SPI. Media Leadership

World Press Trends: Newspapers Still Reach More Than Internet

2011-10-14T16:02:00.001+03:00

Newspaper circulation declined in print world-wide last year but was more than made up by an increase in digital audiences, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) said Thursday in its annual update of world press trends.

"Circulation is like the sun. It continues to rise in the East and decline in the West," said Christoph Riess, CEO of WAN-IFRA, who presented the annual survey Thursday at the World Newspaper Congress and World Editors Forum in Vienna, Austria.

The survey found:

- Media consumption patterns vary widely across the globe. Print circulation is increasing in Asia, but declining in mature markets in the West.

- The number of titles globally is consolidating.

- The main decline is in free dailies. "For free dailies, the hype is over," said Mr Riess.

- For advertisers, newspapers are more time efficient and effective than other media.

- Newspapers reach more people than the internet. On a typical day newspapers reach 20 percent more people world-wide than the internet reaches, ever.

- Digital advertising revenues are not compensating for the ad revenues lost to print.

- Social media are changing the concept and process of content gathering and dissemination. But the revenue model for news companies, in the social media arena, remains hard to find.

- The business of news publishing has become one of constant updating, of monitoring, distilling and repacking information.

- The new digital business is not the traditional newspaper business.

Mr Riess's presentation focused on six key areas: the media consumption shift; economic developments; newspaper circulation and number of titles; advertising expenditure by media; newspaper revenue; and internet versus mobile.

This represented a significant shift from past versions of the world press trends survey, which WAN-IFRA has been carrying out since 1988. Long a statistical compendium of information from more than 200 countries, the 2011 report focuses on the 69 countries that account for 90 percent of global industry value in terms of circulation and advertising revenue. "We're concentrating on value rather than volume, focusing on key numbers in key markets," said Mr Riess. "Our approach puts a premium on insight over numbers." This reflects feedback from industry stakeholders, as part of the new WAN/IFRA review. But the survey will continue to monitor all countries.

Media Consumption Shift

When measured in minutes per day, media consumption patterns vary widely. For example, television dominates in the United States, internet accounts for one-third of media time in Austria, and digital gets just a fraction of consumption time in Russia. Time spent with newspapers is low when considering their impact and influence on society, compared with other media – and to their advertising revenues.

"Newspapers have always had a lower percentage of the time spent by the media user, relative to the high advertising revenues that newspapers produce," said Mr Riess. Newspapers account for 8% of media consumption time, but 20% of all advertising revenue. "We have always been extremely efficient in using the time of our readers. But now we are in a more challenging environment, because readers are more promiscuous, they have more choices, they read newspapers with less frequency. We have to do more to attract them, find new ways to garner loyalty."

There is no doubt that internet consumption is increasing world-wide, to the cost of broadcast more than other media, the report found. Radio consumption. in terms of minutes per day has fallen 23 percent since 2006, compared to 7 percent for newspapers, it found.

Economic Developments

There appears to be a structural shift in advertising and newspaper revenues. Long mirroring the growth and contraction of Gross Domestic Product, both global advertising revenues and newspaper revenues appear to be decoupling from their patterns related to GDP.

In the 20 years to 2001, advertising revenue increased more than GDP in an upturn, and fell farther than GDP in a downturn. "But this has not been true since the 2001 downturn," said Mr Riess. "After 2001, we have had good growth in Asia, but, contrary to the previous 20 years, advertising revenues increases were not higher than GDP during a recovery. And we have a greater decoupling of newspaper advertising revenues, which don’t follow the recovery as in the past. We have a structural change in general, especially in newspapers."

Newspaper Circulation

Daily print newspaper circulation declined from 528 million in 2009 to 519 million in 2010, a drop of about 2 percent. But what has been lost to print has been more than made up by digital newspaper readers. Digital audiences are typically a third of print readership. So against a 2 percent decline, digital growth is significantly greater.

In fact, when measured in terms of readership, newspapers reach 2.3 billion people every day, 20 percent more than the 1.9 billion that the internet reaches world-wide.

But the significance of this is not the total numbers, but in changes in purchasing patterns. "We get readers, but less regularly," Mr Riess said. "It's the same with digital – the problem isn't visitors, but frequency and depth." Mr Riess said the patterns required a reconsideration of newspaper subscription models, and of finding new ways to convince readers to come back.

Again, circulation patterns vary greatly world-wide. In the Asia Pacific region, circulations increased 7 percent from 2009 to 2010, and 16 percent over five years. Latin America also saw significant circulation increases – 2 percent last year and 4.5 percent over the past five years. But drops occurred in Europe – 2.5 percent year-on-year and 11.8 percent over five years in Western Europe and 12 percent last year and 10 percent over five years in Eastern and Central Europe. The decreases were greatest in North America, where newspapers have lost 11 percent of circulation year-on-year and 17 percent over five years.

The number of newspaper titles worldwide increased by 200 in 2010, to 14,853, but the rate of increase is slowing due to consolidation in many markets as publishers close unprofitable titles and the number of free newspaper titles decreases worldwide. This was particularly pronounced in Eastern Europe, where freedom of expression led to the creation of numerous titles that were not sustainable economically. The number of newspaper titles declined 4 percent in Eastern Europe in 2010, and 8 percent over 5 years.

In fact, free newspapers took a big hit in 2010 – a drop in total distribution to 24 million copies from a high of around 34 million in 2008. "The hype is over," said Mr Riess. "In many cities, too many free titles were launched. There were newspaper wars. Now the market is maturing, and though the number of titles has declined, there are still opportunities.

Mr Riess noted that free newspapers have a strong impact on younger audiences. "Free newspapers added energy to our industry," he said. "They encouraged a lost younger generation to read newspapers, and this was positive." Audience research across European cities where free newspapers are available shows that readership among 15- to 24 year-olds is 50 percent higher for free dailies than for paid-for dailies.

Newspaper readership is highest in Iceland, where 96 percent of the population reads a daily newspaper, followed by Japan (92 percent), Norway, Sweden and Switzerland (82 percent), and Finland and Hong Kong (80 percent). Japan is the leader when it comes newspaper sales, with the average circulation of its newspapers at 461,000 – an enormous total. Austria comes second with an average of 162,000 per title.

But bigger isn't always better, said Mr Riess, noting the worldwide circulation average is about 17,000 per newspaper. "Newspapers are about communities, either of geography or of interest," he said. "It is in satisfying these communities that newspapers can still flourish."

Advertising Expenditures by Media

Television continues to be the world's largest advertising medium, with a total ad expenditure of 180 billion US dollars in 2010. Newspapers were second with 97 billion, followed by internet (62 billion), magazines (43 billion) and radio (32 billion).

But newspapers are lagging behind both television and internet when it comes to growth trends, and internet is outpacing both, the survey found. Internet advertising grew 22 percent year-on-year in Asia in 2010, compared with 11 percent for television and 3 percent for newspapers. In Europe, internet advertising rose 14 percent from 2009, compared with 9 percent for TV, while newspaper advertising fell 1 percent.

In South America, internet advertising rose 31 percent year-on-year in 2010, compared with 19 percent for television and 6 percent for newspapers. In North America, internet advertising was up 13 percent and television 8 percent, while newspaper advertising fell 9 percent. Internet's share of the advertising market has surpassed newspapers in the United States, and will reach newspaper levels in Europe and Asia very soon.

Newspaper Revenues

Newspaper advertising revenues took a big hit in the global recession, but the decline slowed in 2010. Globally, newspaper advertising revenues declined 23 percent over five years and only 3 percent last year.

In North America, newspaper advertising revenues were down 17 percent for the five-year period but increased 1 percent last year. In Western Europe, they were down 12 percent over five years and up 2 percent last year. Eastern Europe saw advertising revenues fall 3 percent over five years and 3 percent last year. In the Asia Pacific, newspaper advertising revenues were down 1 percent over five years but up 4 percent last year. In Latin America, the revenues declined 23 percent over five years and 3 percent last year.

Mobile vs. Internet

Which offers a better business model for newspaper companies – internet or mobile? Again, it depends on the market, said Mr Riess, and there are wide variations around the world.

In Russia, for example, mobile penetration is 130 percent compared with 30 percent for internet, so clearly mobile offers better opportunities. The same goes for India, where 60 percent of its 1 billion population has mobile telephones. In the United States, where the penetration of both mobile and internet is high, both platforms offer opportunities.

The internet advertising model has been well-established, but most of the revenue goes to search engines – 65 percent to Google alone.

On the mobile platform, the paid-content model is well-established, since users accept monthly contracts, pre-paid phones and paid-for apps. But here too, new players – Apple and the mobile operators – take a large share of the revenue. "If we're not careful in the newspaper industry, they will take away our business," Mr Riess said.

"But this world isn't easy, it isn't either internet or mobile, there will be different ways to use these channels and there will by hybrid ways – like tablets – that will use both the paid content and the advertising models. Every company has to look at its target group and readership, and this group defines how best to reach it. And this has to be reconsidered constantly."

WAN-IFRA, based in Paris, France, and Darmstadt, Germany, with subsidiaries in Singapore, India, Spain, France and Sweden, is the global organisation of the world’s newspapers and news publishers. It represents more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries. Its core mission is to defend and promote press freedom, quality journalism and editorial integrity and the development of prosperous businesses.

Learn more about WAN-IFRA at http://www.wan-ifra.org or through the WAN-IFRA Magazine at http://www.wan-ifra.org/magazine

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, WAN-IFRA, 96 bis, rue Beaubourg, 75003 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 07. Fax: +33 1 42 78 92 33. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: larry.kilman@wan-ifra.org

AMI-SPI partnership boosts bid for strong, diverse African media

2011-08-23T12:45:00.003+03:00

NAIROBI and GRAHAMSTOWN – Rhodes University’s Sol Plaatje Institute (SPI) for Media Leadership, the convener of the Africa Media Leadership Conference (AMLC) in the past nine years, has teamed up with the African Media Initiative (AMI) to strengthen their common goals of working to create sustainable, diverse and pluralistic African media.

The two organisations also seek to provide a range of platforms and learning initiatives so that African media become “learning institutions which continuously seek to improve their performance to audiences and markets by providing high quality and ethical management and management systems and editorial and advertising content”, AMI and the SPI announced today.

They will work to create and promote “greater collaboration among African media” and with other news organisations across the world that share their vision and goals. They will also collaborate on a range of programmes, including media management and leadership research and training.

The SPI, the only university-level institution in Africa and the developing world offering high level editorial and business management training programmes, has hosted the annual, pan-African AMLC in the past nine years, providing a critical platform to African media leaders to network and discuss key common challenges facing their companies at a time of rapid change brought by digital channels
such as the internet, mobile phones and social media networks. For nine successful years, the AMLC has been funded and organized in close partnership between SPI and KAS Media Africa, the sub- Saharan media programme of the German Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.

AMI seeks to strengthen the media, from an owner and operator perspective, so that the media can play its full role in promoting social development, economic growth and in empowering citizens to hold governments and other institutions to account. Since 2008, AMI has organised every year the African Media Leaders’ Forum (AMLF), the largest gathering of African media owners and operators, to discuss and seek practical solutions to issues of common concern among themselves. Earlier this
year, KAS Media Africa and AMI announced a strategic partnership beginning with the hosting of a joint annual media conference on the African continent later this year -under the banner of the African Media Leaders Forum (AMLF).

“Given that both the AMLC and the AMLF were focusing on similar issues, it made better sense that both organisations joined hands, strengthened their reach and impact and leveraged on their combined economies of scope and scale,” SPI Director Francis Mdlongwa said.

“We at the SPI are delighted to see the birth of this common-sense partnership, which will make it possible for Africa to speak with one voice on common issues.”

AMI Chief Executive Officer Amadou Mahtar Ba said: AMI is delighted to enter into this partnership with a leading learning African institution. The media community on the continent at large and African media owners and operators in particular will directly benefit from this new endeavour. In a context marked by serious challenges to the media industry worldwide, AMI and the SPI will work together to help African media leaders to seize the real opportunities in this digital age.”

The joint efforts of AMI, SPI and KAS media Africa mean that from this year onwards there will only be one pan-African media leadership conference, which will be hosted under the aegis of the AMLF.
This year’s summit will be held in the Tunisian capital Tunis on 10 and 11 November.

Formative Target Audience Research: A Case Study of Five Community Radio Stations in SA

2011-08-15T11:36:00.000+03:00

This 138-page research document, published by the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership, shares experiences and lessons in community radio listenership research, challenges and successes as a way of allowing other community radio stations to learn from these efforts. The report includes a literature review of research conducted on the subject of community radio in South Africa, results of a survey undertaken with radio stations and focus groups with stakeholders, as well as five case studies of community radios. According to the publishers, insights from audience research processes can be used for marketing purposes to advertisers and for making informed programming decisions.

The study found that few stations participating in the survey had ever conducted their own audience research, or had accessibly written audience research available to them. Few stations had taken initiative to use other accessible sources of information to gain insight into the issues facing their communities. Some stations had conducted research around health programming, had used community mapping, or have accessed government demographic or statistical information.

The report includes the results of in-depth research with five radio stations, which uncovered challenges and successes related to three key areas: management, programme content, and listener interaction. According to the study, programme managers have multifaceted roles which extend beyond their role of managing and developing content, and include ensuring that capacity building of presenters also takes place. Managers were concerned with lack of commitment from volunteers stemming from a lack of basic stipends or very low stipends. Few stations had a structured process for selecting presenters and volunteers; they also often lost presenters to higher paying commercial and public broadcasters.

The study found that most presenters are selected from ordinary community members with little or no radio training or from students doing internships; thus the station is responsible for providing training. Some stations rely on knowledge sharing between colleagues, others turn to training opportunities offered by other organisations. At one radio station, Bush Radio, training is a core aspect of the station's activities, and trainees are formally trained and mentored.

Programme content and structure varies widely across different stations, although presenters generally develop their own programmes, select topics, conduct background research, and deliver the packaged content during their time slot. The study found that presenters who spent time preparing had less difficulty on-air, and presenters who work with producers also seem to deliver well-structured programmes.

The research also found that some programme slots are bought by local government departments and the private sector. The problem with government content is that some radio stations are unable to get local departments to respond to questions about service delivery. Presenters do not open their lines for calls from the public, or listeners are advised to stick to the topic when calling during programmes with local government guests. Similarly local businesses whose service is poor or questionable refuse to be interviewed by station staff on their business practices. This can result in self-censorship, as presenters do not want the station to lose advertising.

According to the report, presenters find obtaining fresh ideas for their programmes, especially those relevant to locals, as a challenge. In terms of sources for news and programme content, research and community participation is important to understand community networks and enable presenters and journalists to identify relevant sources.

In terms of audience interaction, all five radio stations visited mentioned the lack of resources to conduct research and community participation forums. However, some have set up simple feedback mechanisms. Some methods used to obtain feedback are SMS, telephone, suggestion boxes, bluetooth, social networking systems including Facebook or Word of Mouth Forum, and on-air programmes. Direct community participation methods include outside broadcasts and in the case of one station, a small research survey.

As stated in the report, some key activities are taking place to counter some of these challenges. These include partnerships and exchanges with other radio stations to facilitate capacity building, cut costs, and access news that would otherwise be difficult to come by; and using new technologies - for example Bush Radio broadcasts off an iPod linked to their transmitters when they experience power failures.

Author: Johanna Mavhungu, Cathy O’Shea

Contact Information:

Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership (SPI) Rhodes University P O Box 94 Grahamstown South Africa Tel: +27 (46) 603 8851Fax: +27 (46) 622 9591
SPI website spiml.co.za

Rhodes’ SPI goes to the Seychelles

2011-07-22T12:35:00.006+03:00

By Howard Thomas

VICTORIA, Seychelles -- Seychelles was the scene of ground-breaking media management training in July by Rhodes University’s Sol Plaatje Institute (SPI) for Media Leadership.

The resources of the Institute were shipped to the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) for a tailor-made management development of senior management tiers of the broadcaster.

The training covered human resource management, leadership, advertising, marketing, budgeting, broadcasting regulation, media ethics and the role of editorial independence in a media company’s survival.

Particular emphasis was placed on programme management and scheduling and, at the request of the SBC, audience psychology and audience research were designed to their specific needs.

Running the course on site was a departure from the SPI’s usual training methodology. “To take advantage of economies of scale and of geography, we have almost always held our courses at the Institute for our course participants who come from across Africa,” SPI Director Francis Mdlongwa said.

“Because of this, our training programmes’ methodology has tended to be a mix of case studies and patterns and simulated role plays and scenarios to try to re-enact real-world conditions and experiences.

“But in the case of the SBC and some institutions which we are also serving, the training has been directed to their specific needs and applications and hosted on location for maximum impact. It is certainly far better to train within the context of and with direct relevance to the prevailing conditions of our customers and partners, who also give us their input on the training they need.”

Seychelles, a palm tree-lined archipelago in the Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa, has the highest per capita GDP in Africa and has progressive social development programmes. The islands are also the playground of the jet setters who are used to every digital luxury.

The SBC is well aware that, as a public broadcaster, it cannot be left behind by the current digital revolution. It asked the SPI to develop the training to the SBC’s specific needs and conditions, with special reference to the migration of broadcasting to digital terrestrial transmission and how to tackle the rapid growth of cellphone and other digital media.

SBC head of learning Pat Matyot said the SBC needed the training to drive the broadcaster into the new broadcasting environment. “As a broadcaster, we need to respond to the changes in our society before the digital era overtakes us,” he said.

Content trainer Howard Thomas said: “Training broadcasting is only of use when the training is designed specifically to the needs of the learning broadcaster. Digital is not just a challenge to broadcasters – it presents different challenges to different broadcasters. There are too many differences between cultures, economies, audiences and broadcasters for generic training to be of much use.”

The Institute is now planning to roll out training on change management in handling the new digital broadcasting environment throughout the continent.

Mdlongwa said: “The institute has always been at the forefront of learning innovation – right from the decision by Rhodes University to start the Institute in 2002 to address the critical but neglected disciplines of media management and leadership.

“These emphasize a critical need for media managers to understand the key economic, social and political factors that define their operating environments and how human beings work and behave in different conditions as pre-requisites for achieving sustainability for their firms.

“With technology increasingly defining our lives, it is imperative that we, as an institute, quickly face up to the challenges of media innovation in a rapidly shifting landscape. We certainly do not claim to know all the answers on the best way forward in our ‘age of discontinuity’ because, as Gianfranco Poggi pointed out years ago, a way of knowing is also a way of not knowing as our knowledge as humans will always be partial.”

Google ranks best in industry salaries — They’re also hiring

2011-06-17T13:19:00.001+03:00

By Christopher Lazley

In the digital revolution, few companies carry as much clout as Google. Although its physical headquarters can be found in Mountain View, California, the Google ideation is more than anything an approach to life, a way of doing things, a signifier of innovation of technological initiative and, according to yet another survey released recently, a very nice place to work, too, despite the bad fudge brownies.

The survey, conducted by Payscale, reports that Google employees earn on average about 23 per cent more than their industry counterparts in other companies. The average Googler earns US$141 000 per year , and while it’s tempting to think of an HR ethic solely in terms of pay scales, the true value of the Google organisation is its own brand of off-beat corporate culture.

In January this year, Google awarded all its employees a US$1 000 tax-free bonus as part of an incentive scheme to discourage staff from defecting to principal rivals such as Facebook. It also provides a host of less traditional amenities like gourmet meals, massages, exercise equipment, video games, billiard tables, and snack rooms. The company is clear about the need to catalyse new modes of thinking in an ultra-competitive market segment.

Just recently, Mashable reported that Google is now embarking on its largest hiring scheme to date. In an interview with Bryan Power, a people operations manager who oversees all of Google’s hiring in North and South America, it was made apparent that there’s no one-size-fits-all policy about staff recruitment and retention. “Google knows the world changes quickly,” said Power, “and we need people who can adapt and take on different challenges. A lot has changed in the last five years, and the next five years will [change] too. We need people who can adapt and take on different challenges.”

Power says that some interviewees will even arrive in board-shorts and T-Shirts, but manage to impress the company with their sharp intellect. Others, decked in their sartorial best, just weren’t prepared. Part of Google’s corporate philosophy, in fact, is that “you can be serious without a suit.” In this way, it has tended to make some pioneering steps toward fostering truly creative throughout that stretches the more traditional mold of corporate doppelgangers in grayscale suits and black briefcases.

One of the challenges that some multinational corporations face is trying to attract an industry-leading workforce amidst competition from ostensibly more attractive companies like Google. Who doesn’t want free lattes and recreation during working hours? It’s critical to keep in mind that no single company is perfect.

In an anonymous staff survey thread at Google, one employee said, “A common problem [at Google] is that it’s easy to become spoiled by all the perks. Several offices have developed distinct cultures of entitlement, and people whine about the quality of the fudge on the free brownies. It’s embarrassing to be around people who’ve become like spoiled children.”

Other staff pointed to patent management-line problems and inefficiencies. Google seems as plagued by staff politics as almost any other organisation out there. So while you may regard Google at the holy grail of your career (and perhaps in some ways it is), they aren’t the working man’s utopia. They’re damn close though.

