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Tech democratisation will set the tone for 2021
Andrew Smit and Johan WaltersA bright horizon for South Africa's energy landscape
Barry BredenkampAchieving developmental goals through construction
Cyril Vuyani Gamede5 sustainability trends that will shape business in 2021
Christelle Marais4 trends set to continue or be re-interpreted in the NGO sector
Innocent MasayiraStrengthening NPO skills and processes
Nazeema Mohamed, Feryal Domingo and Soraya JoonasSustainability is key for social investment in 2021
Keri-Leigh Paschal4 trends in employee skills development and training you need to know for 2021
Siphelele Kubheka and Desikan NaidooDigital solutions need small steps to succeed
Xanthe AdamsMining looks ahead to more Covid risk
Ralf HenneckeMining's year ahead will demand deep innovation
Frederick Cawood10 predictions around fintech
Dominique CollettThe 4 themes for the new year
Andrew Duvenage,3 wealth management trends to watch in 2021
Maarten Ackerman4 strategies to rethink investing in SMEs
Kuhle MnisiMicroinsurance ready to reach new heights
Marius BothaFinding alpha in the age of Covid-19
Nema Ramkhelawan-BhanaPurpose or profit. It's not a choice
Mike MiddletonShifting towards a digital - but still human - approach
Henry van DeventerHealthcare innovation in 2021 and beyond
Reynhardt UysAre day hospitals the new trend?
Lee Callakoppen3 emerging medical scheme membership patterns
Nerine BrinkHealthcare innovations to look out for
Moshe Lichtenstein5G is coming. Here's what it could mean for SA
Samantha Naidoo3 big issues demanding legal attention this year
Jonathan Veeran, Nozipho Mngomezulu and Burton PhillipsWine in the wake of corona
Kristen Duff and Gosia Young7 prospects and necessary shifts for the arts
Rucera SeethalAuction industry survival depends on going virtual
Joff van ReenenCovid-19 drives new trends in local property market
Marcél du ToitA bold year for beverages
Alex GlendayAcceleration of digital payments
Jonathan SmitSafety vs sustainability - the packaging industry's key conundrum
Nthabiseng MotsoenengThe evolving e-tail landscape
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Hot 91.9FM gets hotter with new faces and lineup
Hot 91.9FM today announced exciting new changes to the weekday lineup effective 3 May 2021. Hot 91.9FM#BehindtheBrandManager: Meet Briony Brookes for Cape Town Tourism
Briony Brookes is head of PR and communications at Cape Town Tourism. Spending the best part of her career in radio as head of Brand for KFM and Cape Talk, she then spent some time in the investment industry with Sanlam and Old Mutual before joining the exciting world of tourism just over two years ago. Robin Fredericks#BehindtheBrandManager: Kate Owen, Uber SA marketing manager for Rides and Eats
Kate Owen is Uber SA marketing manager for Rides and Eats, based in Johannesburg. Having been at Uber for over four years, Kate has covered the marketing for Uber South Africa, the brand campaigns for Uber SSA and now research and strategy.
Prior to this, Owen gained through-the-line and digital marketing experience working for Ogilvy and Mather Johannesburg where she operated in a client service role working with international brands across the retail, FMCG and broadcast sectors. Robin Fredericks
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#BizTrends 2021: Not all news is trusted news
Last year I predicted that "at the dawn of this new decade it is clear that traditional print publishing as we know it will never return to the glory days of record-breaking advertising revenue and circulation." I pondered: could "digital subscription models that use data intelligently be reading's saviour?"
Josephine Buys |
In addition, my forecast was that publishers who had not begun to commercialise additional reader revenues through a variety of innovative income models (such as subscriptions, memberships, donor funding and events etc.), are endangered. Fast forward through what feels like the longest year in recent history, and it’s chilling how prescient these words were.
Devastating casualties in the publishing sector saw the closure of several publishing houses last year, notably Associated Media and Caxton Magazines, largely due to advertisers abruptly ceasing ad spend during the uncertainty of the initial hard lockdown. Supply chain disruptions also led to severe drops in circulations.
