Matebello Motloung

Business tycoon Tokyo Sexwale’s Mvelaphanda Group will buy up to 30 percent of Johnnic Communication’s media unit in a R1.4-billion deal, a Sens announcement said on Tuesday.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has announced the winning bidders of the new commercial satellite and cable subscription broadcasting licences.

Three senior executives from Touchline Media, a subsidiary of Media24, have allegedly resigned over the circulation inflation saga which has resulted in the suspension of several of Media24’s titles from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC).

Where do you get the best journalism training in South Africa? Matebello Motloung speaks to editors and other media players to find out which training institutions rank highly in their books.

While journalism schools each offer something different, they also have one thing in common – their failure to recognise and encourage students who are not interested in covering wars and political scandals, writes Matebello Motloung.

SABC economics editor Siki Mgabadeli dreams of a world where business news is accessible to Joe Public and she is determined to make it happen. That is one of the reasons why she won the 2007 Vodacom Rising Star Award for exceptional women in the media under the age of 30. Matebello Motloung spoke to her.

Editors are increasingly under pressure to be more than just in charge of editorial content but also to be brand ambassadors for their publications. This may be beneficial in building the profile of the magazine but what happens when brand and editor start competing? Whose star should shine the brightest? Matebello Motloung looks at the dynamics of the brand-editor relationship.

<i>City Press</i> editor Mathatha Tsedu’s vision of creating a "distinctly African" newspaper is finally paying off. For the first time in four years, it sold more than 200,000 copies. Matebello Motloung asks him why this strategy failed with the <i>Sunday Times</i> and where he is taking his newspaper.

Several radio stations have given their drive-time shows a shake-up as the national average of time spent listening to radio drops. Matebello Motloung reports.

Every year, the media reports on government and corporate sponsored initiatives such as Take a Girl Child to Work. But don’t we also have a responsibility to look into the implications of such well-meaning initiatives, asks Matebello Motloung.

The Afrikaans media has in the past demonstrated an uncanny ability to adapt to change while managing to retain a loyal following. Matebello Motloung considers some of the challenges faced by the strongest vernacular media in South Africa and its role in the democratic dispensation.

South African broadcasting entered a new era in 1992 when the country’s first television talk show, The Felicia Mabuza-Suttle Show, premiered on SABC. However, 15 years later, local chat shows continue to be overshadowed by their more popular US counterparts in what must now be an old genre. Are the benchmarks set by the likes of The Oprah Winfrey Show too unattainable for local producers? Matebello Motloung finds out.

One would think that we would be invited to our funeral planning session, writes Ferial Haffajee. It is no overstatement to say that the Film and Publications Act amendment bill is a potential deathblow to media freedom.

The outdoor industry is expected make more than R1.5-billion in ad revenue from the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup and BEE businessman Sandile Zungu is not planning on taking a back seat in this buoyant market. He recently purchased a controlling interest in Outdoor Network. Matebello Motloung and Tshepiso Seopa look at the man behind the billboards.

There is a lot that South African media practitioners, and the public in general, can learn from their African counterparts. If only we can get over ourselves, writes Matebello Motloung.

Custom magazines outshone the other categories in the first Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) figures released for this year. This category showed a massive overall growth of 47.8 percent, according to circulation figures for the period between January and March 2007, which were released on Thursday.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s first international business news channel goes on air in June. Matebello Motloung asks what impact CNBC Africa will have on business news broadcasting in South Africa.

Pressure is mounting on Johncom to announce a successor for its ousted chief executive officer Connie Molusi. Industry players believe his deputy, Prakash Desai, is the man for the job. But does he agree? Matebello Motloung talks to the man who many say has been running the show for a long time.

The under-30s market has become increasingly techno-savvy. Media targeting this audience has responded by merging various mediums in a bid to attract and keep their attention. Matebello Motloung reports.

With the 2010 Soccer World Cup on our doorstep, South Africa’s outdoor advertisers are displaying increasing levels of creativity, ready to compete for a huge slice of the advertising revenue. However, city councils seem unprepared for the outdoor rush. Matebello Motloung reports.

SABC head of news Snuki Zikalala has been under constant media scrutiny since his appointment in 2004, with his management style and loyalties constantly questioned. Matebello Motloung takes a closer look at the man many believe is determined to turn the public broadcaster into a government mouthpiece.

Several heads rolled this year and some even collided as the media reported on one public relations blunder after another starring journalists, government spin doctors and politicians. Matebello Motloung takes a closer look.

The weekly newspaper market is abuzz with movement from several angles. All eyes are on newcomer <i>The Weekender</i> to see if it will survive this competitive market. Meanwhile, established papers are introducing more and more supplements in a bid to attract readers and advertising. Matebello Motloung reports.

Can you imagine tuning in to your favourite radio station only to hear an audio of someone being murdered? This is how two American shock jocks came to be fired in 2004. Although the situation in South Africa has not reached such tasteless proportions, Matebello Motloung looks at how our local shock jocks are kept in check, and the value they bring to their radio stations.

Did we ever have a golden era in journalism? Editors continue lamenting the lack of skills and senior journalists in our industry but have newsrooms not always been overworked, underpaid and far too junior? Matebello Motloung explores.

Recent reports of non-payment of commissioned filmmakers has fuelled speculation that the SABC Content Hub has bitten off more than it can chew. Matebello Motloung gets to the bottom of the problem.

There is much more to the Cape media market than meets the eye. Advertisers often do not understand its unique profile and fail to spot potential new audiences, writes Matebello Motloung.