The good news is that the ANC has agreed to extend the deadline for finalisation of the controversial Protection of Information Bill (Secrecy Bill). The bad news is that there is no guarantee that Parliament itself will agree to the request, according to committee chairperson Cecil Burgess, reports Business Live. In the meantime, the Right2Know Campaign is holding a public meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, 7 June 2011, in Cape Town to discuss what's happened so far and the implications for South Africa's democracy. Congrats to all Apex winners - and to those who, dressed to the nines, braved the cold and the giant inflatable tent (described as a jumping castle by some) last week in Johannesburg, I hope you've all properly defrosted by now! Keynote speaker Tony Wright of Lowe +Partners gave a most informative and humorous presentation, illustrating his points with a series of fascinating case studies (some of which incorporated digital). Priceless, though, was the chirp from the smart aleck sitting next to me who, after Wright showed us the Volkwagen Star Wars ad and stats on how many views and media impressions it'd received, muttered, "But has the ad sold any more cars?" The Apex Awards are, after all, about rewarding excellent creative work that has a proven track record of effectiveness. Perhaps the sales figures are not yet available for inclusion in such advertising case studies... Anyway, kudos to ACA CEO Odette van der Haar and her team for a polished event! As for Playboy South Africa, it remains to be seen if all publicity is good publicity, given that both its editor and publisher have resigned, and the controversy over its June 2011 cover girl, Crystal Arnold (from 'lightened' skin to the alleged displeasure of her employer SuperSport). Talking about controversial media, fledgling government-friendly newspaper The New Age is celebrating six months of being in print today - and it's certainly had its fair share of controversy in its very short history. And, yes, it's also looking for a new editor at the moment. Last, but not least, it appears that our favourite maverick, Branko Brkic, has further plans to upset the South African newspaper market by launching an iPad newspaper later this year and bundling iPads with subscriptions - so writes New African magazine in its Top 100 Africans: Media feature in its June 2011 edition. What an interesting year for the media so far... Keep warm! Simone Puterman (@SimoneBiz) Managing editor
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