Memorial for SABC journalist Suna Venter: 'We all giggled waiting for the utterances of the madman, but at least Suna lived to see the back of Hlaudi at the SABC'.

At the memorial service of the SABC journalist Suna Venter, media freedom fighters courageously spoke out about the ongoing tyranny at South Africa's public broadcaster and eloquently called for an ongoing focus and effort against censorship and oppression inside the SABC corridors where they say Hlaudi Motsoeneng enforcers remain.

Heavy caliber and staunch press and freedom of expression fighters in South Africa on Thursday afternoon used the hauntingly emotional memorial service of the SABC journalist Suna Venter who died a week ago from broken heart syndrome, to call for support for the ongoing fight for the soul of the SABC.

Media heavy weights called on the SABC that has done nothing so far about it, to launch an urgent investigation into the threats and attacks on the so-called SABC8 journalists who stood up against the SABC TV news censorship decree of the controversial and now fired former chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

Refusing to go along, they were fired, harassed, threatened, went to court, were reinstated and the SABC's censorship order declared illegal by the broadcaster regulator.

On Thursday afternoon the SABC decided not to broadcast or live stream through its SABC News resources the late Thursday afternoon memorial service of one of its own held inside the SABC at the public broadcaster's M1 Studios at Auckland Park, leaving eNCA (DStv 403) as the only TV news channel providing a streaming TV feed.

While top-ranking SABC executives were notably absent, the broadcaster's acting chief operating officer (COO) Bessie Tugwana, dressed in pink, was spotted stoically sitting and listening among the gathered mourners.

The courageous SABC's economics editor Thandeka Gqubule, one of the SABC8, welcomed the now eNCA prime time anchor Vuyo Mvoko - also one of the SABC8 journalists and who got fired by the SABC - back to the public broadcaster.

"Welcome back to the SABC, Vuyo," she said.

"It looks and feels very weird that I'm back inside the SABC," he said. "It's weird that eNCA, a private broadcaster, is live streaming this event to South Africa, right from within the SABC."


SOS Coalition: SABC must investigate SABC8 threats
Duduetsang Makuse, national coordinator of the SOS Coalition, the large civil society public pressure group dedicated to proper public broadcasting in South Africa, spoke at Suna Venter's memorial and said that "wild scale injustice" continues to flourish at the SABC.

"The SABC has a lot to answer for. At the time that Suna received threats on her life, the SABC was dismissive and callous in its response".

"The SABC statement by spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago at the time noted: 'Our message is very clear that this is a matter for the police. If the police will not do what they must do, then this has nothing to do with the SABC."

"No member of the SABC8 has received a formal apology for the offensive response and the behaviour of the then SABC board and senior management," said Duduetsang Makuse.

"We are also not aware of anyone being held accountable for any of the threats that were made against the group. We know that Hlaudi Motsoeneng and his enforcers - even though he has left, are still in place at the SABC."

"We know that too many others are being threatened. Many other journalists and other members of society are fearful of speaking the truth."

"There must be an investigation into the threats against her and others of the SABC8, so many named and unnamed other media workers as well."

"It's absolutely imperative that one of the actions the new SABC board must take, is to investigate the SABC's complicity in the threats, and to ensure that those behind the harassment and intimidation are identified and held accountable," said Duduetsang Makuse.


'The fight is not over. Oppressors never give up.'
The veteran journalist and highly respected SABC interim board deputy chairperson Mathata Tsedu said "what Suna Venter and the rest of the SABC8 were faced with, is not a new fight. That they were able to come back to work doesn't mean that victory was attained".

"Freedom is never won. It's defended," he said.

"When I heard that Suna had died, I thought to myself: Did I do enough? Did we as a people do enough to defend this freedom that we have?"

"And I said to myself, I didn't. We were all giggling and waiting for the next unimaginable utterances of the madman Hlaudi Motsoeneng. Meanwhile this asset, the SABC, was going down - until Suna and the SABC8 said this far and no further, whatever the price is."

"They were able to come back. Many more were not able to come back here. They were paid off and told to bugger off," said Mathata Tsedu.

