters like e.tv allow, condone and simply go along with utterly dubious production practices like this, it shows how desperate broadcasters - when they get into bed and allow advertisers funded shows on their schedules, start to lose not only control over productions, but also their own brand integrity.

UPDATE 13:00 Thursday 11 November: Stimulii director Samantha Moon responds as follows on my media enquiry: ''I am unable to speak for e.tv but can speak for the process. A large number of entrants were received. A random amount were selected, these potential contestants were evaluated to ensure that they met our entry requirements as stated in our terms and conditions. From these the 7 final contestants were selected. Mr Morar, and all 6 our other public contestants entered the competition via an accepted means of entry and were selected randomly.''

BREAKING. The CRASS COMMERCIALISM of the advertiser funded AND SUPER SUCKY Tropika Island of Treasure II continues unabated.

SUPER BAD! The embarrassing fiasco and unmitigated disaster television concocted by Stimulii and e.tv responsible for the tacky, lowbrow and product-placement-disguised-infomercial-littered-with-D-listers, continues unabated.

In a silly new press release, Stimulii is touting to media types how ''remarkable'' Tropika Island of Treasure II is (brought to you by e.tv, brought to you by Tropika, brought to you by 1time Holidays).

THE PRESS RELEASE IS FILLED WITH SPELLING MISTAKES, MISSING WORDS AND INACCURACIES.
If that is the ''A-Team'' that did it, as they're described in the press release, I don't want to know how working with the D team was. And I'm not talking about the D lister celebs who attached themselves to this fake pathetic project.

To help you, I will give you the truth and decode what they're really saying in their latest frenzied press release fiasco:

''The TV series is an expansion for the Tropika brand allowing its consumers to experience South Africa’s glamour highlighting of ten celebrities and ten Tropika competition winners battling it out for R1million rand'' is how it all starts.

Tropika Brand Manager, Asheen Dayal says ''Stimullii has been my A-team on Tropika Island of Treasure for the past two years. I look forward to us growing this campaign even bigger in the years to come”.

Dear Asheen, I guess - with a company that adds two ii's to it's name - another ''l'' as a spelling mistake wouldn't really make a difference, would it? And am I to take it that this means even MORE Tropika Island of Treasure, like two and three and four like the Rocky movies are coming our way? Brought to us by Tropika, brought to us by e.tv and brought to us by 1time Airlines? 

''The campaign generated a large number of entries last year, which grew by over a 100% of entries this year.''

Yes. And between e.tv/Tropika/Stimulii you all took money from people who entered and voted for swimmer Roland Schoeman and when he withdrew, decided to blatantly keep that money. Although people voted specifically for the chance to compete with him. I'm my world I call that STEALING.

''Stimulii negotiated strategic partnerships with Heat, MTV and ETV, Plan Hotel and the newly formed 1Time Holidays to fulfill phase 2 of the campaign which took a massive group of people onto the island of Zanzibar to both compete and produce the reality show.''

More spelling and typographic mistakes, by hey, who really cares. You don't really care about the mess that you create and put out there anyway. And you left out the part where you wanted to take the media and press along but first made them beg and having to say what they will write and what it's worth, and then told them they're not good enough.

''The last phase of the campaign, the reality show, has set the tone of what is to come by achieving exceptional ratings during its first episode. Samantha Moon, director and co-founder of Stimulii, says “Tropika is a thrilling brand to work with, it’s a product that we are able to institute multiple brand extension strategies that the consumer continually indicates enthusiastic acceptance for''.

So basically the actual TV show is just the last phase in what is a marketing campaign. Do you admit that it's not really about the TV show at all - that it's just about brands and branding and a branding exercise that uses television as a platform? That it's just about pushing a product? Lame.  Obviously Samantha Moon is over the moon with this product integration attempt.

I guess Sashi Naidoo who competed in this sham of a TV show is too.


''The reality show is a brilliant new way of bringing consumers the Tropika experience'', says Grayzna Koscielska, director and co-founder of Stimulli.

Again, we have the word Stimulii spelled THE THIRD DIFFERENT VERSION - AND THAT IN ONE PRESS RELEASE.
You go guys, you're shooting SABC1 out of the water. Oh, and what you call brilliant, I call SUPER BAD, SUPER PATHETIC, AND A NEW LOW FOR SOUTH AFRICAN TELEVISION.