Photocredit: jobsbump.com

Why most startups fail… and here is how not to

2011-06-13T09:51:00.002+03:00

By Brett Commaille

Every couple of days we hear about a new start-up jumping onto the public stage with much fanfare. After that they’re a bit like a pimple in the middle of your forehead — every time you open your eyes it’s all you see.
But then one day, for no specific reason… it’s gone.
“Anyone know what happened to whatchamacallit?” After some enquiry, we’ve got a handful of rumours with a bucket of spin. All we know is: “it’s over”. Truth is, most of the time, it’s one or more of the same basic reasons.
There will always be those special individuals who find exceptional ways to kill their business — like setting fire to mom and dad’s garage and destroying the code (and backups). But the majority of startups fail in far more mundane ways. Being in the venture capital game for a number of years, I’ve seen it all. Here’s a number of key reasons I’ve seen startups fail… and here are some ways to avoid them:
1. Not understanding the user: Your plans are based on what you think the user wants, and maybe you even have a few buddies who thought that was cool. Make sure you take the time to find out exactly what the user wants and how they like doing things. Be careful about telling them how they should act, this usually backfires.
2. To in love with the tech: You love adding features — “Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could also let them Skype with the dead?”. You’re building an elephant, but haven’t tested any of it. Maybe users only need the trunk. Keep it to the core and market-test before you go wild on features. Getting this wrong has massive knock-on effects.
3. Launching to slow: If you’re building that elephant, you’ll keep holding back on the launch until everything is perfect. So it’s never fully ready or tested and now the competition has hit the market with a good basic solution. So keep it lean, get to market fast and add functions as user demand warrants it.
4. No real sales strategy: Capturing 20% of the market is not a strategy! Who will the first customers be? How do you reach them? What does it require to close the deal? How many sales people do you need to do this? What will the sales number look like based on all of this. Brush past this and you will have drastically overestimated your revenue.
5. Market too small: It’s easy to pick a niche that doesn’t seem too challenging. Remember you may face competition, even in that niche, and end up with a potential market which is just too small to support a sustainable business. Make sure your market is big enough and growing.
6. Basic copycat: Enter the many thousand Groupon clones around the world. Working international concepts have been launched successfully locally, but only if you’re the first to do it locally. Doing this into a busy market because you see the current players making tons of money is a sure recipe to burn cash and stay small. I learnt this far too well, having launched a super cool sunglasses brand … one of hundreds in the market (just before a recession too – damn!). We sold some of course, but the big boys in the market sold millions. Might as well have sold Chappies on the Metro. Be different, not “the same but better!”
7. Fast burner: You ramp up your costs as you grow a big developer team to match those massive revenues you expect. The revenues don’t happen and you’re suddenly burning money faster than a new MP planning Gala dinners. Again, get into the market with the basic product and start generating revenue. When the conversion metrics show you’re getting it right, then you can grow the spend.
There are more reasons why startup businesses fail, but these are the most important. Bear them in mind and you may avoid some of the most common pitfalls. Of course, the easiest way not to fail, is to not start. Fortunately you’re not scared, (else you would have closed your browser after seeing the word “start-up”) — and now you’re just a little a little more likely to make it.
Good luck!

Southern Africa: What has gender got to do with media freedom?

2011-05-19T08:58:00.003+03:00

This 3 May marked 20 years of the Windhoek Declaration on Promoting Independent and Pluralistic Media, which was endorsed by UNESCO and the United Nations General Assembly in 1991. This endorsement ultimately led to the creation of 3 May as "World Press Freedom Day".
In 1991, heavy state control characterised much of the African media landscape. Following the Windhoek Declaration, things began to change. Acknowledging that media freedom is a necessary condition for democratisation, many African countries mainstreamed this into their constitutions in the first decade following the Declaration. At the Windhoek +10 conference in 2001, the right to press freedom was extended to include broadcasting freedom, which was brought about through the adoption of the African Charter on Broadcasting. The Charter in turn fed into the influential Declaration of Principles of Freedom of Expression, as adopted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights of the African Union.
However, the media landscape envisaged in the Declaration of 1991 is still far from being realised. This is due to various new laws and bills which ultimately threaten freedom of the media. For instance, in February 2011 the Malawi government enacted the Newspaper Ban Law which allows the information minister to ban publications deemed contrary to the public interest. In South Africa, a Media Appeals Tribunal was tabled in 2010 and, if approved, will be tasked with overseeing complaints brought against the press, which until now has been self-regulatory. These laws and others continue to infringe on the freedom of the media and undermine democracy.
The Declaration also addresses other pertinent issues such as freedom of information and expression, free flow of ideas by word and image, independent and pluralistic press, repression of media professionals, and establishment of associations that safeguard the fundamental freedoms in the Declaration and training of journalists. What strikes me when I read the Declaration today is that it puts women and men in the same bracket of media freedom.
Whereas media freedom has been understood to mean the absence of political censorship, there are many other ways in which citizens may be denied the right to be heard. As noted by the 2006 Gender Review of Media Development Organisations, women's voices may be excluded from the media. It is thus important to look at media freedom in a way that takes into consideration "gender-based censorship" which ultimately disempowers, silences and makes invisible certain people in society.
My point is that whilst the Windhoek Declaration has in many ways been successful at changing the overall African media landscape, the focus in the next decade should be on how citizens, both women and men, can be empowered by its provisions. This can only be realised if the Declaration clearly articulates the different ways media freedom impacts women and men.
Interestingly, the 20th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration takes place when the 2008 SADC Protocol on Gender and Development is closer than ever to coming into force. The Protocol brings together and enhances international and African commitments to gender equality by setting 28 targets to be achieved by 2015. Specific provisions on the media include achieving parity in decision-making (rapid strides have already been made in the political realm); giving equal voice to women and men; challenging gender stereotypes; sensitive coverage of HIV and AIDS and gender violence. The Protocol also calls on the media to mainstream gender in all laws, training and policy.
Gender equality is entirely consistent with freedom of expression. Nothing is more central to this ideal than giving voice to all segments of the population. When women comprise about 52% of the population, but only constitute 24% of news sources (according to the 2010 Global Media Monitoring Project), censorship of a very real kind exists. The 2010 Gender Links Gender and Media Progress Study (GMPS) found that there has been a marginal increase in the proportion of women sources in Southern African media: from 17% in the 2003 Gender and Media Baseline Study to 19% in the GMPS.
These findings beg the question of what we really understand by freedom of expression, democracy and citizen participation. While more blatant forms of censorship may be subsiding, our media daily silences large segments of the population, notably women. Gender disparities in the news occur because of a lack of diversity in media ownership and "armchair" journalism, which results in the media seeking out a few voices of authority: often men.
Further, the media often applies double standards to men and women. Women are objectified and their physical attributes highlighted in ways that do not apply to men. The explosion of tabloid media has perpetuated these stereotypes.
Gender equality is implicit in the notions of a "pluralistic press"; "reflecting the widest possible range of opinion within the community"; "the fulfilment of human aspirations"; "freedom of the press" and "freedom of association" as espoused in the Windhoek Declaration. But the failure to state this explicitly has led to gross gender disparities in the media.
The Declaration encourages the establishment of professional associations that safeguard various freedoms. These associations should include women's media associations. Media development organisations have the opportunity, through the work they do, to lead by example in showing that gender is intrinsic to free speech, citizen participation, and progressive media practice and content.
Thus after 20 years of the Windhoek Declaration it is time to acknowledge these silent forms of censorship that daily occur in the media. The debates on mainstreaming gender in the declaration should be taken forward so that the next decade can see a region that truly exemplifies the freedoms espoused in the original document.

Saeanna Chingamuka is the Manager of the Gender and Media Diversity Centre. This article is part of the Gender Links Opinion and Commentary series on gender and press freedom.
http://www.genderlinks.org.za/article/Southern-africa-what-has-gender-got-to-do-with-media-freedom-2011-05-10

Print Media -- Self-regulation

2011-03-18T12:38:00.001+03:00

By Reg Rumney

The proposal for a Media Appeals Tribunal last year caused a lot of agitation among the Press. Journalists have tended to see it as a way of controlling the bad publicity some individuals in the ANC and the Alliance have received.

If you accept this thesis, it is no surprise that SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande was a strong supporter of such a tribunal. He feels aggrieved at the reporting of his personal lifestyle. After his elevation to the Cabinet as Higher Education Minister, his purchase of luxury vehicles and his stays at expensive hotels have proved embarrassing for a man of the people.

In the process of promoting the MAT, proponents have devoted energy to attacking the present system of self-regulation, specifically the Press Ombud, which is part of the Press Council. Ordinary citizens who don’t want to use the courts can approach the Ombud for redress, most often in the form of an apology from the newspaper or magazine.

The criticism of the Ombud system, which acts in terms of the Press Code, seems to rest on its efficiency in getting redress, and the fact that applicants to Ombudsman have to waive their right to go to court if they are not happy with the Ombud’s judgment.

The reason advanced for this provision is that the Press Council doesn’t want complainants to use the complaint to the Ombud as a fishing expedition for any damaging evidence to be used later in court. This would disadvantage the targets of the complaint, and possibly lead newspapers to withdraw from the process.

The main reason newspapers submit to the Ombud’s judgment is to avoid legal costs.

There is nothing inevitable about an Ombud system or self-regulation. The Press Council itself was born out of attempts to avoid Press censorship during the Apartheid era.

Editors do not necessarily buy into the self-regulation system. While supporters of the MAT seem to want the tribunal to be an add-on to the Ombud, some editors initially vowed to ditch self-regulation entirely if the MAT came to pass.

Whatever happens with the MAT, there is a good case for enhancing and improving self-regulation. This is to help journalists recover public trust, serve the public better, and enhance the professional identity of journalists themselves. The Press is already facing assault on the technological front. The Internet threatens to pull the rug out from under the professionalism that is arguably the Press’s best reason for continuing its existence as an institution, through dispersing sources of information.

So how could the Press enhance self-regulation? In a paper prepared for the SA National Editor’s Forum summit in August 2010 (http://www.ceja.co.za/index.php?p=research&sp=publications&i=109I) made a few proposals:

· More publicizing of the office of the Ombud office so that justice can be seen to be done. This could include public meetings, and the equivalent of paid ads with the full Press Code, as well as a more prominent display of information about how to contact the Ombud.

· Devising a new communication strategy.

· Workshops in newsrooms to educate journalists themselves about the Press Code.

· An analysis of the effect of the Codes and the Ombud system so far, and regular updates of this research.

· Easier access to the Ombud and speedier resolution of complaints. Regular revisiting and revision of the Press code itself, with the Press Council regularly inviting recommendations from the public for its improvement.

· Improved capacity in the Ombud’s office.

Measures could also be taken to increase the credibility of the Press council as well:

A more transparent way of choosing the public members that balance the members of the Press on the council. Seats could be set aside for the SA Council of Churches, a union movement representative, a representative of the committee of university principles, of the Law Society, and of civil society, for example, as well as individual members.
Strengthening other Media Accountability Systems, of which an Ombud system is only one part, such as supporting the appointment of in-house Ombuds, more education about news media ethics and even greater professionalization through education and training of journalists.

Self-regulation will never please everyone, but it is important to realise that there are costs attached to regulation. These are economic as well as political, though the two are hard to separate, as I argue in another paper (http://www.ceja.co.za/index.php?p=research&sp=publications&i=114).

Reg Rumney is in charge of the Centre for Economics Journalism in Africa, sponsored by the South African Reserve Bank and the Standard Bank of South Africa. The aim of the centre is to improve the coverage of economics, finance and business on the continent. Reg is researching the landscape of the business media in South Africa.

Modern Media Culture

2011-02-28T10:50:00.000+03:00

By Howard Thomas

Are we making too much of modern media culture? Sure we are obsessed with consumerism, and certainly shopping has replaced politicians. There are no serious magazines in South Africa, and even the Financial Mail has had to resort to a whole lifestyle section.

But is this new?

I won’t compare current South African media with present and past media culture in the Western countries. This may have been so in white South Africa, but new South Africa displays its own characteristics that have no precedent as the new media is only 20 or so years old.

In workshops on audience psychology with media professionals, I ask round the room “What is your personal favourite magazine?” This yields a narrow range of True Love, You, heat, FHM. Note: no sports or in-house mags.

Does this tell me anything? Yes it tells me that media professionals share common interests which seem to permeate society. Do media professionals lead taste? I don’t think so. The field is too competitive, and I think they follow the American system of “Do what everyone else does differently, but for God’s sake, don’t do anything different.” My evidence: look at new mags launched: they always fit into a gap within a niche.

And radio and TV? Much the same. The specific language stations have it easy; people never listen to the radio in a language they can’t understand. But the English-speaking music and talk stations? They have it rough, and they follow each other, either by stealing someone else’s DJ, or doing a shock jock stunt. DJ’s are carefully followed also because Kuli Roberts follows them, and they’ll trek to another station to follow their jock idol. Nothing new here. Talk is always “controversial” unless it is serious, in which case your station goes the same way as SAfm.

Television? Well, it’s hard to follow trends on SABC because it is now a state broadcaster more than ever before and it fills the time in-between with repeats of local programmes and über-cheap foreign reality crap.

M-net is certainly more reflective and its spread to 6 million or so viewers tells us a lot.

Struggle is out; young black professionals having sex is in. Celebs are in; politicians are out. Celebs must toe the celeb line – in which case even professors can become celebs. Simply because celebs must be well-known for being well-known and NOT for any personal or intellectual attributes whatsoever.

New rich and failed rich is better than old and successful rich. Gay is always more interesting than straight, but straight have sex in a way most viewers identify with – as long as they talk about it. (Ref: the Kiss - Khanyi Mbau).

All these media and young hip cultural activities horrify the old and conservative, which is why they follow it avidly – presumably because it is their duty to be morals watchdogs.

But it seems that the old ways have not changed. Stolley’s Law of magazine covers, from People editor Richard Stolley, dating now dating from the early 70s, now applies to content. “Young is better than old. Pretty is better than ugly. Rich is better than poor. TV is better than music. Music is better than movies. Movies are better than sports. Anything is better than politics. And nothing is better than a celebrity who has just died.” Evidence: any news broadcast, magazine shows and local schlock reality.

The same adages that we followed in the same years for content still apply: tell the audience they may be ill and you’ve got them. Tell them they can overcome misery themselves, but give them the formula in easy steps (usually five). Shock them with a scandal that permeates their very existence, like sell- by-date on chickens. When your ratings are rock bottom, interview the Flat Earth Society[1], or any other lunatic fringe. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

Howard Thomas has been working in entertainment and media for 40 years since graduating in economics and political science, as well as a drama teaching diploma. He writes, trains and lectures extensively on all aspects of media, specialising in the psychology of entertainment.

[1] They really exist. Tony Hambly lives in Mooi River.

Radio VOP Exposes State Propaganda through Professionalism

2011-02-15T13:35:00.001+03:00

By John Masuku

HARARE -- Radio Voice of the People (VOP) has just celebrated 10 years as the voice of the voiceless citizens of Zimbabwe and is marching ahead much stronger and more focused on telling the story of Zimbabwe as it is and in countering widespread propaganda from state-dominated broadcast media.

Since 2000 the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), the state-run and controlled broadcaster, has been in full throttle as a propaganda machine for ZANU PF, the dominant political party in the current ruling coalition, thus providing fertile ground for the birth of exiled short wave radio initiatives like Radio VOP, which is run by Zimbabweans.

Despite the existence of a closed electronic media environment in the country – sadly dating back to colonial times – Radio VOP has thrived and seeks to promote political, economic, social and cultural development through broadcasting, online and other multi-media platforms.

With its two, one-hour short wave broadcasts every morning and evening, via Radio Netherlands Worldwide transmitters, plus a 24-hour news website, the station keeps Zimbabweans fully informed about what is going on around them and beyond.

Radio VOP has refused to be silenced in its quest to see a democratic media and political landscape in Zimbabwe. A devastating bomb blast that ravaged its offices to ashes in 2002, followed by the arrests of some of its staff who were subjected to long court trials, and the negative pronouncements by state authorities have all but proved to be ineffective deterrents.

Guided by values of editorial independence, people-centeredness, ethical and professional journalism standards, gender sensitivity and patriotism, the station is unstoppable. This is what keeps us going.

Its 500 000-plus audience enjoys impartial news and analyses focusing on political events, the economy, health and poverty alleviation. It is considered to be one of the top-ten providers of news about Zimbabwe, registering about 50 000 visits per month on its website www.radiovop.com.

Leading such a bold entity in a volatile and repressive environment is a daunting task. As its chief executive officer, I always ensure that Radio VOP remains focused and highly professional in telling the Zimbabwean story impartially. This way, any authorities’ intent to close down private media and block the opening up of the airwaves are exposed and shamed. As a result, the station in 2006 was presented with the internationally acclaimed One World Media Award in London.

Through its private company VoxMedia Productions, Radio VOP, currently entirely donor dependent, and four other companies applied for a broadcasting licence in 2004. As largely expected, none of the applicants was licensed under the restrictive Broadcasting Services Act, administered by the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe. But that has been no deterrent to Radio VOP, which has put up a robust licence application strategy for a popular talk, news and entertainment FM radio station that will run when airwaves are eventually freed. A robust business model is in place to lure advertisers and sponsors and decrease donor support.

Radio VOP remains in travelling gear. Sooner rather than later, the station believes that it will be on the FM dial and become an even greater force to reckon with.

John Masuku, a veteran broadcaster and radio trainer, is the executive director of Radio VOP.

He can be contacted at jjwpmasuku@yahoo.com & voxpop@ecoweb.co.zw

Also visit Masuku’s blog: http://www.rnw.nl/africa/category/tags-africa/letter-zimbabwe

Tough times for SA community media

2011-01-18T13:17:00.001+03:00

By Steven Lang

GRAHAMSTON, South Africa -- Grocott’s Mail, like most other community newspapers in South Africa, has been going through a rough period for the past two years or so. No exact figures have been produced, but it has been reported that up to one third of community newspapers in South Africa have had to close since 2008.

There are two main factors undermining the financial viability of these newspapers -- the economic downswing that has affected almost the entire planet and the growing importance of online media. The economic crash, precipitated by large scale bankruptcies in the United States, has adversely affected spending on advertising across all media, but has had a particularly devastating effect on smaller businesses that do not have cash cushions to soften bumpy landings.

In Grahamstown, retail outlets have complained that while the number of customers in their stores and the number of sales made have remained relatively static, the monetary value of these sales has declined. In other words, customers still go to the shops and make their purchases, but they are buying cheaper goods (less profitable from the retailers’ perspective). The net result of this situation is that retailers have less money to spend on advertising in Grocott’s Mail.

The economic downturn has had a significant impact on estate agents, who are selling fewer houses, and at lower prices, than they did three years ago. As newspaper advertising for estate agents is absolutely essential, they have been reluctant to cut their advertising in Grocott’s Mail, but due to their own financial difficulties, they are taking longer to settle their accounts. This has predictably had a negative impact on the cash flow at Grocott’s Mail.

The second factor affecting the way we do business in community newspapers in general, and at Grocott’s Mail specifically, is the growing importance of online news. In most industrialised countries, the internet has all but put community newspapers out of business, but in emerging countries such as South Africa, online readership is still fragmented.

Rhodes University students have easy access to computers and the internet and therefore they read most of their news online. They do not feel a need to supplement their online reading with print editions. Consequently, although most students can afford to buy a newspaper, they prefer not to.

On the other hand, the overwhelming majority of residents in the Makana Municipal area do not have access to the internet, and cannot afford to buy the print edition of the newspaper. This peculiar dichotomy presents serious challenges for the pricing policy of the newspaper and for a rationale to give priority to an online version of the newspaper.

This complex situation is exacerbated by the reluctance of advertisers to increase their adspend to include online platforms, or to potentially move their advertising from the print to the online edition.

We believe that Grocott’s Mail has already overcome the most difficult period brought on by the economic downturn and the stuttering migration to online news. However, the storm is not yet over as this newspaper will still have to weather difficult moments in the transition to new media platforms.

n Steven Lang is editor of Grocott’s Mail.

n Visit Grocott’s Mail Online at http://www.grocotts.co.za/

Pluralism is a bigger priority than press ownership

2010-12-03T15:24:00.002+03:00

by Guy Berger

There's renewed focus on newspaper ownership by the ANC, even as the ruling party is becoming less hardline about the Media Appeals Tribunal and the Secrecy Bill.

Ownership by the ANC, even as the ruling party is becoming less hardline about the Media Appeals Tribunal and the Secrecy Bill.
Ownership was a prickly issue in parliament last week, when the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) presented its annual report for the 2009/10 year.

The new chair of the Portfolio Committee on Communications, Eric Kholwane, didn't mince his words.

Newspaper ownership, he said, was still dominated by the pre-1994 "Big Four" companies -- a description of Avusa, Independent Newspapers, Media24 and Caxton.

Kholwane accused them of throwing the MDDA a few "dry bones" to chew on, while retaining the juicy, meaty bits for themselves.
The four groups have renewed their contributions to the MDDA for another five years, but the amount remains static at a total of R4,8-million per annum, with a drop to R4-million during the last two years.

The MDDA report attributes this "to the financial challenges engulfing the print media industry at present".

However, Kholwane's concern was MDDA research that showed little advance in BEE stakes in the major press groups. He criticised the absence of a transformation charter in the industry.
Becoming representative

Echoing the sentiment during the parliamentary session, deputy minister in the Presidency, Dina Pule, said it could become necessary to compel the newspaper groups to make their ownership more representative. The committee agreed to ask the newspaper owners to address them on the issues[...]

Article sourced from the Mail&Guardian Online. Click here to read full article: http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-12-02-pluralism-is-a-bigger-priority-than-press-ownership

Thumbs up for the Government Chief Communicator

2010-11-05T12:37:00.001+03:00

By Themba Sepotokele

Give it to Themba Maseko. The Government Chief Spokesperson has an unenviable job of keeping the lid tight on government information until the right time, while on the other hand providing accurate and timely information to the media. He is the first person journalists will call to comment on issues of national interest, to confirm or deny what journalists were told by their sources and to comment on issues pertaining to government communication.

In the past few weeks, the Chief Communicator has had to respond to reports about the possible and pending government reshuffle. Having learnt some tough, challenging and career-threatening lessons of not coining a message, Maseko then took the bull by the horn and unleashed the following carefully-crafted, well-worded and concise media statement:

“Government has noted the ongoing speculation about a cabinet reshuffle, including names that are proposed by the media for appointment or removal.

“We want to emphasise that any changes to the composition of the Executive is the prerogative of the President of the Republic of South Africa. Only the president knows where or when there will be a reshuffle, and what form it will take.”

A worthy spokesperson and spin-doctor, Maseko joined the fray after realising that his back was against the wall when the media continued reporting on the possible cabinet reshuffle and when names of ministers likely to face the chop were branded.

One thing for sure, Maseko knew that journalists had the facts right about the looming reshuffle, but had to take control and be in charge of setting the media agenda and not the media setting government agenda.

He was aware that highly-placed inside or confidential sources, referred to as “faceless sources,” were at play, feeding the media with information. Those who believe journalists converge at their famous and favourite watering-holes to plot stories should know that journalists get information from faceless sources within or close to the subject matter.

Maseko had to employ his strategy rather than address the issue at face value. He and his team had to develop a communication strategy to address the issue.