"If there is a lesson in all of this and in Suna Venter's life, it is that each one of us must understand that in this wheel of change that must happen in South Africa, in the change that must propel us forward, there is a piece in that wheel where only my shoulders plug in."

"The fight is not over. Oppressors never give up," said Mathata Tsedu. "Hlaudi Motsoeneng was trying to get into Nasrec two days ago, claiming to be an ANN7 (DStv 405) analyst. So they never give up."

"At least Suna Venter lived to see the back of Hlaudi Motsoeneng, here [at the SABC]. Even if we have failed in many other respects, there are things that we have put in place that all of us as a nation need to help propel forward."

"I hope Suna, little one, that wherever you are, in whatever has been said here, you are able to recognise yourself."


Editor's Forum: Too many silent as they giggled at Hlaudi
Mahlatse Gallens, chairperson of the South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef) said that "our hearts are broken that 23 years into democracy, we are fighting against censorship".

"It's exactly a year ago that we stood outside this very building, protesting against the tyranny that has befallen the SABC".

"The SABC is way too big and way too important to our democracy to fail. Suna forced those who decided to sit idly by and be complicit in the tyranny to finally do the right thing. Too many were silent as we struggled and they giggled as Hlaudi Motsoeneng was saying whatever stupid things he was saying," said Mahlatse Gallens.

"While those who thought that they could end independent journalism within the public broadcaster are slowly starting to be held to account, we know that the journey will be long, it will be hard, and it demands all of us to be Suna Venter."

Vuyo Mvoko said "to SABC journalists who have finally found their voices, it's never late. Thank you for doing whatever you could do. Keep standing up. Keep pushing back. It's the only way we can defend our hard-won freedoms."

M-Net's The Voice SA experienced another illegal vote boosting attempt on Tuesday before Sunday's second season finale.

M-Net's reality singing competition The Voice South Africa experienced another illegal vote boosting attempt on Tuesday before Sunday's second season finale but the pay-TV broadcaster says the order of the seven contestants and the ranking of the winner remained the same after the illegal vote boost action from what it was before.

What it means is that the voting rules of The Voice SA were broken on Tuesday when a paid-for social media posting appeared canvassing for votes for a remaining contestant but that the person who will be announced as the eventual winner at the end of Sunday night's live finale, would have been the winner anyway even before the attempt of voter influencing took place.

M-Net says Sunday's winner that will be announced was the winner before and after the boosting.

M-Net says another "boosted social media post linked to The Voice SA" appeared on the morning of Tuesday 4 July. This paid-for marketing is against the rules of the show.

The incident is the latest embarrassing voting mishap for the show and M-Net, that have so far been unable to completely protect the voting ecosystem from undue external influence.  

This is the fourth voting mishap to damage the voting credibility of the South African version of the African Media & Production Network (AMPN) produced show that is based on the international Talpa format - two during the first season and now also two during the second season, with voting that was actually halted last week and that saw the tainted voting tally discarded.

M-Net says that any voting abnormalities "such as spikes are analysed to assess whether there is a material effect on the voting results" and that "appropriate actions are taken, if required".

"At M-Net's request, Deloitte and Touche independently computed the vote count and ranking just prior to this week's boosted post and confirmed that the ranking of the talent and overall winner had not changed since the boosted post ocurred," says the broadcaster in a statement.

Now with 7 instead of just 4 contestants in Sunday evening's live finale on M-Net (DStv 101), the show has been forced to adjust the structure. The broadcasting duration has been extended to two hours to allow for more space, and will now start at 17:00.

The Voice SA that is broadcast a day later on Mondays on the second-tiered channel M-Net City (DStv 115) will also have its finale simulcast as a live broadcast on Sunday for DStv Compact subscribers.

Ironically, in a case of unintentional like-for-like in-house counter-programming, the second season finale of The Voice SA is going up against the season debut of the 13th season of Idols on the M-Net sister channel Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) at 17:30 that might impact the finale ratings of The Voice SA.