But, at the same time, the Publisher Research Council (PRC)’s monthly lockdown audience ad spend tracker shows there was a massive surge in news brands website traffic when lockdown began. As concerned citizens sought facts and guidance on lockdown rules and Covid-19 developments, they turned to trusted online information sources.
Publisher sites news consumption soars as readers search for truth on coronavirus
Media consumption habits have changed, and continue to change, during the global coronavirus pandemic. One of the most obvious impacts has been a noticeable increase in news consumption via online publishing platforms, writes Josephine Buys...
Josephine Buys 3 Apr 2020
The monthly tracker also reflects what has since been called news fatigue as people began to tire of the bombardment of information. Yet, in the most recent tracker we see audiences remain 31% higher than before lockdown. This indicates a clear move from paper to online and proves a continuing hunger for trusted news in this time of mounting misinformation.
Concerns of false or inaccurate news
At the very beginning of the pandemic and its unprecedented news cycle, global institutions, governments and media struggled worldwide to combat a second pandemic of fake news. The South African government, in a progressive move against the challenge to keep up, declared, three weeks into the initial hard lockdown that those spreading Covid-19 misinformation would be liable for prosecution in an effort to curb false claims about the virus flooding social media and other channels. Just recently, KZN government is fighting disinformation around ‘virus-spreading 5G’.
Media Monitoring Africa (MMA), a watchdog that promotes fair and ethical journalism which supports democracy and a culture where media and those in powerful positions respect human rights to encourage a just and fair society, simultaneously supported this challenge. Together with a range of partner organisations, MMA launched the Real411 platform as a mechanism for members of the public to report concerns of disinformation for proper assessment and verification. During the first nine months MMA had over 1000 cases, which is more proof of a critical need for trusted watchdogs to guide us in these unprecedented times.
MMA has also encouraged the adoption of the phrases misinformation (false or inaccurate information that is communicated regardless of intention to deceive) and disinformation (misleading information which is deliberately deceptive), rather than the popularised term fake news, given that it implies that whatever is stated is actual ‘news’.
In keeping with the Publisher Research Council (PRC)’s recent Mindsets and Attitudes Audience Measurement Survey (MAMS) conducted by the PRC in November 2020, one third of respondents agree that newspapers are reliable sources of news, while almost two thirds agree that Facebook and social media have the most fake news.
Seekers of truth
Thankfully both consumers and brands are recognising the importance of news credibility. As readers seek trusted sources of news, so too are brands seeking out brand-safe environments to carry their message to where their customers are.
Given the ongoing backlash against big-tech platforms in the aftermath of the American Capitol riots, I firmly believe this year will finally see social media platforms face scrutiny and possible consequences from a regulatory point of view. Having been an early adopter of most of these platforms, and inviting friends, family and acquaintances to (as the social media giants glibly say) ‘stay connected’, I am now suffering from what I guess is akin to ‘survivor’s guilt’.
I’ve slowly realised that if the service is ‘free’, I am the product. Thus, I have started to diminish my social media activity in recent years, while some of those whom I had encouraged to use social media too have decried me doing so.
The seeds of division sown on social media platforms (who claim not to be publishers to avoid any formal regulation, yet allow the continued cycle of misinformation and divisive rhetoric to circulate) have shown that it can have deadly consequences the world over. These platforms are heading towards their day of reckoning in my opinion, not only due to governments and regulators, but because of the actions of regular people too.
As reported recently in the Wall Street Journal, people are slowly realising that what you see in your social media feeds isn’t up to you. May I suggest then, dear reader, that you become an ambassador of trustworthy information.
When you see a juicy headline, please check the source. When you hear someone say “I read somewhere”, ask them where? Then check thoroughly, and judge for yourself whether or not that is likely to be fact or fiction, true information or misinformation, before you start sharing.
Perhaps, citizen by citizen, we too can become the arbiters of truth.