As and when called or cornered, Maseko would stick to the message that only the President of the Republic has the prerogative to make such an announcement. However, at one media briefing he sounded a bit irritated by the question of the possible reshuffle. He harshly said:

“Let's just put that matter to bed immediately. The purpose of the meeting yesterday was to discuss the economic growth-path and nothing else. The issue of a cabinet reshuffle is not a matter that is discussed by cabinet.

“It is the prerogative of the president to decide when or when not to change his cabinet.

“We will not waste your time by entertaining any question pertaining to the cabinet reshuffle as it was not on the agenda,” Maseko said.

Though not music to journalists’ ears, he didn't veer from the core message.

Therefore, when journalists were called to an urgent media briefing on Sunday with no clear brief about the subject matter, eyebrows were raised. I had to channel-hop from SuperSport to the E-news channel to SABC to radio for more than two hours to get the full picture. During media crossovers, both radio and television reporters said they were waiting for the exact words from President Jacob Zuma, as to whether there was a cabinet reshuffle or not.

Imagine had Maseko responded during media briefings by saying:

“There's no such a thing. You members of the media like creating stories or fabricating stories. Go tell your sources, in fact those faceless sources that are hell-bent in destabilizing government that there's no such a thing. There is no cabinet reshuffle on the cards. It is just the figment of your imagination.

“I now understand why the governing party is talking about the media tribunal, especially for print media as we want to stop such reckless and malicious reporting.”

I cannot imagine what would have happened to his credibility and reputation. Journalists would have mauled him like a pack of hyenas. After Zuma announced the new changes, Maseko's credibility remained intact. Indeed, he has learnt a lesson or two from the late Parks Mankahlana and Bheki Khumalo. Some of the lessons are: coin a message, and stick to it. He never fell into the trap of confirming or denying, thus his credibility was not dented.

Maseko had done his job. Coined the message, stuck to it, and ensured that the media, especially political correspondents and reporters had a buy-in until the President had spoken. Even when forced to confirm or deny, he remained unfazed.

When interviewed on Morning Live a day after the announcement of the new ministers, Maseko stuck to the message about the President's prerogative.

His predecessor at the Government Communication Information System (GCIS) Joel Netsitendze was a worthy, strategic communicator of note. Maseko has earned his stripes and has learnt from the best. Thumbs up!

Themba Sepotokele is a former journalist and now a Gauteng-based communicator and a media trainer attached to the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership at Rhodes University. He writes in his personal capacity.

The Media Should Take Media Freedom Day Seriously

2010-10-25T11:05:00.004+03:00

By Themba Sepotokele

As I entered the chastely centre near the Law Faculty at Wits University during the seminar on Media Freedom Day on Tuesday, October 21, I was greeted by rows and rows of empty chairs. I had hoped that the room would be filled to capacity as it was an important day for the media, especially with the discussion on the mooted Media Appeals Tribunal and the Protection of Information Bill.

Earlier that day, there was a session addressed by Professor Kader Asmal and veteran journalist Joe Latakgomo which I missed due to unclear information circulated about the events of the day, thanks to the organisers of the event, the South African Editor’s Forum (Sanef).

Attempts to get clarity about the session by Professort Asmal proved fruitless as my smses went unanswered until Thabo Leshilo, the Public Editor at Avusa, responded moments before the end of the session – though I got two different responses to the actual venue for the event.

Suffice to say, I missed a grand event but don’t regret being part of the second session which started at 2pm – and, again, I had to struggle to find the venue because it was a different one to the first where Asmal and Latakgomo spoke.

The first panel discussion was led by Richard Calland, Associate Professor in the Public Law Department at the University of Cape Town, with panellists including Dr Essop Pahad, former Minister in the Presidency and currently the editor-in-chief of The Thinker; Sanef chairperson and former editor of The Sunday Times Mondli Makhanya; and Professor Pippa Green, author, journalist and former head of radio at the SABC. Though I got the tail-end of the discussion, it was nevertheless a good indication that the media and government need to engage more often on issues affecting the government and how the media portrays government.

The second panel discussion was chaired by Professor Franz Kruger, with panellists including Lumko Mtimde, CEO of the Media Diversity Development Agency (MDDA); Eusebius McKaiser, analyst and columnist; and Lauren Hotton from the Institute of Security Studies (ISS) and the Rigth2Know Campaign.

Olle Wästberg, the former Swedish MP and Deputy Minister of Finance who is also former editor-in-chief of one of Sweden's biggest dailies, was the keynote speaker and responded to issues regarding media freedom and media reform, while making reference to the Swedish approach to the public’s right to information.

The message that emerged was that despite the complex relationship between the media and government, both needed each other. Therefore, the media and government should co-exist and constantly engage in issues of national interest. Another important lesson is that Media Freedom is sacrosanct; however, the media should also be responsible in executing their duties.

I also raised pertinent issues of recourse and the importance of naming and shaming scoundrels in the media who have tainted the media industry by plagiarising stories and manufacturing news. Some are well known; a point in case is a journalist who once faked a hijacking and blamed the police. Another journalist had plagiarised a story from one publication word-by-word and was rewarded with a cushy job at the same publication he had plagiarised the story.

My argument, therefore, is that journalists should be ‘glistening clean’ because they serve as the mirror for society. I still believe that charlatans such as Ashley Smith – who confessed to have been paid to manipulate the news while working for the Cape Argus – should be flushed out in order not to tarnish the image of the media.

Discussions such as the proposed MAT would not find space in journalism if only news media houses could get rid of these bad apples in their midst. The media and government should constantly engage in constructive discussions for the betterment of our country.

As for the rows of empty chairs, I still ask whether some editors and journalists take media freedom seriously or whether it is just about increasing newspaper sales, circulation and salaries as, yet again, none of the editors were present, with only a few reporters covering the event; and only a handful of journalism students and retired journalists such as myself, Oupa Ngwenya, political and media commentator Mogomotsi Mogodiri, and Press Ombudsman Joe Thloloe, were in attendance.

Veteran journalist Raymond Louw has aged so much so that his phone rang incessantly during the seminar and he answered it without feeling that his actions were disruptive. What a pity?

Themba Sepotokele is a former journalist and now a Gauteng-based government communicator and a media trainer attached to the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership at Rhodes University. These are his personal views.

The Collective Responsibility Project – Editorial Independence vs. Editorial Balance.

2010-10-20T17:15:00.002+03:00

By George A. Hill

It was mid-winter in Cape Town; the kind of day where the South Easter blew violently and brought with it sharded raindrops. I had a long walk to the journalism department at what was then called Peninsula Technikon. Not even the horrid weather could keep me away from writing my entry exam to study journalism. Filled with ideals of changing the world and telling the people’s story of a newly-liberated South Africa, I sat down rain-soaked and battered and entered into my vocation as a truth-seeker.

That was almost two decades ago. Today the ideals are still firmly entrenched, but then, along the way, the new South Africa happened. Hindsight most certainly has it benefits. We were a new breed of journalists that were set loose to transform the media landscape. The years that followed saw distinct advances as we began to change the narrative of the media in our country. The transformation process was painful but necessary and we achieved major advances. The face of the former State Broadcaster changed and entered into an era of responsible Public Broadcasting. The early 90’s to the early 2000’s was our woodstock. A period of free thought when our ideals were the fire that fed our convictions. Newsrooms across the media spectrum underwent cultural revolutions as we chipped away at the white enamel that for so many decades set the narrative in our country.

We witnessed the rise of the black editor across the spectrum and we thought that we were now feasting on the fruits of our struggle.

We can never cast asunder the advances we made and the opportunities it had created for so many that has come after us, but in hindsight all I see today is a tired, has-been ramp model with too much make make-up on. It is after twelve and 20 whiskeys later, it all goes on sale and everything and everyone looks good. But the morning after, the reality sets in.

No one taught us how to navigate the treacherous ocean called Capital. Because of our political upbringing we knew and understood that white capital was evil. Given the legacy of Apartheid, we knew and understood our role as the Fourth Estate. We held on to the transformation agenda and thought that a few black faces in strategic positions meant true transformation. We even thought that launching our own media interests would be sustainable. We had to wake up to realisation of just how little we have transformed almost two decades down the line.

As a nation in the post-1994 era, we often neglect to admit that the foundation of this new South Africa was built on compromise. A compromise that benefitted Capital more than the people. I will be the first to admit that we have made advances. The question is though, to what end? As far as the majority of media institutions are concerned, we just need to do a simple ownership audit to see what the real lay of the land is.

The new South Africa was fast-tracked and many in this country had little choice but to simply assimilate. The same goes for the media industry. Capital does not take kindly to change, particularly when it interferes with the bottom line. Economic modules are in play and no transformation agenda will stand in the way of their revenue stream.

When we look at where editorial independence then comes into play, we need to do an honest assessment. In Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (1988), by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chompsky, the authors analyse news media as a business. They use what they call 'the propaganda model' and assert that what drives all mainstream media - and we can argue even our Public Broadcaster - is the bottom line. They are merely businesses subject to commercial competition for advertising revenue and profit. There is always a profit-motif; thus, we need to wake up and understand that this is where we find ourselves. We are part of this Free Market World, irrespective of the ever widening gap between rich and poor in our country. Irrespective of the rhetoric of a developmental state.

Capital has no color, has no compassion and is not interested in Editorial Independence. All media houses have agendas depending on its ownership. So what do we do? Do we merely continue accepting this or do we move the debate onto another plain and perhaps start talking about Editorial Balance. Editorial Independence pre-supposes complete control over the news product by appointed editorial staff, with no interference from the owners. This definition and/or aspiration will always see the business owners in conflict with its editorial staff even though there is a set of editorial guidelines and ethics regulating the final news product. The givers of revenue do not take kindly to negative reportage. The Fourth Estate does not take kindly to being told what they can put out there. And the owners do not take kindly to losing revenue. After all they are running a business and the profit share and bottom line is king.

While we are engaged in a battle to prevent government from establishing a Media Appeals Tribunal, we should not lose sight at the real transformation of our mindsets that need to take place in a much contested media environment. As the Fourth Estate, we need to do deep introspection and start engaging media owners on how we bring back an accepted level of Editorial Balance into our newsrooms. We are no longer in a position where we can simply discard the business of our media entities, and in the same vain we cannot wish away that we are neglecting the real-politik in terms of a progressive narrative.

Let us take the reality of our disposition and call back the idealism of that youngster that so much wanted to change the world and simply tell the story of a new nation. Let us take Collective Responsibility for where we find ourselves and move forward to a space where we can openly and honestly debate our challenges to enact real transformation and empowerment.

End…

George was the youngest head of news and content director for Yfm. Other radio stations include MetroFM, lifestyle editor and SAFM, entertainment news and current affairs editor. Hill also has a background in television current affairs programming.

He is a columnist for Blink magazine and is a widely published author and an Afrikaans performance poet. He is also a commentator on both youth and Afrikaans literary issues. He has worked for Zazise Communications, as the Western Cape general manager and also at Uhuru Communications as strategy and media director.

Hill has extensive media contacts in both the print and electronic media, both on the continent and internationally.

Media Woken from Media Freedom Slumber

2010-10-19T15:42:00.001+03:00

By Themba Sepotokele

When retired judge of the Constitutional Court Pius Langa stood in the not-so packed Wits Great Hall to commemorate Media Freedom Day on Monday, 19 October 2009, most newspaper editors were nowhere to be seen. Worse, editors did not assign reporters to cover the event.

Langa, who delivered the keynote address, had delivered a mouth-watering speech which has not even been posted on the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) website. And SANEF are the chief co-organisers of the event together with the Freedom of Expression Institute FXI), the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism and Print Media South Africa (IAJ)!

Print media, which ‘Black Wednesday’ is dedicated to – referring to the historic event on 19 October 1977 when several print media organisations were banned - neglected to cover the event and focused on frivolous and scandalous stories. Only e.tv and SABC covered the event. The South African Press Association (SAPA) contributed meagre paragraphs about an important event the Sowetan newspapers used to pioneer during the era of the late legendary editor-in-chief Dr Aggrey Klaaste.

I remember, as a cub journalist, Sowetan newspaper would convene a three-day event at Vista, Soweto Campus, now called the University of Johannesburg with speakers such as Dr Kgomolemo Mokae and Dr Nthato Motlana, to mention but two – to discuss pertinent issues affecting the Fourth Estate and how to improve in journalistic reporting. As the mirror of the society it is important to celebrate and commemorate such important days.

Every ‘wanna-be’ journalist by then felt the impact of the commemoration of Black Wednesday. As Media Freedom and the Freedom of the Press is so sacrosanct, it important to ponder and celebrate the gains and challenges facing journalists. Alas! As my erstwhile colleagues are good at neglecting their own turf as some did with the noble organisation, the Forum of Black Journalists (FBJ) – they did the same with Media Freedom Day. They relegated it to the gallows until they were woken from a slumber by those documenting the media’s shortcomings.

When former ANC Women’s League president Winnie Madikizela-Mandela uttered these words, “Use the freedom of the press we gave you properly, because we can take it from you,” there was deafening silence from the media. It was only when Julius Malema showed the media the middle finger and chased British journalist British Broadcasting Corporation Jonah Fisher during a media briefing in April that the media got its act together.

It was when Professor Dario Milo, a media law expert, warned the media about the pending Protection of Information Bill that the media finally woke up from its slumber. And when the ANC circulated its document on the media before its NGC, the media cried foul on the mooted Media Appeals Tribunal. And when Mzilikazi wa Afrika was arrested outside the Avusa offices in August, the media made the loudest noise ever and carried posters and headlines such as: “Hands off the media”; “ANC blasts media”; “Media fights back”, “ANC and Media talk”; “Editors unite for media talk”; “Journo Arrested”; Media Freedom Talks” and so forth. The media got an opportunity to defend media freedom they had abandoned and neglected like a nagging step-child.
Thanks to the ruling party, media remembered to take itself seriously, and remembered that media freedom is sacrosanct; a cornerstone of democracy.

On Tuesday, 19 October 2010, I foresee the Wits Great Hall packed to the rafters like FNB stadium when Kaizer Chiefs lock horns with its arch-rival Orlando Pirates. High on the agenda is MAT and PIB with the Ashley-Smithgate Brown Envelope Journalism Scandal relegated to obscurity, albeit important.

Themba Sepotokele is a former journalist and now a Gauteng-based government communicator and a media trainer attached to the Sol Plaatje Institute of Media Leadership at Rhodes University in Grahanstown. These are his personal views.

Comment on the MAT and Media Freedom Day

2010-10-15T11:52:00.002+03:00

by Themba Sepotokele

The not so helpful emotional response from media houses on the proposed Media Appeals Tribunal and the insults hurled at journalists by some politicians have caused more harm than good on a simple debate about recourse.
Crying wolf where none exist has created a storm in the tea cup. Is it wrong for the governing party to ask for recourse if wronged by the media? I don't think so! What's actually wrong is to put the cart before the horse. Starting a debate on the recourse since the apology is all good and well. However, talking about jailing or fining journalists - while initially the matter meant for discussion - defeats the purpose of a debate.

The media’s emotional and knee-jerk reaction doesn't help at all. What is necessary is a healthy and sober debate on how to promote ethical journalism in the fourth estates. The media is not perfect and will not be perfect because it is driven by human beings who in their nature are prone to err. Does making a genuine mistake then calls for a jail term or a fine? I don't think so!

It is however, in rare cases where the media itself should have punished charlatans in their mist. I mean dishonest journalist such as Ashley Smith and his cohorts. Those who have been in journalism long enough can attest that we have journalists who have plagiarized stories and some who concocted stories. The problem is that they get recycled and rewarded within the same industry. Without mentioning names, the guilty are known.

When the Washington Post found than one of its reporters, Jason Blair had plagiarised stories, he was named and shamed.

With regards to Smith, he was defended to the tilt until he made a confession. This shows that Smith was protected but shamed after his confession.

As for those calling for punitive measures because they believe to have been wronged, throwing journalists to jail for uncovering corruption within their circles would lead to a state of anarchy, a banana republic we don’t want. Why prosecute journalists for doing their job?

Journalists are there to ask tough questions to those in power and they should account in state of fighting the media. We should find an amicable solution in dealing with challenges facing the media and government rather than resort to fist-fighting.
A journalist-friend who spent his time in exile once asked:

“What happens when you look yourself in the mirror and find that you have acne? Do you break the mirror or treat acne?”

Surely, prosecuting journalists won't stop corruption in the echelons of power and will lead to less accountability by those in higher office.

Therefore in approaching the debate on recourse for reckless and malicious journalism, there is a need to find a common ground. Journalists should strive for accuracy, objectivity and fairness.

Those who are embedded consciously or unconsciously should review their sources and their intention. Ongoing training of journalists is vital.

For those in power, they should remain squeaky clean. Most importantly is to build the bridges between the media and elected representatives.

Emotional discussions and blackmail by the fourth estate is not the answer; neither is calling journalists 'dogs' as evidenced in one conference.

There's a need to unpack what it really means to strengthen the Ombudsman Office with a view of contributing to media freedom and a democratic society.

As we celebrate media freedom day I take comfort and solace from –US third president Thomas Jefferson who said: “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”

I have a firm believe that despite some tension between the media, government and the governing party there’s no intention to muzzle the media. Let the debate continue!
The writer is a former journalist and now a Gauteng-based government communicator and a media trainer attached to the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership at Rhodes University. These are his personal views.

Journalism graduates not good enough?

2010-09-29T14:42:00.001+03:00

By Sintha Mkuziwaduka

In recent years, journalism trainers have been accused of producing graduates that are not ‘good enough’ for the industry. Rhodes University’s head of school of journalism and media studies, Guy Berger tackled the issue this morning at the Africa Media Leadership Conference at the Dar-es-Salaam International Conference Centre in Tanzania.

In his presentation, Berger said the challenge of performance is partially related to attitude and talent.

“You cannot train people in talent, attitude. But talent can be scrutinised during selection and the context will determine the attitude,” said Berger.

Berger said companies must develop formal policies and strategies on their priority training needs.

With the rapid technological changes which are changing the landscape, media houses must be proactive and strategic in training news skills rather than reactive, said Berger.

“Training should be linked to strategic goals, measured, driven by staff input and should be on traditional topics,” said Berger.

The professor also said ‘parachute’ training, though condemned, should not be dismissed.

“Parachute training should not be dismissed, they bring different ideas, stimulate new thinking; it can trigger education – open-ended outcomes,” he said.

According to Berger, just like any field, journalism training is not a guarantee that the graduates will meet all expectations.

In his comment, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) Media Programme director, Frank Windeck said there has been little support from the industry especially on short-term training.

He said often media managers do not give the training opportunities the necessary attention.

Windeck noted that in some occasions media managers sent interns to attend such trainings.

Journalism sites nowhere on top 20 list

2010-09-29T10:17:00.002+03:00

by Sintha Mkuziwaduka

Media platforms are changing rapidly but journalism institutions are slow in adapting, Kagiso Media head of media convergence team, Nevo Hadas has said.
Hadas was making a presentation at the ongoing Africa Media Leadership Conference in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. In the presentation titled ‘Radio 3.0 It’s the distribution... er Or The end of listeners‘, Hadas highlighted the fact that there is no journalism organisation in the top 20 sites in the world.
Hadas said the media are in a dangerous space, one that is rapidly changing. He said there is need for more investment and change in people, culture and budgets. About US$20 billion dollars has been invested in new media as compared to US$3 billion in traditional media, Hadas observed, adding there is room for innovative ideas.

Hadas further said it is no longer a question of whether the revolution being experienced in the west will come to Africa or not, the question is when. He added, despite the challenges posed by new media, there is more advertising money being spent today and traditional media is still growing in the developing market.

With the advances in digital technology, listeners have grown to become audiences with a lot of interactions developing. The media must know what their audience wants and needs, he said. “We do not have listeners anymore; we have audience,” said Hadas adding: “Too little time is spent on research.” He advised media houses to adopt mixed revenue models with different approach to online advertisers.

In a presentation, CNBC Africa Chief Operating Officer, Gary Alfonso, said local content compiled by local people is the key to remaining relevant. Using an example of CNBC, Alfonso talked of how the portray of Africa can change by using more images of the progress in the continent rather than images of hunger, war and famine.

“People must be able to relate to your content. Telling good stories, how people are engaging with economic trends,” he said in the presentation titled ‘Exploiting the ‘weaknesses’ of technology and the potential of radio’.

Ground reporting brings more value and relevance than ‘helicopter’ journalism, he said. ‘Helicopter’ journalism is where a foreign reporter flies in business class, stays at a five-star hotel and spends five minutes in the village to cover a story.

Alfonso said growing viewership, and readership, is the only way to grow the bottom line, adding there are more opportunities in out-of-home viewing. In the information age, content is the differentiator and traditional media must “rise above clutter”, he said.

Media houses are also faced with the challenge of training people only to lose them at their peak, according to Alfonso.

Know your audience and speak their language

2010-09-28T12:37:00.005+03:00

by Johanna Mavhungu

Case Studies of Sustainable Media Business Models: Kameme FM from Kenya and the Al-Ahram Media Group presented to the AMLC delegates what makes their media organisations sustainable. Kanja Waruru, Group Marketing Director, kick started with facts and figures provided by Steadman research now Synovate Group,on media in Kenya.

One of the commonalities between the two cases was that they understood their audiences, but used two different methods to keep in touch with them. Kameme uses research and niche programming to ensure that audiences interact via phone-ins and book clubs – listeners conduct book reviews. While Al-Ahram has a citizen journalism programme funded by the International Centre for Journalists (ICJ).

Kameme is a Kikuyu radio station, licensed 10 years ago when government was reluctant to give spectrum licenses in Kenya. The station was among the first local language stations as such it was criticised for fragmenting communities along cultural lines. However, Kanja explains that because they were sure that this initiative would work, they held on to their vision of creating a sustainable radio station.
Digital technological developments allowed better newsroom systems and archiving to move much faster. Technology he says has increased media literacy and audience participation. The station is clear about their target audience, therefore they are able to practise niche programming, such as in-studio live performances. They have also put an emphasis on human resources by hiring the right people to ensure professionalism.

Structured advertising, including spot ads are given due attention as well as, classifieds, sponsorships and so on. The on-air identification is balanced, news broadcasts start with national issues and then into hyper local coverage.