Sunday's The Voice South Africa season ender will see the alternative rock band Gangs of Ballet perform, as well as artists like Nadine, Nianell, Gavin Edwards, Emo Adams, Thembeka Mnguni, Jimmy Nevis and Magdalene Minnaar who will be doing collaborations with the seven contestants.

BREAKING. SABC fires sportscaster Robert Marawa as latest veteran talent gone from public broadcaster's Metro FM after ugly in-fighting.

The SABC has fired the veteran sportscaster Robert Marawa who has been dumped from Metro FM as the latest veteran broadcasting talent to be jettisoned by the struggling public broadcaster and the radio station after ongoing behind-the-scenes in-fighting.

Robert Marawa who also works as a sports journalist for pay-TV broadcaster MultiChoice and its SuperSport media outfit has had his contract terminated and found out from other SABC staffers who got a company-circulated internal email.

Three weeks ago Robert Marawa refused to return to his Metro FM show out of solidarity after the "unfair suspension" of his radio show producer Beverly Maphangwa. The SABC then sent him a letter saying he has to give reason why he shouldn't be fired.

Beverly Maphanga was suspended for her decision to include a short commentary in a show that was broadcast on SuperSport. The SABC often uses SuperSport visuals on its TV stations.

In a statement on Wednesday afternoon the SABC said it would "like to announce that it has parted ways with sports presenter Robert Marawa".

The SABC said that "SABC Sport has accepted his decision to repudiate his contract with the SABC which he entered into with SABC Sport on 6 June 2017. The SABC engaged Robert Marawa several times to try and remedy the situation."

According to Sully Motsweni, the SABC's sport boss, "Robert Marawa "had contributed immensely to the sport brand of the organisation. It was hard for us to accept but we concede to his decision".

Metro FM and the SABC have seen a string of exits just this year as the cash-strapped SABC continues to be plagued by management upheaval and talent management problems that spills into the public.

BREAKING. Maijang Mpherwane out at SABC after 13 years as struggling public broadcaster loses yet another TV executive that resigns.

The exodus of talent and experienced executives at the South African public broadcaster is continuing unabated with TV boss Maijang Sam Mpherwane who has resigned and is leaving the SABC after 13 years.

The SABC's already gutted TV division is losing another high-level executive with Maijang Mpherwane who is exiting the cash-strapped and struggling public broadcaster at the end of July.

Maijang Mpherwane who served as a commissioning editor at the SABC's SABC Education division and then SABC1 programming manager for a long time, became acting SABC1 channel head in 2013, was appointed SABC1 channel head in April 2014, and then became the SABC's general manager for TV channels in February 2016.

During his barely year and a half in the position where he oversaw SABC1, SABC2, SABC3 and the rerun channel SABC Encore packaged for MultiChoice's DStv, Maijang Mpherwane found himself in the midst of unending upheaval and a never-ending litany of problems and crises.

Maijang Mpherwane tried to keep the SABC's TV channels on the air amidst massive executive upheaval and in-fighting behind the scenes at the SABC that saw a slew of high-level firings and resignations in the TV division under then chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng who has now himself been fired last month following a disciplinary hearing.

Before the disastrous period of 2016 under Maijang Mpherwane's tenure that saw the SABC's TV division experience extreme internal turmoil and erratic commissioning procedures, abrupt orders for 80% local content on SABC3 and falling ratings for the SABC's TV channels - all the result of Hlaudi Motsoeneng's dictatorial and highly abrasive management style - Maijang Mpherwane also had to deal with problems as SABC1 channel head.

He barely became SABC1 channel head when the entire principal Generations soap cast went on strike and were all fired under his watch in August 2014 on Hlaudi Motsoeneng's orders,  something that saw the soap - the SABC's most watched programme at the time, completely disappear from the public broadcaster's airwaves for months.

In late-April this year Maijang Mpherwane and Nomsa Philiso both came in for severe public criticism after they jetted off to Los Angeles for a meet-and-greet set visit and cast party with the American day time soap The Bold and the Beautiful.

