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Not chasing profits? So no change there, then, given the number of times and the billions we, the long-suffering taxpayers, have had to fork out to keep the national broadcaster afloat.
So if it is not going to be run at a profit, will it be run as a breakeven... or at a loss?
If the track record is anything to go by, your guess is...?
But with all due respect, if, as Zuma says, the new channel will be "telling success stories", then what about all the other news out there... the "not-so feel-good" news we nevertheless need to know?
Apparently, he is also "not quite sure where it comes from that the channel could be used as a propaganda tool." Mail & Guardian further quotes him as saying "...It is not like a 24-hour channel is a beast on its own. It still resides in the newsroom, with all the same management team, and all checks and balances. How it would somehow become a tool for some political entity confounds me a bit."
Er... there are quite a few observers, including members of the public out there, who are on record as claiming just that with regard to the new channel's parent... for example, here, here, here, here and here.
So is it unreasonable for people and bodies holding this view to not be a little cynical regarding the new channel?
If the channel wants to gain respect as an unbiased, non-partisan provider of quality news, then it will need to prove beyond a shadow of doubt that that is exactly what it will be, but any lapse on its part will lead to accusations that it will not welcome.