In Egypt, Yehia Ghanem, Deputy Editor-in-Chief at Al-Ahram Media Group explained that the country has seen a rise of about 25% in its internet use particularly by young people, as well as the rise in cellular phone usage. On the other hand unemployment, poverty and illiteracy he claims have been rising as well. Given these contradictory developments the media house has looked to citizen journalism to engage with audiences and create what they call ‘citizen editors’ out of digital natives.

The media house worked with young people from the rural outskirts of Egypt, of the 700 that applied only 50 were selected and trained to produce news in their areas. Yehia states that citizen journalists write news about their communities and as such have promoted a sense of belonging among audiences and in turn created loyalty for their publication. It is clear that donor funding has also been used with a multi pronged aim to benefit the media organisation by improving their circulation and engaging audiences.

Follow Africa Media Leadership Conference debates and presentation on: www.kas.de/amlc

Another side of the press freedom crisis

2010-09-06T14:21:00.004+03:00

by Sibonelo Radebe

Had it not been for the clumsy intervention of the ANC and the baggage that comes with being an African liberation movement-turned ruling party, we could be writing a different story around the prevailing press freedom crisis in South Africa.

The alternative story emerges from a successive list of ‘independent’ initiatives undertaken in the past 16 years or so and designed to infuse a ‘substantive social role’ into South Africa’s news media fraternity. Successively, the country’s press community clung onto archaic and elitist ideologies of press freedom thereby working itself into a vulnerable corner. To borrow from Michel Foucault’s thinking, the press community helped to write a ‘genealogy’ of marginalised thought. This is such that the ANC’s initiative, in its clumsy and opportunistic form, fits what might be called the insurrection of subjugated knowledges”.

Granted, the cacophony of media unfriendly rhetoric emanating from the direction of the ANC and its allies is worrying. To be sure, the information protection bill and other moves of that sort play no part within “the thoughts of this piece. It is the talk of establishing a statutory media tribunal which somehow fits into a ‘genealogy’ of initiatives designed to democratise South Africa’s press. One after the other these initiatives were frustrated and went to waste. And now emerges the extreme option. It did not have to come to this.

Courtesy of a PhD study concluded in 1998 by Lesley Fordred, we can begin this genealogy in 1993. The Institute for Democratic South Africa and the Institute for Multi Party Democracy thought it wise to advice the news media fraternity about shifting social patterns and needs. They organised an Indaba of sort titled: The Symposium on Political Tolerance: The role of opinion makers and the media. The idea was to sensitise news reporting to new imperatives including voter education and political violence. It is safe to conclude that the initiative flopped at the hands of a fraternity hell bent on setting up a ‘folk stat’.

A representative of the South African Union of Journalists (SAUJ) expressed discomfort with the framing of the symposium. The argument was that journalists should focus on ‘facts’ and ‘facts’ alone. Not even a need to “foster political tolerance and a democratic political culture” should come in the way of facts. In this talk lies the naked claim of the modern news media to be a science of sort which delegitimizes ‘common sensical’ voices. The SAUJ talk claims an ‘epistemological high ground’. It says: I know the facts better than everyone else. And so the seeds that were to fit into the ‘genealogies’ of ‘antisciences’ were planted within South Africa’s media landscape.

Interestingly Fordred juxtaposes the latter chapter to Nelson Mandela’s attack on the media during the Mafikeng ANC conference in 1997. While it is the cause of this piece to put aside ANC’s polemics from the making of the country’s press freedom crisis, a portion of Nelson Mandela’s words are worth noting, more so because of the tendency to misappropriate Madiba’s political stature. Mandela is quoted saying “To protect its own privileged positions, which are a continuation of the apartheid era legacy, it [the media] does not hesitate to denounce all efforts to ensure its own transformation consistent with the objectives of a non racial democracy”.

Fordred’s characterisation of Mandela’s speech is useful. She suggests that Mandela’s speech comes with a conspiratorial thinking. But she notes that this thinking partly feeds from the media’s resistance to engage the debate about “the cultural politics of news”. This resistance, argues Fordred, pushes the ANC deeper into the conspiratorial discourse in understanding “media ailments” and in seeking solutions.

Now that the ANC is talking a tribunal language, who can deny that the gestures of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) provided another golden opportunity for South Africa’s media fraternity to carve a sustainable social pact. In 1997 the TRC did extend its investigation into the role of the media in the pre-1994 era and the legacy of that role. The response of some media leaders to that process was at best nonchalant and at worst hostile as shown by the resistance of the Newspaper Press Union, a forerunner to the current Print Media SA. The recommendations of the TRC process have been gathering dust. This may be due to positions taken by key stakeholders within the media fraternity.

Writing in 1997 Guy Berger, the head of Rhodes Journalism School, stopped short of dismissing the TRC findings that the media colluded as a collective, save for a few journalists, with the apartheid regime. “Not even the verdict of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission (TRC) can remove the ultimate burden of accountability from the individual journalist,” wrote Berger. More than making a judgement on the TRC process, Berger was driving towards the point that journalism at its ethical best and because it is placed in between competing social groups does not allow for collective collusion with any ideological agenda. If and when that happens, it is more a “cock up” than a conspiracy. This argument served to say journalists must be left to their own devices. Not even the TRC should be allowed to influence the character of newsrooms. It is not the merits of Berger’s argument that are at stake here but the character of its discourse. His argument equals the establishment of a ‘scientific standard’ around the conduct of traditional newsmedia. It begs the question raised by Michel Foucault: “What types of knowledge are you trying to disqualify when you say that you are a science”. In this case, a well meaning initiative from the direction of a harmless commission was suppressed. And so the universe of opposition against an ivory tower perched media was gathering pace.

Shortly after the TRC process concluded, the Human Rights Commission (HRC) launched in 2000 an enquiry to look at the persistence of racism within South Africa’s newsrooms. Once again, the media freaked out and clung to its ‘leave us alone’ attitude. The origins of the HRC process could not persuade the media from taking a hostile position to the inquiry. Remember that the HRC process emanated from complains filed by the Black Lawyers Association and the Association of Black Accountants of South Africa. When the media came to the party, half heartedly so, the HRC process was tainted and its recommendations went largely unheeded. These included that the media must invest resources to strengthen self regulatory mechanisms. The HRC research undertaken by Claudia Braude recommended that “... the relevant industry bodies that fund them [self regulatory mechanisms] should be encouraged to provide adequate resources in order for them to be of real rather than token service to the public”.

The press community reacted by attacking Braude’s research, her person and the legitimacy of the HRC. Post this saga, Kevin Durrheim and three co writers produced a useful ‘discourse analysis’ and concluded that the media partly employed “epistemological positioning” to discredit the HRC process. The media was essentially saying it is only us who understand the spectre of racism and when and where it occurs. Not the HRC. Not Braude. Not BLA and Abasa let alone a group of black journalists who broke rank.

In the period following the enactment of the broad based black economic empowerment act of 2003, other key industries jumped at the opportunity presented in the act to establish transformation charters. These initiatives amount to self regulation of sort. They give birth to transformation commitments negotiated by key industry stakeholders and deliver charter councils which include government, civil society and private sector. If there was any less state led non intrusive idea of infusing an element of accountability to the country’s press, it is the charter council formula. It presents a platform where all relevant stakeholders can get a sense of representation. Having swerved out of the way of the advertising and communication industries’ charter, the news media fraternity has dismissed the idea of establishing its own charter. The painful thing is, initiatives like charter councils are not of radical character. Organisations like the Black Management Forum have criticised charter formations as too lenient and an escape route out of stringent transformation. Point is, the media fraternity has been blinded by an archaic ideology of independence to an extent of missing free rides.

In view of all these relatively well-meaning initiatives, how is it that we are served with such a narrow and conspiratorial explanation of the status quo.

Sibonelo Radebe is a freelance journalist.

TV Crossroads

2010-08-13T15:28:00.000+03:00

By Howard Thomas

Rough times

The broadcast industry has been given a reprieve. Thanks to some suspicious shenanigans, the digital terrestrial broadcast technology option adopted years ago is being “reconsidered”. The idea is to replace it with a “better technology” invented by Japan, and used by only one other country in the world, Brazil.

Of course, we have to harmonise with 14 other countries in the region, and you can expect many of the countries to be bloody-minded and oppose South Africa’s proposals just because they come from South Africa.

However, we can’t mess around for ever as the ITU is not supporting analogue after 2015.

But the reprieve is welcome. Multichoice faces its first competition ever, the SABC can only recover by 3rd quarter 2011, and the local content industry is in flutters. They could all do with a little time to adapt.

Multichoice

Multichoice has expected competition for some time, even the current new arrivals are two years late thanks to ICASA dithering around as usual. But Multichoice needn’t worry. It is two steps ahead of TopTV, and about a hundred in front of the Super5 (née Telkom).

Firstly TopTV can boast all they like about getting 70 000 subscribers on the first weekend. The point is, - what tiers have these people logged onto? If they are lower end, then the profits are low, and breakeven lurks even further away. They have nice bouquets, and with lots of gospel and religion, they will attract the 4-6 market.

Multichoice has however the advantage in local and African content. Viewership for the Africa Magic channels is good, and Mzansi I reckon will be a hit. I’ve seen one Kuli Roberts show, but I reckon that’s the format that suits Pay TV – exclusive and ever so slightly outrageous.

They have also called for proposals for more local product, and the prices they are offering is right at the bottom end. But don’t forget that M-Net was one of the first to trumpet “Fit for Purpose”, the strategy that says you only spend on production what it is worth in terms of revenue and shelf life. I also remember M-Net’s now retired Carl Fischer saying years ago, “Quality comes out of quantity”

TopTV has a long way to go. There is no way it can afford local content at this stage. It has years to go before breakeven, and the reported shambles in installation and service was bad publicity from the start.

SABC

Why so long to recovery? The SABC cannot exist with its bloated staff, and face the prospect of having to fill extra channels that will command little revenue. There is talk of trimming seven hundred. Management from Minister down to executives are at each other’s throats.

How long will it take a really rough labour consultant to do the hatchet work? You have three options: early retirement (not many of those, just a handful of whites); voluntary retrenchment with say a 3 month package. The unemployable will hardly fall for that, and there are not many media jobs going. Finally there is retrenchment. Already the unemployable have put their backs to the wall, dug in their heels, and have claws out. So, that’ll take nine months alone.

The SABC also has to fix its ad revenue strategy, which is years behind the times. Until then, it’s only alternative is to discount.

Local independent production.

There used to be about 100 production companies ranging from the giants to the one man bands. There were about 20 giants, and 80 rats and mice (or boutiques as they call themselves). Even the little guys were kept alive on alone contract a year from the SABC. That’s over now.

The SABC cannot charge prices in excess of the new market levels set by M-Net, unless they only commission short runs and one-offs. I personally know of six who have closed shops and either install security gates, or you’ll find them behind their flea market stall.

So it will be back to the 20 giants who can at least run sausage machine production lines.

Who wins?

The ad agencies and producer who sell advertiser funded programmes, that’s who. Hate them as you will, they are with us to stay.

Howard Thomas has been working in entertainment and media for 40 years. His experience with TV started from the beginning in South Africa, and he is now a media business consultant, trainer and specialist in audience psychology.

Is the iPad the saviour of Print Media?

2010-07-19T16:09:00.003+03:00

by Aidan Prinsloo, the Newcomer

American media houses are experiencing a declining turnover as more and more people turn to free online media. According to Brad White, ICANN Director of Media Affairs and Corporate Affairs, American newspapers have made a mistake in allowing news content to go online free of charge. Now, the American readership is used to getting news content for free and is less prepared to pay for subscriptions or print media.

As a result, the hallmark of 20th century journalism – investigative journalism – is under threat. White points out that investigative journalism require more people and time than modern media companies can spare, especially now that their turnover is lower. Many journalists from White’s generation lament that they have simply become ‘data collectors’, rather than investigators.

As negative as this sounds, many people agree (among them Brad White and Matthew Buckland, creator of Memeburn.com and former head of Mail and Guardian Online) that print media is not dead. While digital media has its perks, print media still appeals to a large market. There are several reasons for this. One is that print media is still more successful as leisure media – that is, we prefer printed magazines and being able to hold and keep a hard copy of images and stories we like. White holds there is nothing like being able to read a newspaper at the breakfast table. Print media still has an aesthetic lead on digital media.

The other reason why print media is sometimes viewed as more successful than digital media is that people prefer familiar layouts. Buckland says that advertisers like to stick to familiar terrain. Even though there is a lot of innovation to be found in the technical side of information distribution, the people and businesses who access these networks are slow to change. Because the internet is still predominately textual, advertisers are loath to rely on it. If given an option, advertisers would still support print media.

However, Buckland disagrees with White. He thinks that, once advertisers have caught onto the potential of online advertising, media houses will be able to sustain themselves on advertising. This is where the iPad shows potential.

Rupert Murdoch has touted the iPad as the ‘saviour of printed media’, and while many may disagree with him, it is easy to see why he would say so. Its layout allows for visually orientated content similar to what one finds in magazines. Apart from advertisers, the iPad should also appeal to those segments of the public that prefer the aesthetic feel of magazines. Professor Mindy McAdams, of the University of Florida, describes it as a ‘beautiful French pastry’ – it’s so sensual, you just want to have it. That said, it remains to be seen if people will accept the iPad to the same extent that we have magazines. Many feel that, in an age where we tend to have one appliance with many uses, buying an iPad makes no sense when you have the iPhone on one side and the AppleMac on the other. People no longer want a range of appliances; rather, they want one with many functions.

Yet, on the other hand, the iPad shows potential as a money spinner for media houses if people buy into it. Buckland believes the main benefit of the iPad for media distributors is the financial implications. The iPad will require that applications, such as programmes for viewing magazine content, and the content itself be downloaded at a fee. One could also subscribe to magazines and television series. Sadly, this remains to be seen as there are almost no applications specific to the iPad to this date. Almost all of the apps for the iPad are modified iPod or Apple applications, says Buckland. As much potential as the iPad shows, the true test of its worth is whether or not people choose to buy it.

Listen to the audio podcasts below:

(* press F5 to Refresh on your keyboard if the video does not appear on your screen)

1. The Public Obligation to Self-Inform - Brad White, ICANN

2. Is the iPad the Saviour of Print Media? Prof. Mindy McAdams comments

Disclaimer: The above podcasts do not reflect the views of SPI.

How Traditional Media Houses Can Cope in the 21st Century

2010-07-16T15:56:00.000+03:00

By Aidan Prinsloo, the Newcomer

How do traditional media houses adapt to the digital age? The resounding consensus on this subject is that media houses need to learn how to incorporate social media. The economic recession and what Megan Knight, Senior Lecturer in International Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, calls a self-fulfilling rumour mill are driving advertisers away from print media. This is not all too bad, if one considers that advertisers still need to rely on the media to access the public. Rather, they are slowly shifting to social media – a move that can be harnessed by media houses.
Julie Posetti, a journalism lecturer at the University of Canberra, holds that media houses need to be flexible in their approach to content. That is, they need to learn how to incorporate professional journalism with civilian journalism, social media with investigative journalism, traditional platforms with digital platforms. Online media may bring a lower turnover, but it allows for news agencies to tap directly into the needs and wants of their audiences. By doing so, news agencies can remain relevant to their target markets.

One thing news agencies will have to accept is that they can no longer tap into generalised audiences. Knight points out that, while in the 20th century families would watch, read and listen to the news together; today people are far more individualistic. Certain groups of people tend to watch certain types of news – something that has been true since the beginning of time. News agencies should accept that they now appeal to particular niches and should focus on delivering content which appeals to those niches.

Professor McAdams of the University of Florida points out that people have always wanted news, and that people have always sought out news that they find pertinent to their lives. Instead of seeing social media as a threat to investigative journalism, one should realise that it is simply a new platform for social news – something people have always been interested in.

With this in mind, Matthew Buckland, of Memeburn.com, holds that the best business model for media companies operating in both traditional and digital spheres is not the convergence model. In the convergence model, the same content is developed by the same teams for different platforms. Yet, the content and nature of digital news and the way we consume it is significantly different to that of traditional media. It would be misleading to approach the two arenas with the same expertise. Different strategies are required in each sphere for them to be successful and therefore each platform should have a separate division focussed on it.

As media houses change to accommodate these developments in the market, they should focus on preserving one of the most important aspects of 20th century journalism: investigative journalism. Posetti argues that journalists are morally obliged to expose events that people would find relevant if they knew about them. She recalls the role of journalism in bringing Apartheid down and what foreign journalism could have prevented in Rwanda. Investigative journalism takes up a very small percentage of viewing time and print space presented by news agencies, but it is undoubtedly the most valuable.

However, investigative teams cost money and take time – two resources of scant availability in a digital age. Two possible models have been suggested for sustaining investigative journalism: opening up the process to the public and public funding. In the first, Spot.us serves as model in which journalist post proposals for investigative projects online and the public votes for, and subsequently contributes towards, the projects which they feel are the most relevant. The second option is state-funded journalism such as the BBC and the SABC. Naturally, the problem of people and organisations’ agendas interfering is ever present – but when has it not been? What is required is professional and civilian journalists who are passionate about spreading relevant and truthful news, and this passion needs to be supported by the public.

Fears that we are seeing the end of journalism as it has been practiced in the past 400 years seem to be unfounded. Yes, the way news and journalism is being approached is changing, but it has always changed. Before the rise of online media, people were afraid that radio would destroy print, that television would destroy radio and so forth. Instead, with each development, we have witnessed the sustained diversification of platforms, each appealing to a slightly different market. The most successful media houses will be those that can adapt to the new landscape while realising that people’s demand for relevant and accurate news has not changed.

Listen to the audio podcasts below:
(* press F5 to Refresh on your keyboard if the video does not appear on your screen)

1. Megan Knight Illustrates the Evolution of Journalism

2. Julie Posetti - Workable Business Models for the Next Decade

3. Prof. Mindy McAdams - Social News as a Precondition in Journalism

Preparing Africa for New Media

2010-07-15T16:34:00.002+03:00

By Aidan Prinsloo, the Newcomer

In Africa, at least, the advent of digital media does not pose a threat to traditional media, according Robert Kabushenga, CEO of The New Vision. In fact, it is only in developed countries that one sees digital media undermining traditional media. While Kabushenga concedes that the USA is witnessing the decline of printed media, he states that newspapers in Africa, India and China continue to expand. In these settings, he says, one should view traditional media and digital media as complimentary.
Kabushenga argues that digital media need not be for free. This is what is causing the financial collapse of media houses in the USA – while no expenses are spared in producing news and journalistic articles, newspapers and television stations are publishing stories free of charge online. This is supported by the notion that this news outlet can be supported by advertisers who would pay to have greater audiences.

He sees the porn industry as a good model to base online media on: that is, provide highly desirable content for a subscription fee. This fee, in turn, can go towards financing professional journalists.

Kabushenga also points out that reporters are not the primary concern when it comes to producing quality journalism. Reporters merely provide information to editors. Rather, the focus should be on professional journalistic editing, and this is precisely what people would be prepared to pay for. If one subscribed to a well edited online newspaper, one would no longer have to worry about whether or not the journalists are trained as such – the problems often accompanying civilian journalists would be taken care of by professional editing. However, there is a place for civilian journalism, says Kabushenga. Civilian journalism is not different from opinion pieces that one finds in printed media and should be regarded as such.

Africa’s situation is quite different from that of Europe and the USA. While printed media is well established in Europe and the USA, it has yet to reach its full potential in Africa. Broadcasted media, especially radio, still predominates as it is the easiest to distribute. Radio has a wide reach and, unlike newspaper, does not need to be physically distributed on a regular basis. Furthermore, FM radios are far more accessible than computers and even mobile phones in Africa. The ratio of such technological devices to people in African countries is so low (Kabushenga estimates there are about 2 million laptops in Uganda to a population of over 40 million) that digital media can hardly compete with traditional media.

Ultimately, considering the growth taking place in Africa, Kabushenga points out that Africans are at an advantage: digital media will eventually gain a prominent foothold in Africa, but we can learn from the developed world’s mistakes. Instead of seeing digital media as competing with traditional media, we should see the two platforms as complimentary and treat digital media as part of the business model which allows traditional media to survive.

WJEC 2010 - US ACADEMIC PREDICTS RESURGENCE OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM

2010-07-14T10:33:00.000+03:00

By David Moepeng, PDMM Student

“Journalism is not in any way faced with extinction.”

These are the words of US academic Joe Foote when responding to widespread concerns in the industry that the end of the ‘profession’ of journalism may be near.

Foote, Dean of the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma, believes that the free reign digital users have enjoyed thus far will in the near future result in the spreading of so many rumours that people will demand facts and will look to professional journalism for that.

He predicts that within the next 10 years there is going to be a chaotic event in the world where all of the rumour mill and the internet chatter will be so misleading and confusing that audiences will beg for professionalization.

“I have no doubt that there will be a resurgence of journalism, it will be demanded by the people themselves because it is absolutely essential that we have this (journalism) for the future of democratic governance and for the future of civil society; and while people’s opinions are important, in the end they are just that: they are opinion and not facts and someone needs to be concerned with the facts,” says Foote.

Foote expresses confidence that while there seems to be appreciation of information coming out from informal sources, the time will come where the people will appreciate the value of journalism and will cry out for more of it, and that the importance of informal opinions will diminish while the importance of fact-based journalism will rise.

Wijayananda Jayaweera, Director of the International Programme for the Development of Communication at UNESCO agrees that professional journalism will continue to be relevant irrespective of threats brought about by online technology to news media business.

“Business models for news organisations may change, but what matters is who creates the content; we need people who are qualified and capable to provide the content so professional journalism will still be needed,” says Jayaweera.

Foote warns however that the next decade will not be easy for journalism;

“But I am very optimistic beyond that and my advice to young people is to hang in there, to crave the excitement of building the way and starting something new and better,” he concludes.

Listen to the audio podcasts below:

(* press F5 to Refresh on your keyboard if the video does not appear on your screen)

1. Joe Foote Predicts the Resurgence of Journalism

2. Wijayananda Jayaweera on the Future of Journalism

WJEC 2010 - Journalism Business at Crossroads

2010-07-13T09:59:00.001+03:00

By David Moepeng, PDMM student

The business of journalism has been under threat since the advent of internet-supported digital media which gives audiences free access to content. This has resulted in loss of potential revenue for the news media, especially print publishers who are now scouting all over in search of business models through which they can retain audiences, continue to generate revenue and thereby protect the business of journalism from becoming unfeasible.

