One of the politician's favourite ploys is to shoot the messenger, so it should come as no surprise that last week Julius Malema took off at a BBC reporter who mildly pointed out to the ANCYL leader that, while the latter was criticising the Zimbabwe opposition MDC for not leaving its air-conditioned Sandton offices, he himself, Malema, also lived in Sandton. The result? Malema called into question the reporter's ancestry, insulted and swore at him, and booted him out of the conference. That in turn led to the media calling on Jacob Zuma to rein in Malema. Zuma, meanwhile has tried to do that, but the ANCYL leader has basically told the president to... well, judge for yourself. Meanwhile, the media itself is divided as to whether it should report on Malema - or not - and is it firebrand or fire brand Malema? Just make sure you don't touch anyone on his or her studio... And now for something completely different... Bizcommunity.com is the African media partner for the Festival of Media, taking place in Valencia, Spain, and will be reporting live from the event running 18-20 April 2010. Biz's special discount is still applicable to all readers, so if you plan on flying up to Spain for the event, ensure you make use of this exclusive offer. The BizLounge has also partnered with Overtone, a Cape Town-based entertainment booking and eventing agency, to promote its Access the Industry service upgrade package. This offers users access to its database of high-profile industry experts, as well as its monthly workshops focused on creating a public presence on South African turf. So what's the ad industry really like? If you've always wondered, here's your chance to find out! Biz and Penguin Books are offering five copies of copywriter Paige Nick's debut novel, A Million Miles from Normal, to five lucky winners. To get a taste of Rachel Marcus, an expat copywriter forced to leave Joburg after a series of unfortunate events and exiled to New York City, we are running five exclusive excerpts from this romantic comedy, set in the crazy world of a ridiculous BTL ad agency in the Big Apple. Competition ends 30 April. And last, but most certainly not least, as of this week, Gill Moodie of www.grubstreet.co.za has found a new home for her weekly media column - right here on Biz! We welcome Gill on board and suggest you keep an eye out for The word on Grubstreet: SA media chewed and digested on Wednesdays or you'll be sorry you missed out. Remember, it's almost time! Simone Puterman (@SimoneBiz) & Rod Baker PS In this week's Ornico Ad Showcase, we feature TV ads for Chicken Licken, Nedbank, Parmalat EverFresh, Albany Bread and Puma, and radio ads for Berocca, Domestos, Shell, Sony Ericsson and Sony Ericsson.
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