Even though they were a product of apartheid’s propaganda broadcasting machine, Zulu language radio dramas proved subversively powerful by reflecting communal black life and creating new stars.
Multichoice’s dominant power over South Africa’s public sphere suggests that dropping ANN7 may send a bad signal for media freedom and democratic debate.
Forty years after the apartheid regime clamped down on the free press, South Africa’s media continues to face threats, albeit in more subtle forms than in the past.
The scandals surrounding South Africa’s power utility, Eskom, were caused by the neglect of corporate governance rules by the board, the executive authority, and the public enterprises minister.
It’s vital that the problems at the South African Broadcasting Corporation be fixed in the public interest and for democracy, given its wide media reach in the country.
While some African countries have shown an improvement in press freedom and freedom of expression ratings, others, including South Africa, are seeing worrying trends and a drop in rankings.
South Africa’s parastatals are in a dire state. Instead of being the mandated sites of development and profitability, they are costing the public purse billions and have been abused.
There were high hopes that the SABC would become a true public broadcaster after the end of apartheid when it was used ruthlessly as a propaganda machine. But those hopes have since been dashed.