While digital technology is hailed as a major leap forward for the traditional news media, it has proved to be suicidal and unsustainable for most publishers due to the little revenue that online publications can generate.

As online technology continues to tear apart traditional business models for news media, there is a greater need for viable revenue generating models in digital platforms such as online and mobile.

It remains unclear as to what models the news media will adopt; although, currently, the introduction of access charges for online content seems to be the most favoured.

Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the recently-ended Highway Africa 2010 conference and the 2nd World Journalism Educators Congress in Grahamstown, South Africa, Joe Foote, Dean of the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma, US, advised the news media to be experimental with multiple models.

Foote said the media industry is currently unclear about what business models to adopt as no one knows exactly what will work.

“Whatever business models are adopted, they will be a risk to anyone who tries them so perhaps a couple of years from now we will have had winners and losers and we will know more,” he said.

Foote observed that the simplest model is one that involves paywalls for subscription-based access to news sites, adding that multiple models would need to be applied simultaneously to generate revenue from multiple sources, including through news aggregators such as Yahoo and Google.

He advised that news organisations will have to be more innovative to attract advertisers and consider more reader-tailored advertising. Foote said despite being used by online advertisers already, this model is yet to be adopted by the news media.

Adam Clayton Powell III, vice provost for globalization at University of California believes that mobile applications such as Apple Iphone news applications will also provide a revenue stream for the news media in the future, although currently the pricing for such gadgets and applications limits access.

Powell III also sees the emergence of non-advertising supported news media organisations which will be funded by entities such as non-governmental organizations, governments and other interest groups.

Whatever business model works will, however, depend on the type of publication and the quality and exclusivity of its content.

The internet could therefore become a measurement tool for demand as publications that carry content that is readily available in free platforms may lose readers and go out of business if they introduced pay walls.

Foote gave an example of financial publications in the US such as The Economist, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News, which he says are making significant profits.

He also sees small town newspapers surviving the tide due to little competition, but added that this will also depend on quality and relevance of the content.

Click here to listen to a podcast in which Joe Foote spells out his "Tips for New Business Models in the Digital Age":

2010-07-13T07:30:00.003+03:00

South Africa’s biggest journalism scandal ever to have rocked the media fraternity in the Ashley Smithgate Scandal

Finally, someone has confessed to South Africa’s biggest journalism scandal in sixteen years, the Ashley Smithgate Scandal.
And interestingly, no such labels as disgraced has been placed on Ashely Smith, the former Cape Argus political reporter who this week admitted that he was among senior journalists and editors who received payola – kickbacks through government contract to manipulate the news.

As I read the article about a someone I studied journalism with, though he was junior and worked with at the Independent Newspapers (I was working for The Star and he was working for The Saturday Star), I grew irritated on how some young journalists were propelled so much quickly in their careers, while others stagnated despite having more experience than them.

These revelations of brown envelope journalism were made by one Vukile Pokwana also former fellow journalism student who was also a director at Hip-Hop Media, in a two hour interview with the then Cape Town premier, Lynn Brown last year, had sent shockwaves thought the media fraternity.

His confession, nearly a year after Mail & Guardian broke the story, and despite denials by Chris Whitfield, editor-in-chief of Independent Newspapers in the Cape, who complained to the newspapers’ press ombudsman Franz Kruger about the coverage that Smith and political editor, Joseph Aranes (also a former journalism student at Peninsula Technikon) received brown envelopes for writing stories in favour of the then Western Cape premier Ibrahim Rasool, while waging a dirty campaign against his rival Mcebisi Skwhatsha.
These claims resurfaced when another senior ANC leader Max Ozinsky wrote that Rasool had systematically manipulated the media.

As I read what I already knew as the Mail & Guardian had broken the story, but waited for prove or evidence, I was reminded of Jason Blair, a young and perhaps talented journalist from the New York Times who shamed the journalism fraternity by plagiarizing stories.
Blair was forced to resign after he admitted in committing one of journalism cardinal sin – plagiarism. He later wrote a memoir, titled: “Burning Down My Master’s House”. He was labeled disgraced.

However, our own Blair in the Ashely Smith is now been labeled a former Cape Argus journalist as if he didn’t resign over a cloud of heavy dark smoke. Smith and his cohort Joseph Aranes have caused a serious damage to journalism. Their actions have soiled the reputation of this noble profession which relies on trust to thrive. As senior reporters, they were conscious of the fact that journalism entails a high degree of public trust and it will take serious efforts to build that trust and credibility.

As for Whitefield, as the captain of the ship, he is also guilty for not taking necessary action when this information came to the fore. Instead he pontificated and established a clumsy hearing in which Smith received a slap in the wrist, while Aranes continued with his work.

Being accused of such a journalistic crime does harm to the media at large than one publication and Whitefield should have known that unlike pointing fingers at the Mail & Guardian reporter, Glynnis Underhill who broke the story and came with more follow ups, something that didn’t sit well with Whitefield and his editorial team.

Realizing that Underhill was pursuing the story vigorously; Whitefield diverted attention on the messenger and complained that she was malicious and that the Mail & Guardian as a rival publication was pursuing a vendetta against his publication. These were just flimsy accusation as I said before and still remain so. By trying to sweep the matter under the carpet and attempted shoot the messenger with an empty revolver, Whitefield failed to deal with the allegations and therefore should be charged for dereliction of duty.

It also boggles my mind why should Smith be asking for indemnity while he was conscious that their actions were unethical and criminal. Anyway, journalism is known of hiding scoundrels who have plagiarized, known for receiving, accepting and demanding bribes and freebies. I take my hat to those journalists, who despite being paid pittance, have held the torch and mirrors our society.

Those journalists regard themselves as liberators, watchdogs and are independent. They are not imbedded and write or broadcast without fear or favour. They will never compromise journalistic ethics.

Perhaps, like his US buddy Blair, Smith should write a memoir: Destroying My Master’s Mansion.

Themba Sepotokele is a Gauteng-based government communicator and a media trainer. He writes in his own capacity.

Newspass: Why Google’s paywall plans may just work

2010-07-02T16:02:00.000+03:00

by Matthew Buckland

Google has been quietly testing a new paywall system for publishers it is calling “Newspass”. According to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Google has been piloting the service with publishers in Italy.

The search giant will apparently launch “an integrated payment system” allowing users to buy news content with just “one click”. Newspass would allow publishers to use a single infrastructure for Web, mobile and tablet computers to monetise their content.
Importantly, La Repubblica reports that consumers will have a single log-in across a multitude of news sites that would be flexible enough to accommodate various kinds of payments, including long-term subscriptions and one-time micropayments. It would be a one-click payment for access, not too dissimilar from Google Checkout.

Paywalling systems on news sites have been controversial for a better part of a decade. There is justified scepticism about whether they work or not. A handful of publications around the world, largely in the specialist finance field, have got it more-or-less right, but for the most part, paywalls have not been a success. [...]

Read full article on www.memeburn.com/

The keys to managing and leading people and firms in the new age

2010-06-09T11:53:00.002+03:00

Story by: Monique Senekal
Editing by: Francis Mdlongwa

Consultative and empathetic leadership, forging alliances to create economies of scale and of scope, embracing innovation, being communicative and balancing value creation for customers are emerging as key success factors of effective management in the digital age.

Modern management theory concurs with the new role of a human resources manager: to be proactive in managing change in an organisation. More and more, these managers need to act as strategists and contribute to the financial bottom line.

In the digital age, the modern HR manager needs to understand that the people of an organisation could be a key source of competitive advantage. As such, he/she needs to recruit, retain and retrain only the most talented people to ensure strategic management.

However, many top managers of companies who still follow traditionalist business models, even in change management, still prefer to maintain their control over subordinates and often dumb down any form of creativity. In addition, many executives supervising HR managers don’t see the need for drastic change either.

This is where the approach to media leadership training run by Rhodes University’s Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership (SPI) differs: we integrate cutting-edge management theory into our practical training programmes and promote the need to embrace change management in all our learning and teaching.

The Essentials of People Management (EOPM), which took place at the SPI from 31st May to 4 June this year, focused specifically on the challenges of leading and managing diverse groups of people in a rapidly changing industry.

By the end of the week, participants agreed that great weight should be given to HR Orientation, and effective Change and Performance management in the workplace.

Thandisizwe Mgudlwa, a freelancer who contributes to Independent Newspapers Limited, explains why he now appreciates the importance of investing in staff orientation:

“When I came here, I thought I knew much about people management, but I knew nothing. I am taking back the shared experiences, education and skills learnt, in particular the importance and processes of HR orientation. In my ten years working in the media industry, I’ve never really been given that opportunity to understand the philosophy, culture and the history of the organisations I have worked for. Now I understand that it is my right, as an employee, to demand that the HR department and other relevant departments explain these until I understand.”

Jimmy Dhlamini, Station Manager at Thetha Fm, echoes these views:

“Orientation is key; employers need to ensure that the process of orientation is taken forward. There is much that media practitioners need to learn in terms of properly orientating people.”

Many young talented people today prefer to work for start-ups; promising undertakings rather than an established company because they like the entrepreneurial challenge and tremendous career opportunities. Two of our EOPM short course delegates, both relatively young, have left the SABC because they say they were fed up with top management who relentlessly “crushed” their creative spirit. They explain that top management often exclude subordinates in the decision-making process because they (management) want to maintain the status quo.

Nobathembu Kani, a former SABC radio producer, explains what the role of HR in change management should be:

“The greatest insight I have gained is that the vision and mission (of the organisation) should be clearly communicated with your staff, especially when change is taking place. We cannot only be told to do things, blind-folded. We need to understand and share the vision and mission; I speak from experience! Transparency should be in place. HR should take a more active role in the management of staff rather than simply playing a consultant role to the other departments. Motivation is very important as well; remuneration is not only monetary.”

Kani says doing this course has encouraged her to pursue her ideals in any organisation:

“Now, not only am I fully aware of how I fit into the organisation but I also see how I can be an element of change. I feel empowered.”

These EOPM delegates may occupy different positions in their respective organisations, they may be managing one or more people and have varying powers of authority, but they all agreed that the sharing of experiences and problem-solving techniques was one of the most rewarding aspects of the just-ended EOPM.

Bultcha Teguest Yilma, co-owner, Managing Director and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Ethiopian-based Capital weekly newspaper, provides further insight:

“I now realise, very importantly, that each department needs a customised Performance Management form; I cannot expect that every department fill out the standardised form because each department has a different role to play, with staff that have different job descriptions, goals and needs.”

Another key learning area for delegates is the importance of effective communication in order to achieve the goals of the organisation.

Yilma notes:

“I now know that effective and continuous communication is crucial; you may think you have agreed on a common goal, but people forget or get side-tracked; so time and time again you need to set up follow-up mechanisms – reiterate, revise and re-evaluate those goals to make sure everyone is on the same path.

“Also, I don’t have a management background, I have an economics background. So in taking part in this course, I now understand why I fight with my Finance Manager who is also my HR manager. Now I understand it may not be because of a competence problem, but rather an ability problem. Now I know I really need to hire an HR person.”

For Besizizwe (Bheki) Mdhluli, Communications Officer at Naledi Municipality, the most important lesson on the course was retaining and refitting experienced staff:

“I’ve come to realise that in the changing media landscape what is important is that you don’t just retrench staff members, but seek alternative positions for them in the workplace so that you can retain (seasoned) workers.”

Often delegates who come on our short courses feel inspired to transfer the lessons they have learnt from SPI to their organisation. Mdhluli plans on organising a formal presentation:

“When I am back at my organisation, I will speak to my manager, try to organise a sort of conference to teach what I have learnt on this course to the handful of people I manage, and to the rest of my organisation.”

Some delegates simply feel inspired to be better relationship builders.

Denise Mhlanga, Editorial Assistant/Journalist at LiveOutLoud Magazine, explains:

“You definitely need to know yourself as a manager; your strengths and weaknesses. Also, don’t assume you know the needs and wants of your employee; talk to them, ask questions.”

SPI believes in the importance of continuous management training to achieve strategic awareness and to link strategic thinking with implementation. It is a requirement for all large companies as employees cope with new ways of doing business.

Rupert Murdoch's paywall at the Times may not be a disaster

2010-06-01T12:02:00.001+03:00

by Peter Preston, The Observer

Those who make their livings in outer cyberspace, the wizards of web wisdom, fear the worst. Rupert Murdoch's bold new paywalls, now in construction around the Times and Sunday Times sites, are not going to work. Who'll pay £2 a week for this mush of generally available news, rather pompously decked out to look like an "elite" printed paper on your laptop?

But talk experience and human nature as well. Experience in print tells us that newspapers can be different. The Sun and the Times live on different planets. And human nature often dictates a bit of something different, too, not more of the same. The "simple choices" the gurus espy are more complicated already.

So, once I've stumped up cash for access, I don't necessarily look at paywalled paper newspaper sites in the same old digital way. I may read them as I would a print newspaper. I'm not clicking around, adding page view to page view, following a tale that interests me from site to site. Consistency counts. My habits have changed because I've paid good money. The stuff behind the wall looks like a newspaper and basically exists to be read as an electronic newspaper. There's a certain logic here.

These would-be Wapping wonders aren't intended for hardcore surfers with time to spare (so they can blog and tweet for hours on end). They're a 20-minute scan before you leave home to work, maybe an iPhone read on the train, then a point of reference during the day. They are cannily intended to act as familiar, text-heavy friends, bringing a predictable view that suits you, alongside the possibility of direct contact with those who write the words and take the pictures. They are not – repeat, not – competitors in some doomed race against video-rich broadcasting sites.

Retro in look and thinking? Perhaps: but a paper like the Times, bathed in "Daily Register" nostalgia, royal engagements and next year's term dates at Shrewsbury school, already knows a good retro pitch when it sees one. Moreover, with 125,000-plus copies already sold to regular subscribers who will get their website access for free, the audience size potentially involved isn't at all dusty.

Of course the numbers prepared to pay won't be anything like the numbers of unique browsers delivered by the leading free sites of other nationals. See the Mail racing to 40,500,000 in April, more than 8m ahead of the Guardian and Telegraph – that's 75% up year-on-year. It's amazing what a shrewdly assembled string of celebrity pictures can achieve on the net. The sudden swings and roundabouts leave print fluctuations far behind.

But those big unique numbers don't spell big money rolling in. They may remain the basic industry standard measurement for advertisers, a seemingly mountainous pile of visits to build ad rates on, yet in fact the number of surfers pausing long enough to buy anything on the web from newspaper sites is hugely more limited: about 85% never click on display ads, according to one recent US survey.

It's engaged readers who count – those who trust you and return time and again, then spend some of their cash on that stable relationship. And here's where so much of the chat about Murdoch's gamble swings way off beam. Just like the print battle between his Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, this one is about ad revenues, not soaring circulation.

Murdoch may still spend millions cutting cover prices on his soaraway Sun, but big numbers aren't the issue. So perhaps he'll lose 95% or more of his unique browsers behind the new wall. So 19.5 million out of 20 million may stay away. So what? The hard question is how much those 95% are worth, and whether they can ever generate enough cash to help keep traditional newspapers in business.

If they can't, that means they're useless drugs, astronomical totals of nothing much, signifying even less that matters. Treat a £2 a week fee as proof of commitment, though, and you engage advertisers' attention immediately (just as you do via reader clubs, bargain offers and all the sweeteners in such current Fleet Street demand). Mix in the Times's own print business readership figures, results leaving the FT far off the readership pace, and you can begin to see a ripe opportunity for tough sales talking.

The success or failure of this paywall, in short, will not be settled over a couple of months of subscription crunching: more like over a couple of years of revenue assessments. The temptation, because the web is such an instant medium, will be to make instant assessments based on quite extraneous factors (such as: Do you hate Rupert, or not?) The reality lies in what happens over time.

My bet is that paywalls are only part of the answer for newspapers' futures, one survival stream among many (some yet to be discovered). No plausible arithmetic shows a great river of revenue replacing old business models at a stroke. But rising walls will surely have a part to play, for part of the time. For instance, they already make the whole WSJ package a more profitable bet – and haven't affected a 20% increase in that newspaper's print readership since News Corporation bought it three years ago. They will surely help other papers – or specialist sections of papers – to coin an extra penny.

But what works on the Journal over there may not work on the Times over here – or the Sun in a few months' time. Like those web wizards, you can tout building walls as some fundamental decision which defines what can live or die. Don't believe it. "Simple" choices are much more complicated than that.

Article first published on The Guardian, UK : http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/may/30/rupert-murdoch-times-paywall

Who’s in charge here?

2010-05-26T11:20:00.002+03:00

by Georgina Guedes, freelance writer, editor and member of the South African Freelancers’ Association Executive Committee.

One of the scariest things that you have to confront about going freelance is that there’s no one in charge. When things start to go wrong, when you’ve been treated unfairly, when payment is late or when a relationship turns sour, you have no one to turn to but yourself.
There’s no rulebook, no governing body, no ten commandments and no HR manager. When you find yourself in a tricky situation, you have to find your own way out of it, with nothing to support you but your own experience and hopefully that of friends and colleagues who might be willing to share their ideas with you.

The sad fact of the matter is that as a freelancer, you are less valuable to a publication or client than its own employees. I’ve even found this to be true of companies that I used to work for, for whom I now do freelance work. It can be a subtle shift – in situations that were resolved in your favour in the past, you suddenly find that you’re no longer supported by management.

Even though you might have had a contract, a verbal agreement or a great relationship with a previous editor, you can easily find yourself in a situation where you have to stand up for your rights, but risk losing business.
For instance, I used to work at Company A. After I went solo, they asked me to do some project work for them. I put a lot of effort into the preliminary planning, after which they suddenly realised that they had the capacity to handle the job internally. They cut me loose, and weren’t willing to pay for the initial time I’d spent on the job. When I worked for them, they were great at acknowledging my overtime – and of course it hadn’t mattered to me as much because they were paying my salary at the end of the month.

At the same time, I was benefiting from the relationship and doing plenty of work for other departments at their organisation. Do I think the situation was fair? No. Was I going to have a huge fight with them about it? Also no. Sadly, they were far too valuable to me as an ongoing client for me to make too much of a fuss about one issue of non-payment. I kept the relationship sweet at the cost of a single paycheque.

The rules of relationship management

There are a couple of things to bear in mind when managing a freelance relationship.
1. Always be polite. You may be a journalist in good standing with years of experience, and you may be cleverer than the teenager who has just been appointed as editor, but he is your client.

2. Push your case, but not too hard. If you disagree with something that your client has done, from providing a bad brief to dodging payment, your initial response should still be polite. Alert them calmly to your reason for concern, raising it as a topic for discussion rather than as a direct challenge or criticism.

3. Once you’ve come up against a brick wall (which doesn’t always happen), you then have to make the decision about what to do next. Are you going to fight it out and risk damaging the relationship, or are you going to agree to disagree, and hopefully secure future work. It helps in this situation to weigh up whether this is the kind of disagreement that is likely to repeat, or is an isolated event.

4. Try to work out what measures you can put in place to stop the incident recurring. Ask for clearer briefs in future (in a polite way), mention that you prefer to be paid on delivery, request that they show you any changes that they make to your work before printing it with your byline.

5. Be very careful about involving others. As I mentioned earlier, company’s loyalties lie with their employees. If you really feel that you have been wronged in a way that reflects poorly on the professionalism of the publication and it needs to be brought to the attention of somebody more senior, by all means escalate it. Try to phrase it as a request for intervention or mediation rather than telling tales. And accept that while there’s the possibility that your transgressor will get a rap over the knuckles, there’s also a good chance that you’ll alienate everyone in the process.

6. Take clients out to lunch or coffee. Pay.

7. Drop occasional emails unrelated to work, but related to the relationship. “I remember you said you liked macramé. I saw this great site…”

8. Don’t get furious about missed payment deadlines if you always miss your copy deadline.

9. Don’t miss your copy deadline.

10. Accept that sometimes it is worth walking away. Even then, do so with good grace.
To try to head off any troubles before they arise, always:

• Sign a contract (even though you might not enforce the clauses later).

• Extract a clear brief and make sure you understand it.

• Deliver good work, that you have double checked, by deadline.

• Communicate any issues as they arise.

• Behave professionally at all times.

This all paints a pretty bleak picture of the client-freelancer relationship, and this is certainly not the case.

I have forged many fantastic professional relationships and even friendships in the three-and-a-half years that I have been a freelancer – some of them even in spite of the occasional quibble or spat. I wouldn’t change my freelancing situation for the world, but I am often confronted with hard choices, and have sometimes accepted a resolution that I see as unfair to preserve the greater relationship.

Oh, and join the South African Freelancers’ Association (Safrea) – http://www.safrea.co.za/ . The support and advice of a network of experienced professionals is worth its weight in membership fees.

Originally published on TheMediaOnline – http://www.themediaonline.co.za/

South African Freelancers' Association Executive Committee - http://www.safrea.co.za/
Email: georgiwrites@icon.co.za

HTC EVO 4G: One of the Best Multimedia Handset

2010-05-21T12:37:00.001+03:00

by Kusum Pugalia on May 21, 2010

HTC has recently launched its latest offering HTC EVO 4G (with Sprint). which is regarded as the second best smart phone available in the market after HTC Droid Incredible (Verizon). The all new EVO 4G showcases numbers of powerful specifications and a lot of features with all encapsulated in a sleek and stylish design. However, the fact which is proving a biggest drawback for the handset is the unavailability of 4G connectivity for all the users. Some of the prime features of the handset are 2.1 stereo Bluetooth, 8 MP built in camera with dual flash, Android 2.1 OS, 4.30 inches TFT screen etc. Here it is to be noted that the HTC EVO 4G is the first device launched in US which supports 4G network. […] [Article first published on Gadget Reviews. Click on the title to read full article]

Opening that digital door: 4 critical checkpoints for companies

2010-05-12T12:35:00.000+03:00

By Andy Hadfield

Social media, digital engagement, online conversation – they’re not buzzwords as much as a deemed necessity these days. But where I used to encourage companies to jump in and get their toes wet, my thoughts on the space have changed slightly over the years.

