Cliff quits - 31 Mar 2014[Rod Baker] No, April the First is tomorrow... It seems Gareth Cliff really has quit 5FM and will be leaving today. read more SABC: Silence of the hams - 24 Mar 2014[Rod Baker] Ed Herbst looks at the SABC and how he reckons it has systematically silenced or ignored those it deems are either critical of government and/or those calling the government to account for its actions. read more Survé to be sued for a billion? - 17 Mar 2014[Rod Baker] Harold Wilson said "A week is a long time in politics" and now Independent's Iqbal Survé may be finding a few months is a very long time in the media... Independent has lost a number of top staff, for various reasons, and now it seems Independent and Survé (and others) each in their own personal capacity could be sued by technology billionaire Robert Gumede. read more Another Tencent in the offing? - 10 Mar 2014[Rod Baker] Speculation continues about the real reasons Naspers CEO Koos Bekker stepped down last month‚ but some reckon there could be plans to create a new global internet‚ media and digital group. So could another Tencent be in the offing? Justice should be seen to be done and we expect those who witness certain events to be ready to come forward. read more Celebrating 10 years of Design Indaba coverage - 3 Mar 2014[The Biz editorial team] Last week Design Indaba pulled off another pretty faultless series of design events. As media partner to the event, Bizcommunity this year celebrates 10 years of bringing you indepth design opinion coverage with a bumper edition. Read about the changing face of urban Africa and get daily conference overviews of local and international designers at the top of their game. read more NPA mum on Pistorius porn claim - 24 Feb 2014[Rod Baker] Weekend reports that Oscar Pistorius surfed porn websites in the hours before he shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp have drawn a 'No comment' from the NPA. On the media front, Naspers' Koos Bekker is stepping down and Bob van Dijk, currently Naspers' most senior ecommerce chief, will take over the reins at the media giant. And still on the media front... Anton Harber reckons that when there's fear in the newsroom... when a reporter fears he or she will lose their job if they show crowds booing Zuma or ANC supporters wielding bricks against marching rivals, then there are party-political interests overriding news judgment. read more Our 2014 Biz Trends Report is here - 17 Feb 2014[Rod Baker, Content Director] We've already had inquiries... "When are you putting out your 2014 Biz Trends Report?" The quick answer is... read more TV for dummies - 10 Feb 2014[Rod Baker, Content Director] Despite a recent damning report from PWC in which it was stated that to put it mildly, the skills to successfully run a corporation the size of the SABC are seriously lacking, acting COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng has dismissed the report. Ed Herbst looks at Auckland Park. read more Once upon a time, in a mall... - 3 Feb 2014[Rod Baker, Content Director] It's happened to all of us...we've been in a shopping mall and been stopped or approached by someone trying to sell us the latest this, that or the other. read more Innovating your way into trouble - 27 Jan 2014[Rod Baker, Content Director] Innovation is good, right? Yes, it is, but as Sid Peimer points out, unless it's done properly, it can be dangerous... for instance, innovation, improperly executed, nearly killed LEGO. On our ever-popular Trends front - this time for 2014 - Tarryn Pitchers looks at the shift towards advertising marketing managers within the South African advertising industry, Sue Disler looks at the issue of contradicting addictions and Pete Hutchings forecasts a bumpy 2014 for experiential marketing. On the advertising front, are you one of growing number of TV viewers becoming increasingly irritated with clumsy TV product placements in our soapies. read more Four trends to watch in Africa - 20 Jan 2014[Rod Baker, Content Director] Africa is the watchword, with any number of companies and individuals eying potential opportunities and planning and executing ventures on the continent. Oresti Patricios takes a look at the four biggest trends related to Africa and what is likely to happen in 2014. read more A trendy start to 2014 - 13 Jan 2014[Rod Baker, Content Director] Today sees the start of our Trends 2014 pieces and to begin, Hilton Rose would like you to wake up and smell the networks, while Athar Naser has some ideas on building a better scope of the content marketing space. read more Here’s to a great 2014 - 7 Jan 2014[Rod Baker, Content Director] 2013 ended sadly, with Madiba's passing, but that means that we can now go into 2014 with the hope that this year will be better than the last. We in the media have the Protection of State Information Bill hanging over us; Jacob Zuma has only to sign it into law, but that in itself will, we're sure, provide for some very interesting times this year and possibly into the future, because it is almost certain that the law will be challenged, right up to the Constitutional Court. South Africa is fortunate in having a vibrant and independent media (apart from some notable exceptions) and that should ensure that any government hoping to hide the truth will face a long, hard battle. So let's head into 2014 in a positive frame of mind - even if in years to come, some may look back on them as "the bad old days". Today sees the first of our newsletters for 2014 and we'd like to take this opportunity to thank you all... read more Censored! - 17 Dec 2013[Rod Baker, Content Director] We know it's the time of goodwill to all etc, but it's difficult not feeling somewhat aggrieved at the SABC's antics regarding Jacob Zuma being booed at the Madiba memorial service. Many, if not most, of us agree that the booing was not appropriate on such an occasion, but for the SABC to censor what is a major story of the year doesn't help. As Ed Herbst writes, the national broadcaster has a duty to provide the news - good and bad - since we are all forced to pay it licence fees - whether or not we ever watch it. read more Will POPI become a dirty word for marketers? - 9 Dec 2013[Rod Baker, Content Director] Steve Ferguson says that the Protection of Personal Information Act No. 4 of 2013 (POPI) was signed into law in November. read more |
