[The biz editorial team] Just to prove that we can do as well in the world's advertising arena as we can in hosting sports events, our agencies have done us more than proud at Cannes this year. TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg's Trillion Dollar Campaign for The Zimbabwean brought home an Outdoor Grand Prix and heads the SA winners' list with nine Lions (including five Gold), and Net#work BBDO Johannesburg also brought home glory with a Radio Grand Prix (South Africa's first ever) and two Bronze Lions. read more [The biz editorial team] Time and again, industry commentators have made the point that the South African advertising industry punches well above its weight. Our industry is smaller than those in many other countries, and yet we give them a run for their money in our creativity and quality of production - and that is across just about every category. read more [The biz editorial team] The five remaining SABC board members appear to be intent on hanging on to the bitter end. The question is: Why?
The board was apparently asked by the minister of communications, Siphiwe Nyanda, to do the honourable thing and resign, and if last week's resignations were anything to go by at least four members complied. read more [The biz editorial team] The short answer is: a great deal.
Peter Vundla, who resigned from the SABC board back in May, took the opportunity following Khanyi Mkhonza's resignation on Thursday last week to say what he reckons is wrong with the SABC. Among the mildest things he says is his opinion that the broadcaster is like an employment agency; in his first 12 months on the board he saw staff grow by 600, with three people doing the work of one and more managers than he'd ever seen before.
People have apparently been appointed not for their experience and skills, but on the basis of their political affiliations - which explains a great deal!
Vundla has served on a number of boards and he knows what he's talking about - and he reckons it's time the SABC was treated as a national asset and not as a political tool.
Faulty Towers can be fixed, but it will demand a change in mindset on the part of government. read more [The biz editorial team] Last Thursday, 28 May 2008, according to the Mail &Guardian Online, SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said that the corporation viewed the news site's posting of the uncut version of the so-called Zapiro show on its website as "unprofessional" and that the posting had undermined the public broadcaster. Today, Chris Moerdyk poses the question SABC vs M&G: will the truth ever come out?.
The truth may yet come out, but the regrettable fact is that, irrespective of the outcome of that issue, senior officials and the board itself have not helped the broadcaster's image in the minds of a great many members of the public. read more [The biz editorial team] And the SABC's troubles just keep on multiplying... Whether it's R800 million or R1.8 million in the red, or a R2 billion short-term bailout versus R6 billion over the next five years, it's making everyone hot under the collar. Naturally, management and board members, according to more than one news report, are not letting their organisation's woes slow them down... read more [The biz editorial team] The need for constant vigilance no matter how high a flier you are is highlighted this week as the same Samy worm which recently attacked social network MySpace, goes for Twitter (www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/16/34903.html). With regard to things parasitic, Chinese diplomacy is becoming ever more visible on our radars, pointing to the fact that we should probably need to be hyper aware of all deals that are made to sound good, but in reality might end up being good for only a few. read more [The biz editorial team] Last week saw top stories in the media relating to the jostling for editorial positions at various South Africa's news publishers. At the Mail & Guardian, Ferial Haffajee's shock resignation for the City Press sees Nic Dawes becoming the newspaper's incoming editor-in-chief and at the Cape Times, Alide Dasnois, the former deputy editor, has become the newspaper's first woman editor in its 133-year history. read more [The biz team] Since 2001, Bizcommunity.com has been the voice of the advertising, marketing, media and related industries in South Africa. From the start, our mission has been not just the delivery of news for passive consumption, but to be a platform for engagement and opinion and a launching pad for companies and individuals.
The African communications sector is currently gearing itself up for the imminent broadband explosion and Bizcommunity.com is proud to be at the hub of these developments. read more [Simone Puterman] I think we can all heave a sigh of relief that President Motlanthe has returned the Films & Publications Amendment Bill back to Parliament unsigned, much against the wishes of the ANC. This is a great step forward towards upholding our media freedom in South Africa, which will be featured later this year on Dutch national TV.
Talking about the press, a new journalism competition to honour excellence in health journalism has been launched by Discovery Health. read more [Simone Puterman] I hope you've enjoyed our two-week series of 2009 trends reports as much I've enjoyed editing them. It's been a fascinating process, seeing the same trends pop up again and again - integrated campaigns, online and digital advertising and marketing, collaborative partnerships, social media, social networks, niche, creativity, production innovation, values, ethics, sustainability, CSI, the ramifications of true broadband (undersea Internet cables), video, personalised communication, mobile marketing, mobile media, information overload, research and planning tools, and the impact of special events such as general elections, Confederations Cup and 2010 FIFA World Cup [can you believe it's only 500 days to go?] etc etc. read more [Robin Parker] Welcome to 2009 - the countdown on a New Year has begun and it's time to get ready for a bumpy ride from which I'm confident we'll all emerge stronger by year end (there are 354 shopping days left to Christmas). Here at Bizcommunity.com we've planned an eventful year in which we aim to retain our current readers' interests and bring thousands more on board. read more (1 Comment) [Louise Marsland] One of the most blessed things about having a career in this industry is the people you work with. Then there is the continuous learning and the huge fun it can be. read more [Louise Marsland] A week or so ago at Tony Koenderman's Brainstorm seminar, brand strategist Andy Rice cautioned brands about what to do during a recession. This past week, newspapers carried more reports that mentioned that word: recession. read more [Louise Marsland] Those of you who have read George Orwell's iconic masterpiece 1984, will be familiar with the rewriting of news that the main protagonist does under the watchful eye of the all seeing, manipulating ‘Big Brother'. This past week was an unusually news rich week and I want to commend one thought leader who came in for a lot of flack for sticking his neck out there when highlighting some issues in the industry. read more (1 Comment) | Simone Puterman Simone Puterman is assisant editor at Bizcommunity.com. After majoring in Psychology and Linguistics at Rhodes University, and then completing her Honours in Psychology, she has been in the world of B2B publishing for over 12 years. Contact her at simone@bizcommunity.com. Follow her on Twitter as @SimoneBiz.
|
Connected by: Uninet