Yes. Digital engagement can offer some incredible long-term rewards, but be prepared to do it properly. The first couple of years you’ll be fighting a continual battle to stop your engagement efforts turning into a “Guest Book” of nightmare proportions. Give an audience a voice, and the first thing you’ll hear are the complaints. But there are a couple of things you can be aware of as you go into the space.
Here are four digital checkpoints to examine before you open that first “Hi, welcome to our space! What can we do for you?” sentence in cyberspace.

1. Congregation and community – the expectance of engagement

In the increasingly fragmented world of brands and messaging, we’re going to see more and more people grouping themselves into niche communities around content and utility that is immediately relevant to them. The long tail of the Internet provides the perfect platform for small groups of people to share their interest in specific topics or services. Look at the growth path of any popular Facebook group to understand the trend: zero to hero overnight, and then wane away slowly as the “next thing” comes along.

Human beings have this strange need to be treated as individuals, more so in the digital age. They want to be heard, they expect you to listen and they want to feel invested in your brand. Otherwise, you may as well be competing with the vegetable aisle. Does that carrot look good? It looks OK. Buy it.

Usually, business has tried to satisfy this need by providing friendly telephone touchpoints (or the beloved old Contact Us form) where traditional engagement can occur. It’s becoming expensive, and we’re starting to realise that when a greater cost is incurred – there damn well better be a bigger bang-for-buck on the horizon.
For example, you have a problem with a brand, you phone its call centre, you happen to get a delightful call centre agent who sorts your problem out. It costs the company a fortune in infrastructure and creates a warm, fuzzy feeling between customer and call centre agent. No one else knows about it. No one else will. Digital Rands not working quite as hard as they should?

The true allure of digital engagement (and the most frightening component) is the ability to turn these negative customer experiences into positives ones – in front of the entire world. Target the niche communities and engage with your customers on their level. The carrot-loving people with red hats and two cellphones? Yup, there’s a niche community out there waiting for your vegetable brand.

Opening the doors of your brand to transparent community engagement enables a company to create a multitude of additional, relevant touchpoints. Now you’re looking at a brick-and-mortar office, call centre, online chat room, niche forum presence, social media presence and more, with the digital components of these touchpoints costing a fraction of the traditional ones. If there’s one way to cut through the clutter of modern life, it’s to build the infrastructure to have those niche conversations. Not only with your current customers, but with the customers of the future.

If you can do that while wearing a red hat? All the better! And of course, the niche conversations are immediately more relevant and therefore present slightly less risk than broad-based engagement.

2. Bricks to clicks (without losing the human touch)

Sigh. Bricks to clicks. Who else is bored of that buzz term? Has it happened? Not really. Blame technology infrastructure, communications infrastructure, the education system or whatever you like… we’re still going to be reliant on traditional structures for a while to come. That doesn’t mean we have to stop trying. There is something quite special about building up the confidence to purchase a product or service online, entering those credit card details and having the whole process play out as smoothly as possible. We don’t really use travel agents to book local air tickets anymore, do we?

Why aren’t we moving as fast as expected? In my opinion, the biggest problem is that digital channels have lost the human touch. In an immature Internet democracy like South Africa, if anything goes wrong, customers crave the warm body to fall back onto – or shout at, if you like!.

That could be a call centre, a one-hour turnaround email assistant or even “live help” on the digital property. Whatever it is, when we feel unsure, we need another human to reassure us. Until our digital services can get that human touch back, sales will remain small and targeted to the “digital native” space – those geeks and technology adopters who will always be ahead of the pack, but unfortunately don’t pack enough volume to make up good business numbers.

Has your business got its “warm body backup”?
3. The art of simplicity: complex is no longer cool

A billion websites, a million media messages, thousands of magazines, hundreds of TV channels, a couple of social networks, a plethora of flashing banners, one times partridge… and a pear tree.

The digital world we live in is becoming increasingly complex and cluttered. In space, as they say, no-one can hear you scream. Isn’t it amazing that technology was invented to streamline our lives, making things easier to cope with. In effect, it has achieved the opposite – making communication and information so easy that we’ve become flooded by the very channels we created. In this media mess, the modern digital customer strives for simplicity.

Task-focused browsing is the name of the game. If a customer comes to you to buy a widget, move everything else aside, leaving only the simplest and easiest way for them to purchase that widget. Lifestyle, brand, content, added value – these all sits in the engagement space now. Those who want to engage, will. But to keep the sales ticking over, remember what you sell or provide in the first place. And provide that service above all else.

If you’re battling to see how this fits in, take yourself through the Amazon purchase process, and compare it to yours. There’s room for improvement, but Amazon make a pretty good benchmark for online acquisition. And while you’re soaking that in, go challenge your web forms. Do you really need that ID number and the date of birth?

Brave companies will start allowing registration into their services (and eventually product purchase) using existing social profiles such as Facebook and Twitter. Why have two usernames when you could have one? All in the name of simplicity!

4. Life on demand: the rise of mobile

Marketers in South Africa are only beginning to scratch the strategic surface of what can be accomplished on our most pervasive digital channel. In 2009, I attended a fascinating conference, Mobile Web Africa, in which I was struck by the unexpected, yet pioneering “we don’t really know but we’re trying” attitude of SA’s mobile experts.

Our digital attention hasn’t been fully focused on the mobile channel, but don’t worry, we’re a nation that catches on fast! The always-on, information-on-demand nature of the mobile device is changing the digital scene in ways we have yet to imagine. If I can “Google” an answer to my question in 0.5 seconds, why does your call centre take two days to get back to me? These are the questions the mobile youth are going to start asking as they enter the consumer force. And these are the questions your businesses are going to have to answer as we move into the next era of connectivity.
You’ve heard the back-of-cigarette-box stats? Ten million mobile Internet users in SA. Five million Internet users in SA. One in six Google searches in SA originate off a mobile device. MXit has 15 million+ users. They go on. All pointing to the fact that the appetising numbers, the glimmer of some real digital “volume” on the horizon, all sit in the mobile space.

What makes it harder is that we’ll need to design mobile content, services and applications to the most fragmented market of all. The base-level user with SMS. The mid-level user with MMS and rudimentary WAP. The high-level user with a feature phone (camera and perhaps 3G). The smartphone user with a mobile computer in his/her pocket. And you thought you just needed one website?

Just remember, the reward meets the effort required. Mobile phones are the payment devices of tomorrow – and if you can sell, and sell easily on them, those 35 million active SIM cards might just become your customers.

As a pilot for engagement, mobile devices are tantalising. How about a customer feedback mechanism through short code SMS? You then have the choice of getting back to them or not (it’s a reality) – but at least you’ve opened that door.

* Article first published on http://www.memeburn.com/

Not all traffic is created equal – a guide to ecommerce

2010-05-07T16:26:00.001+03:00

By Conrad Owens

While recently preparing a report on the annual traffic to a large corporate website, I had many opportunities to pause and reflect on the nature of Internet traffic and the difficult job businesses have in procuring this traffic, holding on to it, channelling it in the right ways, and turning browsing into the business that will help the company increase profits and improve its bottom line.

A successful online business transaction has so many variables — some technological, but most human, that make the process of conversion less than an exact science. Web metrics have gone some way towards providing answers for measurables like click-through rates, attrition rates, cost per acquisition and return-on-investment (ROI), but they tend to address the what of browsing behaviour, and not the why.

The understanding of real user behaviour on websites is often based on broad assumptions made from analytics and user feedback, or information from small usability testing groups that could never hope to replicate the nature and complexity of traffic coming to the site.

I often draw the analogy of trying to understand the myriad of ways that shoppers interact with a bricks and mortar shopping mall. Could one possibly track in which entrance they came, the paths they followed from store to store, where they window shopped, paused to interact with promotional material, looked at products they didn’t buy, the time they spent on each activity, money spent or frequency of return visits? It’s virtually impossible. The reality is that the number of permutations are endless, and this reality also applies to web shoppers in many instances.

We also need to understand that the more sophisticated and intangible your product and brand experience is, the more ways people will find to interact with it online. Fast moving consumer goods have simpler paths to conversion and higher conversion rates than products like training courses, retirement annuities or online legal advice. Your job as an online business architect is to understand the ways that your products, the interface and your audience work together most effectively, and optimise the entire experience to take advantage of that.

So what should you be thinking about when trying to understand your traffic and the way it converts online?

Measure with analytics

If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Although many webmasters have analytics solutions in place, it’s often the reporting and interpretation of these analytics that don’t go far enough in adding any real business value. It is no longer enough to be looking at the number of visits, unique visitors, page impressions or form submissions.

With a little learning, Google Analytic’s (free) Advanced Segmentation tools allow you to dig deeper into user behaviour by segmenting user types based on diverse variables ranging from geographic location to entrance page. It’s easy to build up multiple segments and test these against your conversion events to see which user groups are your most profitable. Thinking about these groups allows you to take programmatic steps to recognise users from those groups when they enter your site, and direct them more swiftly to conversion scenarios.

Analytics can also tell you about bounce rates, page depth, time on the site and entrance and exit pages, all of which provide important clues to how users are engaging, or not engaging, with your content and products.

Another useful tool in Google Analytics is the Goals and Funnels feature. This allows you to configure up to ten pages in a defined conversion path through the site, as well as to assign a monetary value to the completion of each goal. The interface provides clear representations of attrition rates through page sequences and can assist greatly in optimising pages and also your calculations of cost per acquisition or ROI.

If you are running paid display or search campaigns, event and campaign tracking will give valuable insights into the performance of particular ads or creative executions and how they convert. You should be making retention decisions about these ads as your campaigns progress, but even if your team is not agile enough to juggle creative material quickly during shorter campaigns, the data can be analysed afterwards to optimise your next one.

Using and understanding analytics can be time consuming and resource intensive, but there is no doubt about the value these metrics can bring if they are used consistently in providing ongoing feedback into design and execution.[...]

Click on headline link to read the full article

Dave Sifry’s success secrets

2010-05-04T12:25:00.000+03:00

By Mandy de Waal

When it comes to Silicon Valley start-ups, Dave Sifry has been there, done that, and gotten quite a few T-shirts. He founded Technorati as a little science project in his basement, is the creator of Offbeat Guides, and was the brains behind Linuxcare.

A software entrepreneur who has spent over twenty years starting up Open Source and Web businesses, Sifry has built, managed, got funding and enjoyed huge success. He’s also experienced the lessons failure can bring. He spoke to Memeburn.com from San Francisco.

What’s the secret to raising VC funding?

Step 1: Build something fantastically great.

Step 2: Know how to explain it really easily. Practice. Practice. Practice.

Step 3: Build a great team, or have a great team ready to go.

Step 4: Get introduced to investors through trusted intermediaries if possible. If you don’t know any investors, try to get someone who does, get them excited and then let them introduce you.

How do you speak to potential investors?

This is counter-intuitive. When you are talking to a VC, if you are looking for money ask for advice, and if you are looking for advice ask for money. VCs are risk players. You are going for the big win, but you need to present a pretty clear understanding that the money part of it is secondary to the goal, and that you are teachable and are ready to listen to what the market has to say. I don’t think I have seen a successful business that hasn’t pivoted in the products they build, or the customers they have.

What do you ascribe success to? Luck? Competence? Skill?

Yes to all three. I think you have to start out by having a reasonable head on your shoulders. I’m living proof that you don’t have to be the smartest person in the world to be successful. But you do have to have an enormous amount of dedication and gumption. I love the word gumption, because it’s the get up and go that you need every day even when you don’t want to get up.

Success is the ability as well to successfully hold two contradictory ideas without going crazy. This first is that you are going to build something great that people will really love. The second is that you hold the idea your product is terrible, it never works the way it should, and that you have to listen to your customers and users how to fix it. This can drive an ordinary person crazy very quickly.

Then you need a humungous dollop of luck. This helps you get that big deal when you don’t have enough money to make payroll. If you have the gumption to face good and bad, and have a good head on your shoulders, you’ll be prepared when luck arrives.

Lastly, make integrity your golden rule. The core of this is to do what you say and say what you do.

Have you ever failed and what did you learn?

I fail at far more things than I succeed at. I have a litany of mistakes where I have banged my head against things. Mostly these are my own stupid mistakes. However I see failure as nature’s way of teaching you that you must move in a different direction.

What’s your advice to South African start-ups?

Ask your friends, colleagues and family for their advice before you start. This will help you to explain effectively what you do. If they tell you not to go for it, still go for it. Don’t let them hold you back. Take the risk. But listen to what they say, because they could give you valuable feedback on how you can improve things.

If you’re building an online business there are so many free tools and ways to effectively measure what you are going to do. If you don’t build effective measurements into your business you are really holding yourself back. From Google analytics to customer analytics that can continually test and iterate your ideas, there are a host of free or reasonably priced applications that could radically improve your business.

Start with yourself as the product manager and product user – it will give you a clear north star as to what you want to build the business around if you are the customer. If you are not building it with you as a customer make sure you know that business really, really well.

From the outside looking in, you may think the business or industry looks easy, but you may not know enough about the business, ecosystem or economics to build a successful business out of it. If you build a product and you are the customer, at least you’ve built something you really like and can use in the event that it is not successful.

The digital revolution and the fight for journalism

2010-04-28T12:25:00.002+03:00

By Ferial Haffajee

Posted: 27 Apr 2010 11:00 PM PDT

One of the great joys of my annual trip to London as a judge of the CNN Multichoice African Journalist of the year awards, is to catch up on journalism in a capital where it is practiced in its finest form, and to be privileged enough to read the cream of the work from our [...]

Click on headline link to visit matthewbuckland.com for full article

Join the debate

2010-04-25T07:27:00.002+03:00

You can join The Pink Tongue debate by following this link http://www.themediaonline.co.za/themedia/view/themedia/en/page268?oid=48969&sn=Detail&pid=1

The Pink Tongue blues

2010-04-25T07:15:00.003+03:00

The Pink Tongue blues
Author: Mbuyisi Mgibisa

Publish: 21 April 2010

Mbuyisi Mgibisa's pitch to TheMediaOnline about a free-sheet community paper that challenges homophobia and prides itself of being an informed read for the 'colourful and diverse gay communities' of the Western Cape goes sour and reveals how self-censorship by the media can suppress press freedom.
Two weeks ago I pitched a story idea to Shelagh Foster, the editor of TheMediaOnline. She was interested in the idea and I began lining up the interviews.
I then sent a set of different questions to Gary de Klerk, the editor of The Pink Tongue, Kevin Light, a journalist working at the paper, and Russell Shapiro, a reader who also happen to advertise in the newspaper.

The response from De Klerk was prompt despite that he indicated that he was on deadline with the May issue of The Pink Tongue.

Mid-way through in the story, I received an email from De Klerk demanding that he needs to see the final copy before the story gets published. I wrote back to him outlining that I was uncomfortable with this arrangement since I view it as tantamount to self-censorship. He wrote back and made it clear to me is he doesn't get to see the final copy then he doesn't give me his permission to publish the story.

I asked myself, whose permission?

Then a flurry of emails popped in my inbox. De Klerk argued that in my original emails I stated that the feature was on The Pink Tongue and that some of my questions to him were irrelevant.
The questions concerned included one question soliciting the editor's views regarding the attitudes of South African society towards the gay and lesbian communities. There was also a question which wanted to know what stance The Pink Tongue would take against anti-gay statements such as the one made by President Jacob Zuma against gays a few years ago.

I had explained that though the questions may seem irrelevant, they were not meant to introduce controversy in the feature but to introduce some topicality so that it does not appear like an advertising claptrap. I also made it clear to him that he was at liberty to ignore some of the questions he thought were irrelevant.

"It is a standard policy of many organisations, including Independent Newspapers, to check such write-ups to make sure they are factually correct. That is why I chose to ignore some of your irrelevant questions because they have nothing to do with The Pink Tongue in the context of the suggested article," he wrote in an email.

I guess that the questions I later sent to Light on whether he has ever dealt with a story that contained anti-gay sentiments in tone and taste and how he would have dealt with such a story would also be deemed irrelevant. More so this one on whether he thinks the paper would publish such a story.

I then decided to seek advice from Foster on how to handle this situation. She said I could show De Klerk the final copy. But she added that we will go ahead with the story only if I'm convinced that the final version is good, unbiased, and with no manipulation by the editor/publisher of The Pink Tongue.

I sent the final copy to De Klerk. Within a short while, the edited version was emailed back to me.

De Klerk made it clear that this was the edited version of the article "that Independent Newspapers approves" and instructed me that I should "please make sure that this is the version that is submitted" to TheMediaOnline. Who approves the final copy? Is it the Independent Newspapers or TheMediaOnline?

A few minor changes had been made to the original piece. But then what was strange was that my byline was removed and another journalist name, Boyish Gibes, was stuck into my blurb.

I know that journalists like to see their names in the paper despite that you're only good as your last byline since only a handful of readers actually bother to read who wrote the story.
I wanted to let the situation lie down as I'm no longer that first time young journalist who got published in the Daily Dispatch 10 years ago, even though in a smallest possible byline, but still rushed to his friends to show them the copy of the paper despite his byline being deeply buried inside the newspaper.

But I then I was worried that an editor of a newspaper could remove my byline in a story that I conceptualised, pitched and wrote. Not that this Gibes had done any sort of a straight rewrite to my copy or swung into action and done the story himself. There is nothing in the edited version of the story that points to any semblance of original reporting by Gibes to the story. As a writer,

I felt deposed in my own turf.

I noticed another disturbing factor. A paragraph containing information about the newspaper's website had been removed. De Klerk explained that all references to the newspaper's website were removed because the website is currently outdated and "not really something that we want to show off".

As a freelance writer who operates on a shoestring budget, my initial impulse was to submit the story for publication, but then I decided not to submit the story and instead proposed a comment piece to Foster that will focus on the behind-the-scenes so to speak.
I view some of De Klerk's actions as an attempt to constrict me to write about The Pink Tongue in a positive light and to remove all those elements that will portray the newspaper in a bad light.

His actions made me feel cheated as a writer.

I have never felt cheated like this before even when a sectional editor of a weekend newspaper wrote a story on my behalf and put my byline after I had refused to write a story which paraded unfounded allegations against a government parastatal.

Even the second incident when an editor of a national newspaper tweaked a pure news analysis piece, which I and a colleague had penned, into headline-grabbing front page lead does not come close to this. The said editor threw a 450 word into the first part of our 800-word article but tagged her name onto the bottom of the story as an additional reporter. We were eaten alive by our sources and she didn't. Why? She was a ‘contributor-by'.

How many young journalists out there who keep quiet when faced with this sort of treatment and pay dumb loyalty to the editors in return for job security and promotion?

I am disappointed with the way the newspaper treated my story. I thought the newspaper would be more publicly aware about the need to safeguard freedom of expression and media freedom. In this instance, I felt that I was confronted by self-censorship by a media to another media.

How free is the South African media? It made me ponder.

I'm still waiting for an answer from De Klerk. Why did you remove my byline and put that of Boyish Gibes?

Mbuyisi Mgibisa is a Cape Town-based freelance writer (mbuyisi@gmail.com)

DEALING WITH THE MEDIA IS A RISKY BUSINESS BUT CAN ALSO OFFER RICH REWARDS

2010-04-23T12:27:00.007+03:00

Themba Sepotokele

Any organisation that has been under the illusion that dealing with the media is a walk in the park should by now have prioritised five percent of its budget for communication, especially media training.

Two events which incidentally and ironically happened on the same day should have opened the eyes of many organisations, institutions, parastatals, political parties, government departments and municipalities.

Firstly is the ranting and raving of the ANC Youth League president Julius Malema who deemed it fit to show his out-of-the-cot toys and kick out BBC journalist Johan Fisher during a press conference recently. The Juju lost his cool as he briefed the media about his visit to the economically and politically ailing Zimbabwe. In front of cameras, he used words suc as “bastard” and “a bloody agent.”

You see the Bully Boy from Limpopo likes the media attention so much that he has held more press conferences than the mother body, the ANC Women’s League and the Veteran’s League.

When he was at his lowest ebb, after being jeered by the South African Community Party (SACP) conference last year, he pleaded with Yusuf Abramjee, the chairperson of the National Press Club to organise a media conference to speak his mind. At this conference, Malema threatened “war” against the communist party and its leaders Blade Nzimande, Jeremy Cronin and Gwede Mantashe. Why he didn’t use Luthuli House as it has been the case is anyone’s guess.

If my memory serves me right, he said nothing at that press briefing and hordes of media hounds were disappointed. However, the strategist that he is, he used the media platform to boost his bruised ego. I remember Business Day editor Peter Bruce saying he wished he hadn’t sent his reporters to cover that media briefing.

Malema’s lawyer Tumi Mokoena and ANC spokesperson Floyd Shivambu spewed a lot of hot air when they called journalists to a press conference in March. They wanted to clarify that Malema was either not or no longer a member of SGL Engineering which has, according to the City Press exposé, done a lot of shoddy work with falling bridges.

As a media trainer and analyst, I have known that this was long time coming. The man who managed to charm most of the people who interviewed him was now on the attack, a clear sign that he is now under pressure and that he needs to hone his skills in handling the media.

In the second incident, Andre Visagie, the secretary-general of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) was never to be outdone by Malema. He actually reminded me of an incident in 1995 when Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi and his bodyguard stormed into a studio during a live broadcast of an interview with Prince Sifiso on SABC TV's news programme Agenda. Buthelezi had appeared on television shortly before Zulu and had been watching the programme on a screen outside the studio.

Visagie was having a debate on eNews Channel studios with the young and intelligent policy and gender advocacy director of the Trade Collective, Lebohang Pheko, when he lost his cool. The anchor Chris Maroleng had invited them to discuss the issue of race relations in the aftermath of the death of AWB leader Eugene Terre'Blanche.

Visagie became irritated and hot under the collar, telling Pheko not to interrupt him, before ripping off his microphone and storming off the set. However, he returned moments later saying:

“I am not finished with you; you don’t interrupting me” (sic).

Maroleng came to Pheko’s defence while AWB security staff also intervened. However, it was Maroleng’s utterances that left viewers laughing. He repeatedly said:

“Don’t touch me on my studio, don’t dare touch me on my studio” (sic).

The AWB member’s adamant response: “I’ll touch you on your studio,” left the country with stitches.

