Charming, articulate and well-dressed, Sandile Memela is not shy to speak his mind. Be it claims that white journalists know little about art and black journalists suffer from inferiority complexes, or that Pablo Picasso was an African art thief, Memela seems to enjoy ruffling feathers every now and then.
“Pushed out” by his own admission as acting Sunday World editor in October 2004 for being “uncontrollable”, Memela has since been in charge of marketing and public relations at the Department of Arts and Culture.
“I don’t work for the government, I am the government. I think it’s about time that government has a name and a face, and Sandile Memela is happy to have his face and name attached to this government,” declares the bespectacled Memela, sipping his Red Bull energy drink at an upmarket coffee shop in Braamfontein.
“There’s nothing wrong with being true to what you are – a proud, uncompromising, self-determining African in a global village,” he adds.
Dressed in elegant navy chinos and a matching checked shirt, Memela (44) shrugs off criticism sparked by an article her wrote for City Press newspaper in February that Picasso was nothing more than a thief for failing to give credit to the influence of African artists in his work.
Memela accused white journalists of shying away from the truth, choosing instead to sing false praises of a man the world regards as the 20th century’s creative genius.
Although many labelled his article as ill-informed and racist, Memela maintains it achieved what it set out to do.
“South Africa needs journalists who are not afraid to tell the truth and be the conscience or voice of society, speaking out on injustices where they see them. Where are the angry African black men, when they witness injustices and want to change the status quo?”
A former journalist whose career spans two decades, Memela believes the state of art and culture journalism in the country is disappointing. He attributes this to the “wide-spread problem” of junior newsrooms.
“What we know and see is that, one, art journalism is still a white hegemony where the so-called white journalists and other players in the sector are the only ones who think they can pronounce authoritatively on things that happen in the industry, who think they hold the monopoly on what is truth,” he argues.
“The problem is not only the outlook of Euro-centrism, it’s also the shallowness because it’s racist and preoccupies itself with protecting and preserving white supremacy at the expense of recognising and acknowledging African creativity.”
Meanwhile black journalists are caught up in a “sorry state” mainly because their employers do not want to invest in them.
“Few of them have got the resources and the training which can give them the insight and deeper understanding of issues. And so far, few of them are treated with the respect given to professionals,” says Memela.
He chooses to avoid a question on whether the same argument could not be used for junior white journalists, that they too need training to give them a deeper insight, instead turning his attention to the shortcomings of black reporters, in his view.
“Among the black arts and culture journalists, there is a deep void because they choose to compromise the truth because they want to preserve the status of pseudo-celebrities,” he says.
“But at the end of the day, people have a choice. Arts and culture journalists— can either give the best they’ve got to offer or turn themselves into extensions of the public relations camp.”
He blames the “money-driven society” where, he says, journalists attach too much value to spending time in the company of celebrities.
“Deep down, they suffer from an inferiority complex,” says Memela.
Honoured in 1999 by the Gauteng provincial government for his outstanding contribution to the promotion of arts, Memela believes there needs to be a paradigm shift in the newsroom for arts and culture reporting to improve.
“If I was back in the mainstream media, it would be important to do two things. Firstly, I would fire all those tired old horses who are not marching in line with the change and transformation sweeping the country because when you read our newspapers you see a disconnection between what is happening and what we read about.”
“Arts journalists have to be voices of transformation. This requires a great deal of selflessness because they represent the soul of the nation.”
While some may label his comments as irresponsible at the best of times, those who know him will tell you he is no stranger to controversy.
From September 1993 to October 2004, when he was the acting editor of Sunday World, he became well-known for his hard-hitting and often controversial column, Mamelang, which means “listen” in Sesotho.
Memela wrote about a range of socio-economic issues including African identity, interracial relationships and the dangers of the rise of the black bourgeoisie.
He maintains he was forced to leave Sunday World because management regarded him as too outspoken and uncontrollable.
“I was pushed out. They thought and believed that I am uncontrollable and wanted to take me out of the newsroom and make me a general manager, after stripping the position of its powers,” he says. “They wanted to reduce me to a token. So rather than stay on and lose my integrity, I said ‘no thanks’ and walked out.”
Memela moved on to the Department of Arts and Culture as chief director of marketing and public relations where he not only regards himself as the “face of government” but also a “mover and shaker”.
“Across the world, movers and shakers are people who are pissed off by what is happening around them – be it abuse, monopoly of truth, economical injustice and fraudulent politics where leaders don’t live up to expectations.
“There are characters in government that do not belong there and are an embarrassment to the only institution that is serious about transformation.”
Memela’s top three journalists
According to Memela, these arts journalists are doing a good job:
- Barry Ronge of the Sunday Times for his brilliant wit and in-depth knowledge of his subjects and topic.
- Bongani Madondo of the Sunday Times for his focus and intense passion for arts and culture.
- Madala Thepa of Sunday World for the daring and well-informed manner in which he presents his arguments or criticisms.
Key findings of a study on arts coverage conducted by The Media Monitoring Project and Open Research institute.
- Between 40 and 60 percent of space allocated to arts in newspapers is taken up by advertising.
- Coverage is dominated by music (33 percent), film (23 percent), and literature (13 percent).
- Sixty-two percent of the artists covered were white, 32 percent black, three percent Indian, two percent coloured and one percent
Asian.
- Female sources are used twice as often in arts coverage than in general news reports.
- International artists receive more attention than local artists with Tom Cruise, Michael Jackson, Bob Geldof, Christian Bale and Angelina Jolie being the most frequently represented artists. Kwaito star Zola and director Janet Suzman were the most frequently represented South Africans.