Now I suggest the A-team go take spelling classes and also learn how to deal with the media.
Then when you pass matric, you can go and study further and learn how to make good television.

Roland Schoeman quits e.tv's upcoming reality show. Before it's even started

You're reading it here first. SA swimmer Roland Schoeman has quit the Tropika Island of Treasure 2 reality show (Brought to you by e.tv! Brought to you by Tropika! Brought to you by 1time!) going out on e.tv from 18 October. So what will now happen to people who paid and sent in SMS votes for R2 to possibly play and team up with him specifically?

I blogged this past Friday about my MAJOR BEEF with the lame way in which those behind the scenes screened the press, asked them ''to register your interest'' and required media to say beforehand what value and coverage they can promise upfront before they'll be invite to join the show on the island. (Read: allowed to go with this advertiser funded show).

Now there is this as well: Tropika and e.tv made a big fuzz about one of the contestants being Roland Schoeman. People can enter to team up with a celebrity. You have to enter by sending an SMS to 34112. It cost R2.

Now Roland, the biggest celebrity in the contestant pool has quit e.tv's reality show. Before it has even started. He's in the cast pic first on the left in the back row.

''Due to Roland Schoeman's swimming committments he has unfortunately withdrawn from Tropika Island of Treasure''.

Tropika scrambled to replace Roland with 7de Laan's Hendrik Cronje who plays Lukas.

So, what will happen now to contestants who SPECIFICALLY decided to enter because Roland Schoeman was a contestant, and SPECIFICALLY sent an SMS with his name?

Will they all get their money back? Can Tropika keep the money of people who entered a competition of which the terms and conditions has now changed?

PATHETIC! (Lame?) reality show wants to buy the press

Bad for e.tv for allowing this. The closing date is apparently today for press to ''apply'' to go along for a week to Zanzibar where Tropika Island of Treasure 2 (Brought to you by e.tv! Brought to you by Tropika! Brought to you by 1time Holidays!) will be filmed.

It will go out on e.tv at 19:30 between 18 October and 6 December.

In another crass and new low, journalists and media outlets can look forward to ''Tropika also taking representatives from a full range of media''. The lovely 1time Airlines will fly everyone. The lovely Dream of Zanzibar Planhotel is where everyone will stay! Whoo.

I spoke to Shirley Kiezer from Stimulii.

Media and journalists have to ''apply''. You have to say beforehand WHAT you are going to write about. WHO you are going to profile (the contestants are Loyiso Bala, Kelly Khumalo, Roland Schoeman, Trevor Noah, Banca Le Grange, Sizwe Dhlomo, Lira, Shashi Naidoo and Tasha Baxter and Speedy).
You have to say beforehand what COVERAGE you promise and how it will happen, and what the VALUE is of the coverage.

ARE THESE PEOPLE CRAZY????!!!!!

Do know that when you see any story dished up as looking like any kind of editorial content from the island stay for Tropika Island of Treasure 2 (Brought to you by e.tv! Brought to you by Tropika! Brought to you by 1time Holidays!) that is was BROUGHT, that the journalist whose name appears with it has signed away their editorial integrity and independence, has to write about it even thought it might be lame, and has seriously breached their own journalistic ethics and standards.

Also BAD on e.tv, SUPER BAD on Stimulii to even request such a thing and SUPER SUPER BAD on the journalist and TV writers who fall for this.

I've been on MANY junkets both locally and overseas, for M-Net, even the beleaguered SABC, as well as DStv and MultiChoice. This is not standard practice. They don't ask what you can do for them. They don't ask what the VALUE is. They know beforehand that an invite extended is for possible coverage and that the product will speak for itself. Basically Tropika Island of Treasure 2 (Brought to you by e.tv! Brought to you by Tropika! Brought to you by 1time Holidays!) on e.tv now buys journalists, editorial coverage and even the slant of that coverage.

Is Tropika Island of Treasure 2 (Brought to you by e.tv! Brought to you by Tropika! Brought to you by 1time Holidays!) going to be SO BAD that press must be bribed by Tropika and Clover SA for coverage?

Thanks e.tv, I can't wait for this show to start. . .