Adam Haupt
It’s a white, white world out there. This was the inescapable conclusion that Sharief Cullis, director of Stonehouse Communications, and Chris Gutuza, director of the Media Training and Development Trust, reached after the Rugby World Cup in 1995. Involved in media development work since the 1980s, they had hooked up with the Rugby World Cup station, a temporary station that had a one-month television licence during the tournament. The experience reinforced the fact that the television and film industry in the Western Cape is still white-dominated.
This has resulted in the formation of Stonehouse Communications, a production house affiliated to the Media Training and Development Trust which assists communities in the Cape Flats in accessing the realm of television broadcasting.
“We are hoping Stonehouse will become completely self-sufficient and able to compete favourably with other production houses in the country,” says Cullis. “The trust has essentially been aiming to train more black producers who would be able to enter the film and television industry with the really good portfolios which speak for themselves.”
After attending a media conference in the Netherlands last year, Cullis and Gutuza consulted with representatives in labour and progressive movements as well as a local financial institution.
“The financial institution was so keen that it spoke about offering support in three ways: the possibility of making facilities available for the would-be channel’s use, sponsoring an education section of the channel as well as advertising,” recalls Gutuza. Cullis and Gutuza’s initial plan was to go on air by November this year, but the Independent Broadcasting Authority’s time has been taken up by considering how private television should be regulated, without clear established guidelines for community television. Nevertheless, the trust hopes to deal with the difficulty of furthering its initiatives by applying for a temporary licence early next year.
This station would broadcast for a specific event by involving disadvantaged communities “as a precursor for the station that will follow”. Gutuza hopes the station will be operational by October or November 1998 at the latest.