Yearly Archives: 2003

Sidebar to cover story.

Its no surprise that the flood of fresh newspaper titles arent pouring in at the top end of the market. Quality journalism doesnt translate easily into profit.

Thebe Mabanga is hot shit. The <i>Mail & Guardian</i> confirmed as much two years ago, in print. Recently Vodacom caught on and gave him an award worth R300 000 for being the most outstanding young journalist in the country. Kevin Bloom finds out if Mabanga talks like he writes.

Taxis have got to be the toughest space a media owner could play in. Kevin Bloom speaks to the chiefs at ComutaNet and GMR about their game.

The Broadcasting Amendment Bill has been the big item on the SABC’s corporate agenda over the last couple of months. The people in Auckland Park seem pleased with the final result, arguing that the broadcaster’s editorial independence is now guaranteed. It may not be so simple. Kevin Bloom writes that Peter Matlare’s balancing act is as delicate as ever.

David Shapshak, winner of the 2002 Telkom ICT Journalist of the Year award, translates techno talk into digestible English. Kevin Bloom speaks to him about his career.

South Africas media and marketing research may be the envy of the world, but the institutions that control and fund it are being threatened from within. Why are SAARF and MIT under the whip? What improvements are the stakeholders proposing? Kevin Bloom reports.

In 1967 a near-fatal disease struck The New Yorker then, as now, one of the most successful magazines on the planet. Fortunately for the owners, the virus kind of petered out before The New Yorker keeled over.

If the media oil the wheels of the free enterprise system, and the US media supplies most of the grease, maybe it’s a redundant question. We’re consumers, right? So put away the Che Guevarra T-shirt and get with the programme. Consolidation, corporate accountability and the rights of the consumer all feature in this month’s editorial comment.