These two incidents should remind us that in dealing with the media, we must be cool-headed, be prepared and expect questions from hell – those that you wouldn’t otherwise like to be asked and be able to navigate without being compromised or, worse, compromising yourself. Therefore, thorough media training cannot be over-emphasised. People with short fuses should try by all means to remain cool, calm and collected.

Hats off to President Jacob Zuma; he emerged unsated in all the interviews especially on CNN, BBC and Sky News where foreign reporters would bravely ask him about his rape and corruption charges. Depite his shortcomings, he answered those well.

I hope there are lessons learnt in the Malema and Visagie sagas, of how not to deal with the media.

Indeed dealing with the media can offer rich rewards, but it can also be very risky so make sure you are prepared. Communication defines reputation - both personal and corporate, of which Malemas’ and Visagie’s is now damaged and in need of repair. It is important to communicate to the best of your ability and give the right impression.

Now that Malema was 'booed' again by ANC Youth League members in his home turf Limpopo is a clear indication that people are gatvol of the Malema factor. Even President Jacob Zuma has finally rebuked and berated Malema publicly. However, Malema should be made to apologise publicly. Like Zuma said, it is important to think before talking.

I hope the two (un)gentlemen who disgraced themselves and brought their respective organisations into disrepute can take leaf from philosopher Walter Lippmann who once observed that;

“A man has honour if he holds himself to an ideal of conduct though it is inconvenient, unprofitable, or dangerous to do so.”

The writer is a former journalist, now a government communicator and a media trainer attached to Rhodes University’s Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Ledership; School of Journalism and Media Studies in Grahamstown. He writes in his own capacity.

Winds of change blowing in the South African media with more female voices in the corridors of power

2010-04-22T10:52:00.002+03:00

By Themba Sepotokele

Sixteen years since the dawn of the democratic dispensation, the positive winds of change are gradually blowing in the South African media.

The fourth estate, known for its patriarchy – with male faces dominating at the helm of editorial management, journalists, male analysts and experts have of late shown some signs of improvement. The recent appointment of Phylicia Oppelt, Business Times editor, brings to three the number of women editors – others being Zingisa Mkhuma of the Pretoria News and Ferial Haffajee of City Press.

During my journalistic stint at The Star, there was a concerted effort to bring more women voices as sources and analysts. The Gender Commission also developed media contacts of female experts ranging from media to economists, but most were either media shy or were not trained to deal with the media; therefore that exercise was like climbing Mount Everest.

Fast forward to 2010, I am elated, though not over the moon about the progress made thus far in having female voices.

Now I am, like most South African’s, suffering from Malema-fatigue - yes I have had enough of Julius Malema and his antics. Everytime he spouts bile it makes media headlines. Juju is more popular than five Cabinet Ministers and provincial MECs. Yes, Ek is gatvol! Ndidiniwe! Ke kgathetse. Enough is enough. He should stop speaking without talking.

I have, however found comfort and solace in reading articles and columns penned by female writers, especially black writers. I am also really tired of the over-exposed male experts such as Steve Friedman, Xolelwa Mangu, Auburey Matshiqe, Professor Sipho Seepe, Professor Tom Lodge who seems to have hibernated. Most of them have reached a sell-by date.

With The Sowetan having solicitated 702 Radio talk host Redi Direko, Business Day with Roda Kadalia, Neva Makgetla and Hillary Joffe, The Sunday Times has the sharp as a razor Pinky Khoabane and have recently enlisted Marianne Thamm.

The Sunday Independent has the intelligent and refreshing voice of Nompumelelo Sibalakhulu, a researcher at Institute for Security Studies, The Star with Heide Holland and Tselane Tambo, The Citizen with Sonile Nokuthula and The Times with Oppelet, Phumla Matjila and Jacquie Myburgh. I believe that the balancing of gender in the media is a step in the right direction. The Mail & Guardian has the witty Nikiwe Bikitsha, so is the Sunday World with Kuli Roberts and her hilarious pillow talk column. Her latest offering “Hey, all men rock – of course I love them … for selfish reasons,” left me in stitches.

We need more of new, sober and intelligent voices including those of Pheko sisters, Mohau and Lebogang.

These female writers are tackling tough issues from calling the bully from Limpopo to behave as it was the case with the articles written by Tselane Tambo and Heidi Hollan. Pinky Khoboane, for those who missed out, once shredded Clayson Monyela, a former journalist and spokesperson for the Limpopo Housing MEC Soviet Lekganyane. They also tackle soft issues such as music to beauty products. These columnists are worth the salt, the ink and paper.

Gone are the days when female writers would be reduced to agony columnist and recipe reporters, telling how to bake muffins or hot cross buns. They ask tough and relevant questions and if you miss them, you do so at your own peril.

We need more of such voices, some of the former and present journalists such as Lulama Luti, Sonti Maseko, Nomavenda Mathiane, Pearl Ranketseng, Bongiwe Mlangeni, Charity Bengu, Motshidisi Mokwena, Pearl Sebolao, Jackie Mapiloko (joined Mail & Guardian) and Lizeka Mda (destiny unknown) – sadly they both left City Press under the editorship of a woman.

I cannot but feel proud of the silent developments in the media fraternity, although it has been prompted by competiton, rivalry and the need to have women voices heard. However, much more still needs to be done.

How strange it is that a few years ago, my former female boss accused me of being a chauvinist, of being difficult and refusing to take instructions from female colleagues. Unfortunately I don’t take orders and instructions from non-starters and mediocre managers, be it male or female.

PS: Shame to the members of the ANC Women’s League who turned their provincial conference in Limpopo into a catfight instead of discussing policy issues. Yours was just a disgrace and maybe we should refer to you as the ANC Girls' League.

The writer is a former journalist. He is now a government communicator based in Gauteng and a media trainer attached to the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership at Rhodes University in Grahamstown. He writes in his own personal capacity.

Coming to a phone near you: Six examples of how social media took the starring role in the news

2010-04-21T17:23:00.001+03:00

By Gill Moodie

Until Twitter came along and blew the lid off news coverage of the Iranian elections last year, many of us were scratching our heads wondering just how social media could help journalism be more interesting.

Sure, Facebook helped you market a story to your buddies and you could pick up a story or two on Twitter, but what else was there? Then the Iranians, armed with cellphones, beat the pants off the international news organisations covering the June protests in Tehran and we all sat up and took notice.

In South Africa, social media also steals the spotlight from traditional media from time-to-time. Here are my favourite examples:

1. Viral sensation

When AWB leader Andre Visagie stormed out of a live e.tv panel discussion this month, it went viral in a big way with every news organisation, blogger and his dog embedding it. At last count just one iteration of the clip had had 267 000 hits on YouTube and the hilarious “Don’t Touch me on my Studio” clip was also quickly remixed into a number of spoof vids. On the very same day ANC Youth League president Julius Malema threw BBC hack Jonah Fisher out of a press conference – another a big hit – but the prize for enduring appeal must surely go to parliament’s finance portfolio committee chairman, Nhlanhla Nene, who vanished behind a desk after his chair collapsed on live TV in 2008. It was inevitable that someone at the SABC would release the video on YouTube and Zoopy. Word got around on Facebook and very soon the rather un-amused Nene was an internet celebrity. Even venerable institutions such as the BBC covered it (without being able to resist embedding the vid themselves, of course).

Today one version of the Nene clip has had more than 3.1-million views on YouTube. We, of course, can’t resist putting it up again: [...]

Read the full article by clicking on the headline link or visiting www.memeburn.com/

Blue Ocean & Business Model Innovation

2010-04-21T13:10:00.001+03:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Blue Ocean & Business Model Innovation

View more presentations from Bas van Oosterhout.

The battle for budget in the digital space

2010-04-20T15:45:00.001+03:00

By Scott Gray

2010, another year, another marketing budget, another significant year-on-year increase in the amount corporates intend on investing in digital.

As an eMarketer, this is great news for me and the agency I work for as each and every year the “battle for budget” between digital and the more traditional above-the-line mediums (predictably) sees the lion share being portioned to the ad agencies, while the virtual scraps are thrown to the budget line item that is digital/interactive/eMarketing.

The purpose of this post though is not to rant, neither is it to dwell on budgets and where they should or shouldn’t be going (I’ll save that one for another post).

In South Africa, digital as a marketing channel has a problem and I can’t help feeling a somewhat shallow sense of satisfaction about the increase in the channel’s allocated year-on-year budget.

Corporates are approaching the web with an “everyone-else-is-doing-it-so-we-better-do-something-too” attitude. Now I understand that this is somewhat of a generalisation, but when I hear companies talk about investing in digital I wonder what they really mean. Are they using the platform as an opportunity to propel their business forward, or are they using digital as nothing more than something to support their TV/print/radio campaigns. Or worse, are their digital initiatives standing alone on a brand communication island with just the 1 palm tree?

From experience on both sides of the client/agency fence, I can say with confidence that digital as a support mechanism for traditional marketing efforts, as well as digital for digital sake, is where web spend is going.

As I mentioned earlier, this post is not about ranting, it’s rather an attempt at identifying what I feel are issues holding the South African eMarketing space back from taking it up a level.

The challenges, I believe, can be broken down into 2 basic categories: Client-side skill sets, and The client/agency partnership. [...] Read the full article by clicking on the title link.

A feminine feminist

2010-04-20T09:33:00.001+03:00

By Rumbidzayi Dube, PDMM student

Until recently, being discriminated against as a woman had not been a huge factor for me. Don’t get me wrong, on countless occasions I have been objectified by my male counterparts, but I think it has become the norm so much so that I consider it a way of life. I am not saying that such occasions do not get mundane, annoying or just plain insulting. I am saying that overall, I get the occasional encounter, but in my life thus far, I generally have not felt discriminated against. It could be due to the fact that I am quite outspoken and am generally unafraid to stand up for myself so much so that discriminators cannot help but let me be.

It was not until my colleagues at the Sol Plaatje Institute made a presentation on the role of women in media that a switch suddenly went on in my head. I am now constantly aware of the degree of inequality when it comes to gender. After the presentation and discussion we had, I began to question the way in which women were represented in society- as sexual objects or victims of abuse. Reading an article by Colleen Lowe Morna further fuelled my interest. It gave me clarity on the levels of inequality and that it is not an issue being faced in African society alone- a society which is very much patriarchal. The so-called developed world still has a long way to go itself, and it makes me wonder, what more for ‘under-developed’ Africa and its low levels of education?

Listening to Harry Dugmore voice these issues during one of our lectures on the Essentials of Digital Media Management, an alarm bell sprang in my head. There seriously is an issue. Reiterating the need for change, I was disappointed to find out that a close friend who with a stable, well paying job and great credit rating was unable to get a bank loan because she was not married. Surely if even the educated banking professionals cannot see beyond gender how can we expect the average person with basic education to even fathom some sort of equality between men and women?

Truth be told, I have always been anxious of playing an active role when it comes to gender issues. I wonder to myself if it is possible to defend women’s rights and fight for equality without seeming like a fascist? I even hesitate to use the word ‘feminist’ because so often, it has negative connotations. To me, it implies a woman with no feminine qualities, dressing like a man and bullying the opposite sex into submission. Surely this cannot be the criteria used to qualify to be a feminist? I personally love to celebrate many of the ‘girlie’ activities that many associate with being a lady- going shopping, getting my hair done, watching romantic comedies whilst nibbling on some chocolate. I do not believe, however, that this takes away from my passion to promote the often silenced voice of women around the world.

I realise now that although certain things do not affect me on a personal level, I have the opportunity and resources to be the voice for many who have been silenced. I can be the voice not only in terms of issues pertaining to violence and abuse, but issues such as equal pay and women’s ability to succeed not just at baking a cake, but making our way up the ranks in many organisations donning high heels and perfectly manicured nails. I am beginning to realise that it can be done, and I can still enjoy the perks of being a woman and expect men to be chivalrous, but also have a say and make a mark on my way. I can be a feminine feminist.

10 easy ways to fail as an entrepreneur

2010-04-12T12:41:00.004+03:00

By Sue Rutherford
Many people dream of starting their own businesses and becoming financially independent, but while the idea of organising and operating your own business venture may be thrilling, there’s a good chance that your fledgling company won’t survive unless you identify potential pitfalls and plan to circumnavigate them.

Here are 10 ways that you could fail as an entrepreneur:

1. Poor market research

Make sure there’s a need for your product or service. Ideally, your offering should be unique and fill a gap in the market, but if there’s already competition in your intended sector, research ways to position yourself uniquely to improve your chances of success.

2. Inadequate planning

Every new business needs a roadmap to follow, a solid business plan. Unless you’re looking for outside funding, this doesn’t have to be a long, formal document, but it must at least outline the operational and financial directions that your business will take. On the flip-side, be flexible. Don’t allow a business plan to stifle your business if circumstances change.

3. Lack of experience

Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. If you aren’t a proven self-starter with a good track record in planning, organising and making decisions that can benefit your business in the long term, seek out experienced mentors and hire people who can compensate for your lack of expertise in certain areas.

4. Insufficient capital

It’s very common for entrepreneurs to misjudge how much they need for start-up capital, and how long it will take before their new business becomes profitable. This is usually because of inadequate planning and research. If you’re going to look for outside funding, choose investors who are familiar with both your industry sector and the challenges facing new business owners.

5. Over projecting sales volumes

Unless sufficient research is undertaken, you may very well miscalculate the size of your market. This will result in you over-projecting your portion of it and make meeting your subsequent sales objectives an impossible task. Furthermore, your cost projections will be too low and your end margins won’t be what you anticipated.

6. Feeble financial systems

Make sure you implement solid financial systems that will scale with your business, right from the start. There are many first-rate software packages you can make use of to keep your finances running smoothly. If you’re unfamiliar with good accounting practices then consider enlisting the services of a bookkeeper to help you on a regular basis.

7. Mismanaging cash-flow

Lack of financial discipline is a common cause for start-ups to fail. Cash is the life-blood of any business and learning to manage cash-flow correctly is critical. Keep a close eye on your debtors’ list and spend your income wisely. It may be very tempting to splash out on expensive resources, but before doing so, take an inventory of what you already have and be realistic about whether or not your new purchases are essential to the success of your business.

8. Unexpected growth

Planning for the potential growth of your business is just as important as planning for a shortfall in expectations. Failure to do this could be extremely damaging as growth periods are often unstable and confusing. Whether you’re increasing your market share or diversifying, you need a strategy to cope with expansion whilst still fulfilling your existing customers’ requirements.

9. Hiring the wrong people

At some stage in the development cycle of your business you’re probably going to have to employ people. Choose wisely and never hire for the sake of convenience as hiring the wrong people can seriously undermine the success of your business. You need to select people who, at the very least, meet your skill and behavioural trait requirements. Hiring experienced staff that you can trust will provide you with valuable support.

10. Fear of failure

To be a successful entrepreneur, you must be willing to accept failure. Unfortunately, fear of failure keeps many people from taking the necessary risks required to start and grow a successful business venture. To work through your fear, take a realistic look at your business, correct any problems that you’ve identified and then take action and move on.
Failure may be painful, but it can also be your best teacher if you are willing to spend time analysing your mistakes and applying what you learn from them.

Starting and running your own business means that you are in control of the process. While there are no guarantees, if you plan carefully, work hard, remain flexible and avoid the pitfalls mentioned above, you have a very good chance of becoming a successful entrepreneur and fulfilling your dreams of financial independence.

Have fun out there.

View same article on http://memeburn.com/2010/04/10-easy-ways-to-fail-as-an-entrepreneur/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+memeburncom+%28memeburn%29

6 reasons why the iPad will be the magazine’s saviour

2010-04-08T16:10:00.004+03:00

8 April

By Matthew Buckland

The web has never really been a good fit for the glossies. Their luxurious, ample layouts have not really translated effectively to the web. Advances in web technology and connectivity have resulted in a more multimedia-friendly web - we’re in the broadband era, Flash is on its 10th version, and YouTube is the world’s 3rd biggest site. Yet magazines just aren’t nearly as prominent as their online newspaper counterparts. We can guess why. Maybe it’s because the web started out predominantly as a text-based platform and, like it or not, that legacy shapes today’s paradigm? Perhaps it’s because the web is mostly still a work-based medium, whereas magazines are an after-hours, leisure-time read? Perhaps it’s to do with the fact that magazines are generally monthlies or weeklies – they just don’t have the volumes of content that news sites do on what is a demanding, immediate and dynamic medium.

So enter the iPad. It could be the solution (or saviour) to a medium that has so far been somewhat of a conundrum for magazines.

Here are the six reasons why magazines should rejoice about the iPad:*

1. The iPad is a leisure device:

Magazines are leisure reads. The iPad is supposed to be our “third device”, an internet and multimedia device we use while relaxing on the couch in front of the TV after work and on weekends. This is different from our “first device”, the work computer or laptop, which is filled with reminders, distractions and associations about work. This type of leisure-time usage fits perfectly with most magazine consumption, which primarily happens out of work hours.

2. Apple app store has a successful payment model:

We know how hard it’s been for newspapers and magazines to find workable online business models. It seems that online advertising is not cutting it in a significant way. The jury is still out (for a rather long break) on whether users want to pay for content online. It’s not about the price, because those same users will spend the equivalent of a whole year’s online content subscription in a corner pub in less than a week. It’s psychological: it has to do with the laws of scarcity and abundance. Why pay when there’s the perception and/or the reality that similar content is freely accessible elsewhere online via thousands of equivalents? Enter the app store, where there’s an accepted payment model in a high-quality walled garden. People are paying for apps. People will pay for magazine apps.

3. The glossy iPad interface is a good fit with a glossy magazine:

The iPad is about the size of an A4 page, and therefore a perfect fit for magazine content and advertising. A luxurious, graphically-rich magazine layout would work well on the ample, silky smooth Apple iPad screen. We have a digital experience that not only matches, but betters, the offline experience in terms of design and usability because it’s now interactive. This has not quite been the case when we look at the magazine experience on the traditional desktop web. We’re not saying we want an identical magazine experience on the iPad, because that would just be one very big failure of imagination. Rather, we are saying we want a similar experience to the offline one that readers and advertisers are familiar and comfortable with. In fact, I predict iPad magazine apps, ironically, will in layout look and feel more similar to their print versions. Is this convergence nirvana?

4. Portability:

In many ways this is an obvious point, but one worth exploring. Much like a magazine, the iPad is highly-portable. On a portability scale, your PC desktop computer is at the one end and your paper magazine at the other. In between, you’d find your iPad, your laptop and your netbook. The iPad is more portable than most laptops as it is thinner, lighter and easier to move around. There are fewer wires and cords to worry about, and the battery life is advertised at being around 10 hours.

5. Access to an international audience:

Many topics most leisure magazines cover are universal. The glossies often cover issues such as love, sex, marriage, life and work. The savvier magazines will create both local and international iPad apps with their content in order to attract a much larger international audience, monetised via a contextual advertising network model.

6. Distribution and marketing:

Apple’s app store assists with distribution and marketing of your newly-created iPad magazine app. Your magazine is not out there in the great nowhere of the wild, world wide web, but in a tight ecosystem where the right type of readers will find it. This is the same audience that consumes books and are buying them in the Apple iBookStore – likely readers of magazines too.

The gorilla in the room, of course, is the question of just how many iPads are likely to be in use and how long is the road to saturation? In most emerging markets we’re probably looking at access by an elite audience only – at least in the beginning.

You could take the view that members of this elite are the all-important early adopters and influencers in society which could determine future consumption. It also depends on your target market. Perhaps you have a magazine with an international strategy that plays predominantly in the high-end iPad market. If this is the case, you should jump in now. But if your magazine is aimed at a broader market, perhaps you should wait a bit – or at least diversify. This means create an app related to your magazine, but with content and services that would appeal to a tech-savvy, elite market.

* For the purposes of this article I’ve limited the discussion to leisure magazines, excluding news and business magazines, of which some of the points may or may not apply.

View same article on http://memeburn.com/

Mobile West vs Mobile Rest

2010-04-07T12:24:00.002+03:00

Mobile is the next big thing.
Have you heard that before? I have. In fact lately that is all I’ve heard from every direction and every guru or evangelist out there. And I use the words guru and evangelist very, very loosely.

Trying to figure out why everyone is saying that mobile is the next best thing. Everyone is talking about mobile, but no one is being specific. All the big guns: TechCrunch, Mashable, ReadWriteWeb, TheNextWeb and many others have constantly been batting around mobile ideas, thoughts and concepts over the past 12 months, but none coherent, complete or steadfast. There is lots of talk, very little action, and even less knowledge floating around from the web-savvy smarts.

This is a new world. This is an emerging world and it is the emerging markets that are taking it on headfirst.[...] Click on the headline link to read the full article on matthewbuckland.com

The end of the website

2010-04-06T10:26:00.001+03:00

Posted: 05 Apr 2010 04:05 PM PDT

Having been involved in this industry for a very long time, I have the benefit of a long and wide perspective of the business of making the web. This sometimes narrows my thinking, and I have been accused, for example, of not recognising the importance of mobile, or the revolution that is social media. However, [...]
Click on headline link to visit matthewbuckland.com for full article

Finding a viable media business model in the digital age

2010-03-25T15:15:00.003+03:00

By Monique Senekal, Managing Editor

Media enterprises operating in today’s Information Society, whether in developed or developing nations, are facing great uncertainties and challenges as to the specific approach they should be taking in responding to the global digital migration. Today consumers have greater choice and more control over the media they consume.

Just last week the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership at Rhodes University hosted 12 print media mid-level journalists and managers from across Africa in its first Essentials of Newspaper Management (EONM) short course for the year 2010. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to question the experienced group of print managers not only about their perceptions regarding the all-pervasive debate that the traditional media and, indeed, print media, are forced to develop a new business model to meet the needs of the digital age, the age of discontinuity, but also of the respective business strategies they are employing in responding to the global digital migration.

Quite surprisingly, most of the participants were steadfast in their belief that digital media is not really a threat to their businesses. Many explained that their management teams have had the foresight in using the internet as an extension of their product and/or service.

Shirley Govender, editor and managing director of the community newspaper and online publication Southern Globe, which services the greater Indian population in Lenasia, explains:

“As a monthly publication, we saw it as an imperative to go online because 80% of our audience work in Johannesburg, meaning that they need to commute at least two hours on a daily basis. Online we are able to update content regularly in a cost-effective manner. We therefore saw going online as an opportunity to better our service to our readers, allowing them to go online and catch up with their community news, whenever they have a few moments at work to do so.”

