According to the latest TVIEC statement, a payment plan has been devised whereby producers who are owed monies by the national broadcaster are to be paid... at last! As a counterpoint to that, however, has been the news that only a fraction of the production work for the next year or so has been accepted by the SABC. That means some companies the production sector could well see payments under the above-mentioned plan being their last, not for a while, but possibly forever. Cutting local productions is a short-term solution with long-term ramifications... apart from company closures and job losses, there will a loss of valuable skills, there will be repeats of programmes, viewer irritation - and, some commentators suggest, a loss of advertising revenue. And that will simply exacerbate the SABC's financial woes (let's not even consider Dali Mpofu's R11 million - or is that R22 million - payout!). If the SABC is "Proudly South African" then here's the time to prove it. Still sticking with local is lekker, have you diarised to attend the following homegrown events? It's almost time for the 13th annual Highway Africa (the largest annual gathering of African journalists interested in journalism and new media preceded by the Digital Citizen Indaba, which focuses on social media); the regional Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards; the 15th annual Pendoring Afrikaans advertising awards; and the 31st annual The Loerie Awards, which honours the best advertising in South Africa, rest of Africa and the Middle East. And then there's the hype around the science fiction film District 9, directed by South African-born director Neill Blomkamp, which continues to grow both internationally and locally, even managing to trend on Twitter currently. Although why the release date for SA is two weeks later than America is anyone's guess. Here's to local is lekker! Simone Puterman & Rod Baker PS In this week's Ornico Ad Showcase, we feature TV ads for Nando's, Fanta, Audi S4, Mazda 3 and MTN, and radio ads for Marriot, Renault Sandero, Tic Tac, Caltex and Castle Lite.
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