Both had lunch at a luxury beach house as part of a jet-set press junket while the out-of-cash SABC is struggling and not able to pay local South African TV producers the money they're owed for programming delivered to the public broadcaster.

"It is indeed a bittersweet moment for us as the SABC. His departure comes at an exciting time for us as we are starting to see the fruits of our repositioning as a division, a project that Maijang Mpherwane contributed immensely to," says Nomsa Philiso, SABC TV group executive in a statement.

"We are proud that the SABC had an opportunity to guide and shape Maijang Mpherwane who came into the organisation as an intern in 2004, and leaves today as a general manager with a broad skill set across content and channel management. He now has an opportunity to further make a meaningful contribution to the broader production industry."

The SABC doesn't have a replacement for Maijang Mpherwane and will start a recruitment process to fill the position.

"We will be starting the recruitment process with immediate effect and we would like to assure the production industry of a seamless transition," says Nomsa Philiso.

Three Egyptian content pirates sentenced to a 2-year jail term as MultiChoice Africa says TV content piracy won't be tolerated.

The digital platform security specialist Irdeto and the pay-TV operator MultiChoice Africa say three Egyptian content pirates have been sentenced in Cairo, Egypt for a 2-year jail term and that TV content piracy in Africa won't be tolerated.

The jail term and a  £75,000 (R1.28 million) fine comes after the three content pirates were found guilty on all charges, that included selling illegal pirate subscriptions, allowing 163 802 pirate viewers access to watch TV content from international broadcasters.

"Engaging in any form of piracy comes with consequences, and this ruling clearly indicates that piracy will not be tolerated," says Frikkie Jonker, general manager of the Africa Piracy department at MultiChoice Africa.

"These convictions are critical to sending a message to the pirate community that piracy is a serious offence that damages the media and entertainment industry."

"Our collaboration with Irdeto and the unbelievable support of the Egyptian enforcement authorities, without whom this would not have been possible, demonstrates the importance of working together to combat the growing problem of piracy."

The initial investigations into suspects began through a partnership between MultiChoice Africa and Irdeto, before a joint criminal investigation, that led to raids that uncovered several electronic components, servers, almost 40 smartcards from multiple conditional access providers, several pirate decoders, smartcard readers and other related equipment.

"These convictions are a testament to the seriousness of the piracy offence and the commitment of law enforcement worldwide to crack down on these cybercrime networks," says Rory O’Connor, Irdeto vice president of cyber security services.

"Our partnership with MultiChoice Africa epitomises our commitment to content owners, rights holders and operators to combat smartcard sharing and other forms of piracy. We will continue to work closely with law enforcement around the globe to shut down criminal pirate networks and ensure that justice is served."

SABC removes acting CFO Audrey Raphela; reportedly suspended sports and radio bosses Sully Motsweni and Orapeleng Lethebe.

The SABC has removed the controversial Audrey Raphela as acting chief financial officer (CFO) at the public broadcaster, and ordered acting general manager for stakeholder relations Puleng Thulo back to Radio 2000 where she's the station manager.

The SABC also reportedly suspended the SABC's group executive for sports Sully Motsweni and the acting general manager for radio Orapeleng Lethebe, although there's been no confirmation from the SABC.

Audrey Raphela was called a liar in parliament last month were she faced several calls for her suspension and removal.

The SABC reportedly also replaced acting group executive for corporate affairs, Keobokile Mosweu, with Hosea Jiyane.

According to reports, the SABC interim board ordered SABC management to overturn the firing of the SABC sports presenters and analysts David Kekana, Coudjoe Amakwaa, Lindani Mbense and Christopher Bongo.

The four sports reporters were fired last month and told their services won't be needed after the end of June as the cash-strapped SABC is terminating several freelance contracts.

The alleged suspension of Sully Motsweni and Orapeleng Lethebe comes after the SABC and radio station Metro FM gave sports presenter Robert Marawa a letter saying he has to provide reasons why he shouldn't be fired.

The sports presenters made use of the open door policy of the new SABC interim board, and went directly to the board to explain how they are allegedly being harassed and mistreated by SABC senior managers inside the public broadcaster.