Govender further explains that going online has allowed them to expand their audience reach, now targeting the techno-savvy youth market. Strategically, their website caters not only for the need of the youth to network and interact, but also for the older readers’ need to gather information. Southern Globe’s online strategy also includes inviting readers to submit articles they think may be of interest to their target audience.

The EONM group of print managers are also recognising the value in real-time marketing. That is, they are using the interactive nature of the web for real-time, value-added customer relationship building. For example, Dirk Lotriet, deputy editor at Sondag, asserts that their online strategy for improving their service delivery is to offer the feedback loop, creating producer-consumer dialogue and relationship-building. Sondag has also introduced an interactive SMS section which invites readers to express their opinions and views about Sondag and the articles published in the newspaper. Furthermore, Lotriet adds that their value-added service is to offer picture archives and competitions online.

There is also the possibility for traditional print media to find new ways of generating revenue online. However, Adrian Henwood, co-owner of the Eastern Times community newspaper, Pretoria, is not convinced of the viability in investing in an online revenue generation strategy at the moment.

“There is no money going digital; our income is generated from selling ad space, not sales. Going digital is more about branding, getting our name out there,” he said.

Although Henwood is right in saying that online provides the opportunity for branding, there may be ways to generate extra revenue online for community print media. Perhaps they should think of strategies that offer their online users customised services that are uniquely differentiated from their competitors. The online product could, for example, allow consumers to obtain instant information on advertisers’ products or services to aid them in their crucial purchase decision process. The online site could also offer a ‘bid-or-buy’ section where the community could offer their unwanted goods for auction; they could also offer a point-of-transaction service to its reader and advertiser base which may increase their unique selling proposition to their existing and potential advertiser base.

Then there is the rapid expansion of mobile phones in Africa, which promises to close the digital divide between the haves and have-nots and the urban and rural populations and has made it easier for people to participate in social media networking.

With 28% of the African population having mobile access to date, the mobile phone has shown an exponential growth rate from only 2% in 2000, according to International Telecommunications Union (ITU), an agency of the United Nations. Compared to only 3% with access to the net, the mobile is, indeed, the future of web access in Africa. However, not many of the EONM participants spoke about using the mobile phone as an integral part of their strategic business strategies.

Betsie van der Merwe, co-owner and editor of the Eastern Times community newspaper, acknowledges print media’s need to take note of the opportunities offered by the mobile phone, adding:

“We must engage in mobile; it’s not a real threat to us right now but we must be aware of it."

Although many academics and journalistic critics muse that traditional journalism has fundamentally failed to serve the needs of the public – by being too elitist, selfish, product-orientated rather that consumer-driven – Lotriet counter-attacks and points out:

“Journalism might be failing the academics, but it is definitely not failing the public; our increasing readership proves that we are serving the needs of our target market.”

What emerges from this statement is the reality that the tabloidisation of today’s journalism is another thread coinciding with the digitisation of the media, whether the conservationists of traditional media like it or not. Lotriet asserts that “the success of tabloids, community newspapers and African language publications proves that they are giving people what they want”.

The fact that Sondag is structurally a tabloid newspaper may point to a parallel phenomenon occurring in the new media landscape: that the tabloidisation of the media on the one hand and an increase in user-generated content made possible by an increase in broadband on the other are two phenomena so similar in structure that they can almost be viewed as one and the same. Both assert the need for more grassroots journalism, journalism that is produced bottom-up, rather than top-down.

The question that remains is thus: how can tabloidisation and the increase in user-generated content in the digital age translate into effective and ethical management, the cornerstones of managing any successful business?

The title of this post marks the theme of this year’s African Media Leadership Conference, hosted annually by the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership and Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. The conference, taking place 26-29 September in Cairo, Egypt, will be a key learning and reflective platform where African media’s top dogs will discuss the structural and operational challenges, and the strategies they employ in an effort to remain credible, relevant and competitive in a fast-changing, digitised, market-driven media landscape.

SPI PDMM - What a start!

2010-03-11T15:09:00.002+03:00

By Boldwill Hungwe - PDMM Knight Scholar and experienced Zimbabwean journalist

Upon arriving at the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership to revitalise the entrepreneurial spirit in me that has been dormant for a couple of years, least did I know that it does not take a huge gong to provoke it. In fact, I grew up being told that you can only be a successful entrepreneur or manager if you are exposed to an affluent upbringing where Dad comes back at sunset from work, carrying a briefcase and ask you to park his car in the garage carefully, not to knock down his golf clubs.

You needed no one to tell you that you are going to run your own business in the not so distant future. It was hereditary-from parents to children. But my parents had no car, a golf kit nor even a tuck-shop to run. My Dad, a Pastor, has spent most of his gracious time telling people to be comfortable with whom they are. We were actually told by our elders that the only goal we could reach was a tertiary institute and probably, if God allows, to be a nurse or teacher despite having other aspirations. Running your own company or assuming a managerial position was a pipeline dream.

I remember one day when I awoke from this mindset after reading one of the motivational statements that was said by Dr Myles Munroe (a motivational speaker from Bahamas) that the “world’s greatest wealth is the cemetery-where many big dreams never found their fruition”. Coming from a learning environment where the teacher is the “king” and dictates your learning process and defines you career path, discovering whether you are a leader or entrepreneur took a miracle. No one even told us that by running our backyard vegetable gardens that was the first precise step towards running a business.

It needs such reputable institutes like Sol Plaatji to help people discover their potential and who they are in the world of business. The first day I attended a lecture, I discovered one of the most important attributes about Sol Plaatje Post Graduate Diploma in Media Management curricular. The class is yours. It’s just like “being given money to go on a shopping spree”. The critical part is the choices one makes thereafter. At the same time the Lecturer helps you to navigate through the revealing modules, because obviously we know our destination, but someone else knows the route and terrain.

When I went through the first module with Francis at one moment I thought “business has some spiritual aspect to it”. Analysing some of the case studies, you make some of the most critical decisions about your own life. You are taken through a cleansing process that exposes you, breaks you apart and starts building you anew. The interesting part of the course is that you will be self-evaluating yourself, repositioning your attitudes and redefining who you are as an aspiring manager or entrepreneur. It’s a total change of mindset. And this comes not from anything out of this world but by learning from the mistakes and successes of other prominent business people around the world whom you thought are the “untouchables of this world”.

I have known Francis as veteran African journalist and an avid follower of Formula One, but his teaching method is such a peculiar art and he has taken me into this “business journey” where you certainly have to be rebaptised. In life you just have to be at the right place at the right time. Francis, thanks for the introduction. I feel at home.

Research for community radio: Is it participation, or market research? A case study of community radio stations in South Africa

2010-03-10T16:30:00.008+03:00

November 2009 edition of The Media carried an article by Target Group Index (TGI) retired founder Barbara Cooke and South African Advertising Research Foundation’s (SAARF) Paul Haupt. The two research gurus argued over the increase of the SAARF levy to accommodate the new developments and improvements of research technology for data collection. The Double-Screen Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (DS-CAPI) is a state of the art computerised research tool that allows for computer-assisted interviewing. The interviewing technique is an improvement in the data gathering efficacy for SAARF.

On the other hand community media is struggling to conduct simple research, be it for listenership, audience profiles or to encourage audience and listener participation. The SPI conducted a study on formative target audience research with community radio stations to encourage listener participation in programme development. This was undertaken on the assumption that better content will lead to increased listenership and loyalty, which attracts advertising. During the research Thulile Tembe, programme manager at Maputaland radio states generally that in her experience, “good programmes help to attract advertisers”, without making problematic what is meant by ‘good’, or taking into account the volatile nature of the advertising market and advertisers. The research endeavoured to assist stations know their geographic community profile – that is: who are their listeners and what their perception of the station’s content are. The research is a case study of five community radio stations in Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Upington and rural KZN.

One of the key observations from the SPI research is that stations are under pressure to meet the financial bottom line. The case studies: Radio Maputaland, Radio Zibonele, Riverside Radio, Radio Zibonele and Bush Radio were concerned over fulfilling the mandate for development and democracy and generating revenue. Stations have a difficult task of ensuring that they are financially viable and function professionally with regards: financial management, marketing and primarily content development. As Duard Grobbelaar, station manager at Kovise FM puts it “we have to make money to survive.” The balancing of financial imperatives and social responsibility manifests in content decisions to air socially responsible content that caters for the information needs of the geographic community, or the easy way of flooding the airwaves with music and other entertainment content.

Community radio in South Africa has grown since the liberalisation of airwaves in the early nineties – the number of stations with licenses to broadcast, including the number of support initiatives aimed at either training or technical support. However, an area that is still way behind is the financing and funding of operations. Radio stations have to fend for themselves relying primarily on advertising. Given their reduced broadcast radius it means that they can only tap into limited business opportunities for advertising and other forms of funding. Hence, some stations are moving towards satellite radio to find more listeners and attract new advertising revenue.

Two conversations are evident: one is a conversation with business to survive and secondly is the essential conversation that needs to take place with the geographic community. This conflict of interests has influenced content formats. Community stations feel pressure to keep up with commercial radio stations and public broadcast stations as they are all competing for the same advertising revenue. Their formats are tailored to match those of their competitors -- being on-air 24 hours, this requires a staff complement of almost the same size as a commercial station, technical resources, equipment and training. Another issue is the idea of quality and professionalism – stations are pressed to appear professional with little or no formal training and equipment. Mzamo Ngomana, station manager at Radio Zibonele concurs, “We have to meet professional standards.” This perception needs to be interrogated with the view to apprehend what the role of community radio is.

On the issue of formats – programming mostly duplicates commercial radio with content that is increasingly becoming entertainment driven. Breakfast shows, for example, as explained by some presenters at the radio stations, use magazine formats with a focus on celebrity news. However, some stations use the entertainment format to create ‘local celebrities’, honouring ordinary people who have contributed in a positive way towards their community. Radio Riverside has what they call Wat Pla? A segment on the breakfast programme, is a platform for listeners to complain about service delivery and any other issue plaguing the community on-air. These antidotes are used to balance content from becoming too entertainment driven, while they give listeners content packaged in familiar format similar to commercial radio.

With the struggle for financial survival one wonders if the sector can afford activities such as community participation; even when they are noble and imperative, they have become a luxury. Has participation simply become a burden? Community radio developed as a result of communities clubbing together to find a voice distinct from the mainstream, however, they now find themselves on their own competing with the mainstream media for survival. Lack of resources and skilled capacity further disadvantages the sector. Unable to conduct research community radio is struggling to understand local listenership profiles, listenership trends and preferences to tailor content that is relevant, with the potential to increase listenership and attract advertisers. Notwithstanding, there is a possibility that participation platforms i.e. open forums, listeners clubs etc. can be used with a dual purpose, thus helping stations to conduct both community participation and research. In order to fulfil the information needs of the geographic community and have market research that will contribute toward financial sustainability.

According the the Supreme Court of Appeal, something can be factually correct and untrue at the same time. That makes it difficult for journalists.

2010-03-02T17:23:00.004+03:00

Harvey Tyson, a former editor of The Star, memorably remarked that editing a newspaper during the dark days of the emergency legislation was like “walking blindfold through a minefield”. The job may be slightly easier these days, but the Supreme Court of Appeal’s judgment in Robert McBride’s defamation case against the Citizen illustrates that some of those landmines are still out there. News media had better tread carefully.

McBride, the former Ekurhuleni police chief, won R150 000 in damages, plus most of his legal costs, from the Citizen for calling him a murderer, a criminal and unfit to be appointed as police chief. The ruling sets off alarm bells for several reasons. For one, it is one of the largest-ever damages awards for defamation in South Africa, and together with legal costs would prove crippling to many a news organisation (if not for the Citizen). It is sure to have a chilling effect on future news reporting and commentary. Secondly, in rejecting the Citizen’s appeal against a High Court ruling, the SCA in effect ruled that it is defamatory to refer negatively to the past actions of someone who has been granted amnesty for those actions by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This could make it very difficult to report and comment on the activities of people who were involved in human rights abuses during apartheid, and received amnesty.

The case arose out of a series of articles around the time it became known that McBride would be appointed as Ekurhuleni police chief. The newspaper argued that he was unfit to be appointed to the post because of he was a “criminal” and a “murderer”. The SCA held that he could no longer be described as a “murderer” or “criminal” for the bombing in 1993 of the Magoo’s Bar, which killed three women and injured a number of other people. McBride, an Umkhontho weSizwe guerrilla at the time, was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. He was reprieved in 1991 and released a year later in terms of a presidential pardon that included another murderer, the “Wit Wolf” killer Barend Strydom. McBride subsequently applied for and was granted amnesty by the TRC (not without controversy, as his victims were civilians and not, as required by the amnesty legislation, members of the security forces).

In sueing the Citizen, McBride asserted that he could no longer be called a criminal or a murderer as the amnesty had expunged hi s criminal record. The newspaper argued that the bombing of Magoo’s Bar was a historical fact, and that its views on McBride and his suitability to be a police chief constituted fair comment, which would justify the defamatory nature of the articles. The SCA rejected the Citizen’s defence.

In its majority ruling, written by Mr Justice Pieter Streicher, the SCA held that “people to whom amnesty had been granted should not be held criminally and civilly liable for offences committed by them in the course of the conflicts of the past and with the political object of liberation, but also that they should be considered not to have committed the offences and that those offences should not be held against them, so that they could be reintegrated into society”*. The court conceded that it is a fact that McBride killed people, and that he was convicted of murder. The amnesty cannot erase the historical record. However, the court argued, the effect of the amnesty is that he can no longer be called a murderer. So although it is factually correct to refer to McBride as a “murderer” and “criminal”, the amnesty renders such a reference untrue. According to the convoluted logic of the SCA, something can be factually correct and untrue at the same time! How are journalists to deal with that?

I believe the SCA’s ruling is based on a misunderstanding of the purpose of the amnesty provisions of the Truth and Reconciliation process. Amnesty was not offered to perpetrators of political violence in order to undo the past, or to expunge our history. Perpetrators of human rights abuses were offered a trade-off: amnesty in return for full disclosure. The legislation did not require us to forgive the perpetrators or condone their actions. The intention was to set the record straight; to find out the truth so that we will never repeat the abuses of the past. To argue, as SCA did, that we may now not rely on that truth to express negative opinions about people who have been granted amnesty is just plain wrong. Am I not allowed to comment with distaste about the past of, say, Brigadier Jack Cronje, the former security policeman who, along with four of his henchmen, was granted amnesty for 47 killings of activists? If Cronje were to be offered a high-level post in the police in the new South Africa, would I be liable for defamation if I commented that he would be unsuitable for the position?

In his minority judgment, Mr Justice Khayelihle Mthiyane takes issue with his fellow judges on precisely that score:

“The plaintiff (McBride) contends that the effect of the grant of amnesty is that it is now impermissible to say that he committed murder or is a murderer irrespective of the factual accuracy of that description. That is a far-reaching construction of (the TRC legislation) … The (legislation) nowhere says that it is no longer permissible to refer to what the plaintiff did that caused him to apply for amnesty. That would be (…) wholly contrary to the expressed purpose of the TRC Act which was amongst other things ‘to establish the truth in relation to past events as well as the motives for and circumstances in which gross violations of human rights have occurred, and to make the findings known in order to prevent a repetition of such acts in future’."

The Citizen’s articles, Mr Justice Mthiyane argued, constituted fair comment based on true facts in the public interest, and therefore justifiable. Unfortunately his four colleagues did not agree with him. The Citizen has indicated that it is considering an appeal to the Constitutional Court. I wish them well, although am not sure there is a constitutional issue involved here. As it stands, this judgment is a step backwards for freedom of expression.

*I am quoting from the media summary prepared by the SCA; anyone interested in the full argument, and Mr Justice Mthiyane’s dissenting opinion, should consult the judgment, available here.

(This post also appears on my personal blog, Low Opinions.)

Kenya races ahead of SA to provide varied media menu

2010-02-26T13:25:00.005+03:00

By Francis Mdlongwa

A mobile phone company is hurriedly assembling editors and journalists to staff its digital media content distribution hub; a 24-hour television network has been launched both online and offline; and nearly half a dozen private television stations have sprung up.

Welcome to the ‘new’ Kenya. It’s good news for Kenyan audiences, though not necessarily for the incumbent traditional media houses.

The East African nation is quietly racing ahead of South Africa -- long regarded as Africa’s leader in economic, political, military and other fields -- in providing a rich and varied media menu to audiences.

Kenya’s largest mobile phone group, Safaricom, has started hiring editors to comb through local and foreign media to “localise and customise” news stories and information for its mobile subscribers, who, according to the firm’s half-year financials to September 2009, were 15 million in a country of 40 million people.

Could Safaricom be thinking of extending its news service to include deploying its own journalists to cover stories within Kenya and in neighbouring countries? Watch this space.

A new private television station, Kiss Television, which describes itself in Facebook as the “hypiest new TV station in Kenya”, went on air late last year to provide non-stop, 24-hour music for Kenya’s huge youthful audiences.

Operating both offline and online, Kiss serves up a diet of the latest hip hop sounds, rhythm and blues, soul and gospel music. Viewers and listeners phone in or SMS the station or go through the net to select a music video of their choice, which then automatically queues up to play, like the juke box of yesterday’s good, old world.

As well as relying on advertising, Kiss Television’s business model is based on sharing phone-in revenues with its telecoms partner.

Safaricom’s bold entry into journalism and of Kiss TV into the broadcast sector are but only the latest signs of a rapidly growing and dynamic media industry in Kenya since the 1990s liberalisation of the broadcasting and telecoms sectors there.

Safricom’s action in particular has many editors of Kenyan newspapers, radio and television stations worried because it potentially raises significantly competition for audiences among media firms in an already highly segmented and hyper-competitive market.

As David Maingi, head of corporate affairs at Nation Media Group (NMG), the largest media group in East and Central Africa as measured by market capitalisation and media presence in that region, told foreign journalists visiting Kenya recently:

“Kenyan editors are scrambling in all directions searching for answers as to what to do next, wondering about the impact on their media of Safaricom’s entry into the journalistic content market. No one can tell yet what it will be… but we have already been losing a sizeable slice of our market to the current heightened competition.”

As well as the state-run Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, which owns radio stations and a television service, Kenyans now wake up to watch around seven private television stations, most of which broadcast 24 hours across the nation, and to listen to several dozen radio stations, also run by private capital.

The competition for audiences is already stiff and it seems certain it will get tougher in the coming days, weeks and months.

The television stations range from K24, owned by Kenya’s emerging media tycoon and Nairobi University journalism graduate Rose Kimotho; to Nation Television (NTV) and Kenya Television Network (KTN).

NTV is owned by NMG, publishers of the once best-selling Daily Nation and several other newspapers, and KTN is owned by Kenya’s Standard Media Group, which also publishes several newspapers, including the daily Standard.

The news-driven television stations are modelled along the lines of the Atlanta-headquartered Cable News Network and the BBC World Television Service.

But I was most impressed by their fiercely-independent and balanced news, and their well-researched and packaged in-depth news analyses which would be the envy of many people “Down South” and elsewhere around the world. More so in today’s world which is largely dominated by “sound-byte” journalism that gives little meaning and context to the news!

One indicator of growing competition among media is the fact that the daily circulation of the Daily Nation is now around 100,000 versus 200,000 five years ago, Maingi said, noting the big negative impact of the internet and of several media companies that have sprung up in Kenya.

“Through research, we are constantly trying to understand why we are losing these readers,” he said.

“The internet has obviously had a huge impact because it offers free news, but we must re-position ourselves and constantly re-evaluate and renew ourselves if we are still to be the most desirable media leader in this region.”

While it is arguable whether a majority of “monied” Kenyans have access to the internet, it is clear that its advent, combined with new “sensationalist” newspapers which Kenyans brand the “gutter press”, plus new radio and television stations, has significantly raised competition among media for segmented news audiences.

One of the challenges for NMG – indeed for most media around the world– is for the group to work out whether it can make more money out of advertising by going totally online, as the Christian Science Monitor in the US has done, or continuing to serve its audiences with a fuller package offline.

Experience so far from the US shows that newspapers which have moved part of their content online are getting an average of only 12% of their advertising income from this platform – this is despite the fact that most American audiences are online (A year ago, South Africa’s Mail and Guardian reported that its online edition was contributing around 15% of total income).

Of course, the situation in Africa is vastly different, with most audiences and advertisers still relying on the hard-copy editions of newspapers.

In the developed world, advertisers have not exactly followed content online, partly because the advertisers themselves can now go direct to customers using both online and mobile solutions.

One other key lesson for traditional media in the ‘age of discontinuity’, to quote C Christensen, is that they must not willy-nilly jump onto the bandwagon of the digital media platforms, throwing away all the good work which they would have done in the past to be successful.

Yes, they need to experiment and innovate with digital media and never be left behind, choosing what works for their media firms and market. But they need to do much more to perfect their core business (eg being a market leader in investigative journalism or in financial markets reportage) which would have fuelled their success.

Whatever platform media firms choose to use, audiences will still require content that is highly relevant to their needs and wants, is exclusive and helps to improve their lives and is presented accurately, truthfully and in a fair and balanced manner.

Yes, because of the migration of large segments of audiences to digital platforms, especially mobile, it is crucial for a media firm to be present there to experiment with how it can innovatively serve audiences while also making money.

South African media, especially print, should learn a lesson or two from their Kenyan counterparts. One of these is that South African newspapers should take bold steps to prevent a situation like that of the Daily Nation, whose circulation has halved in just a short five years.

There is also a lesson for South Africa from the mushrooming Kenyan media. South Africa needs to move faster in liberalising its broadcast sector so that more players can come in, not just to make the numbers but to add value and diversity in content in a rapidly fragmenting industry.

Sixteen years after South Africa’s freedom, the country south of the Limpopo still has just two main national broadcasters, a development which severely limits audiences’ choices.

Although pay-TV broadcasting licences have been granted to several companies, we are yet to see these come alive and offer a diverse range of content and programming which fosters healthy competition and hopefully gets the nation truly engaged in discourse about how it wants to live and to be governed.

Indeed one could argue that most South Africans can hardly afford to have access to pay television, so there is a need to open up the broadcasting sector to more free-to-air channels for the general public.