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World cup: SA media under foreign microscope
6 Jul 2010
As more than 13 000 journalists, including staff members from 200 broadcasting entities, made their way down south to the tip of the African continent to cover Africa's first FIFA World Cup, there was always a possibility that these 'invaders' were sailing into unchartered territory, not knowing what to expect or how SA media looks like in terms of facilities, organisation, editorial content and skills. Then, the microscopic examination began!
Rupert Bush, a British TV producer hired by the SABC to work on its 2010 FIFA World Cup production, told Bizcommunity.com last week: "First and foremost, these trucks and all the broadcasting facilities are first-class and are on a par with the developed world.
"Honestly speaking, [any] broadcaster [would] be delighted to work on these facilities."
Inquisitive tour
The interview took place behind the scenes of the SABC 2010 Broadcast Centre at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg. As he spoke, SABC's outside broadcast (OB) high definition trucks stood still, and an inquisitive tour inside revealed an ocean of people, working under Bush and his UK colleague Colin Davidson, busy doing their thing.
"This is definitely the biggest challenge of my career. It has been a fantastic learning experience - learning about the country, the facilities, the people and myself," he said emotionally.
Bush, who has some 25 years in the TV industry production, brought along 10 people from the UK, and together with locals, now make up a team of 100 people. He then spoke about the skills transfer, which he said was necessary to carry any organisation forward.
"What struck me is that this place is overflowing with possibilities, a country that is really powering ahead, so we are making sure to give out what we know. It has rewarding for me - understanding the facilities and the people. It is something I will never forget.
"Every day here is a workshop, a daily learning experience. The SABC's local people have been running the programmes for some time under our oversight and advice. You can have all the facilities and the technology but you need people to work on those facilities."
SA media has a bright future
Rafael Pirrho, a Brazilian journalist working for Globo TV, said SA media has a bright future.
"However, what struck me is the similarity of articles in SA newspapers. In Brazil, newspapers have a variety of articles. Here I noticed that newspapers are full of similar stories coming from news agencies (Reuters, AFP, SAPA, AP), and all of them are the same.
"I think newspapers should try to do things differently. Nevertheless, I like [the] Mail & Guardian newspaper, Talk Radio 702 and SuperSport.
Asked to draw comparisons between Brazil TV and SA TV, Pirrho said Brazil TV is more developed than SA TV.
"We have great soap operas. Globo TV won a Grammy for one last year. We have a lot of news programmes with a great coverage. Globo TV also sent around 250 people to cover this world cup." Private-owned Globo is the largest media company in Brazil and South America, operating a TV station, newspaper and a news website.
"Wonderful country"
"SA has problems, like Brazil, but it is a wonderful country. I've been in 30 countries in my life and SA is one of the best for me in terms of infrastructure and beautiful people."
Clarece Polke, a US media student who is the country to cover the world cup and gain some professional experience, said: "I did listen to one radio station that I absolutely loved and wished we had in the US.
"It was an English-speaking music station that played the largest variety of music I've ever heard: one minute it was Michael Jackson, the next Queen, then it swung across the spectrum to Miley Cyrus, then back to Boyz II Men... I loved it. It sounded literally like I'd put my iPod on shuffle and let it play.
"But otherwise, I couldn't really compare SA media to US media, as my knowledge of it is extremely limited. However, at the end of the day, to me, media is all about honesty, telling local and world stories, unadulterated truths and current events quickly, succinctly and as truthfully as humanly possible to the general public."
Some blogs by foreign journalists regarding the world cup:
- AMA Sports Agency: FIFA 2010 South Africa World Cup Photographer Blog
- ESPN Soccernet: World Cup Blog
- Journalism.co.uk: blog posts tagged world cup
- The Times: The Game - World Cup edition
- Freep.com: Freep World Cup
- Charles Apple: blog posts tagged world cup
- The New Republic: The Goal Post
- Washington Post: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/
About Issa Sikiti da Silva
Issa Sikiti da Silva is a winner of the 2010 SADC Media Awards (print category). He freelances for various media outlets, local and foreign, and has travelled extensively across Africa. His work has been published both in French and English. He used to contribute to Bizcommunity.com as a senior news writer.