Police investigating attempted arson attempt after plastic bottle with petrol is found at SABC's Morning Live studios.

The South African police is investigating a case of a possible arson attempt after a plastic squeeze  bottle of petrol was found at the SABC's Morning Live studios of its weekday breakfast show broadcast from its Auckland Park headquarters in Johannesburg.

The plastic bottle of petrol was discovered this past Friday, on the same day that fires broke out at the premier offices in the Gauteng and Eastern Cape provinces.

The discovery of the petrol bottle on SABC premises was reported to the police.

Brixton police confirms that the case of the petrol bottle found at the SABC studio is currently under investigation.

E! News anchor Maria Menounos leaving E! News after 3 years as she's battling a brain tumor.

E! News anchor Maria Menounos is battling a brain tumor and is leaving E! News on E! Entertainment (DStv 124).

Maria Menounos who joined E! News in 2014 and whose mother is also battling brain cancer, says she was diagnosed in April 2017 with a brain tumour and underwent surgery to remove the golf-ball sized growth.

In a statement Maria Menounos who replaced Giuliana Rancic behind the E! News anchor table, said "I am so grateful for the past three years at E!, I had such an amazing time co-hosting with Jason Kennedy and working everyday with the wonderful roster of talent on the show including producers, staff and crew."

"It was such a special, good-hearted group and one I’ll always consider family. A special thank you to Frances Berwick [of NBCUniversal] and Adam Stotsky [E! Entertainment president] for all the support they have shown me through the years especially during these tough times. I will truly miss everyone and looking forward to this next chapter in my life."

"Our thoughts and support go out to Maria and her family and we wish them all the best knowing that Maria will tackle this with the same fierce dedication she is known for," says Adam Stotsky, E! Entertainment president. "We are grateful for Maria's many contributions to E! over the past three years".

E! says the E! News team will "continue to include a diverse stable of hosts, entertainment journalists and correspondents across all platforms".

SABC3 adds a new two-nightly show, What the F*ck Tumi, with Tumi Morake from Urban Brew Studios that the show says stands for 'Why the Fuss'.

The SABC is adding a new two-nightly show, What the Fuck Tumi, abbreviated as a hashtag moniker #WTFTumi from Wednesday 5 July at 21:30, that the show says stands for "Why the Fuss?"

"Why the Fuss?" is however not the words that will be conjured up by the SABC's viewing audience on SABC3 or people reading scanning over SABC3's schedule listings in newspapers when they see #WTFTumi.

With its dubious title, the South African public broadcaster's offensively titled Urban Brew Studios show will be broadcast every Wednesday and Thursday at 21:30.

According to Wiktionary and other sources, the primary meaning of "WTF" is "What the Fuck" but the show says its name "will see a play on the acronym 'WTF'. The 'WTF' acronym will lend itself to mean something different in each episode, from ‘Why The Fuss’ to ‘Where’s The Friday’".

#WTFTumi produced by Urban Brew Studios is one of the latest new production spenders from the cash-strapped South African public broadcaster and will "look at what has recently got South Africans talking".

#WTFTumi joins a crowded SABC3 programming line-up that already includes shows like Real Talk with Anele by Anele Mdoda, as well as Trending - both also "looking at what has recently got South Africans talking".

It's not clear why SABC3 wants yet another talk show about trending topics courting a social media audience instead of viewership.

#WTFTumi will see Tumi Morake talk with guests "about the lighter side of their lives with a bit of 'snooping' and interactive games" while they're in a lounge, bar or jacuzzi.

#WTFTumi will also see Tumi Morake engage with a studio audience "and share a bit of banter with her barman" - stealing from the concept started by Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on America's Bravo channel.

"I am always excited to try something new. This show is raw and unapologetic, especially since it is a late night slot, I can afford to be naughty because the kids have already gone off to bed," says Tumi Morake in a statement.

"We are looking forward to venturing into this new project with Tumi. There are so many creative things planned and we just can’t wait to share them with the viewers," says Adelaide Joshua Hill, Urban Brew Studios head of unscripted productions.