Media freedom came out on top this weekend as the Pretoria High Court ruled that "How Zuma got off the hook", a story produced by a Sunday Times investigations unit based on leaked documentation which shows that top prosecutors were convinced they had a winning case against Jacob Zuma, may be published and awarded costs to the newspaper. Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa has also conceded that the arrest of Sunday Times journalist, Mzilikazi wa Afrika, was wrongful and agreed to pay him R100,000 in damages and to pay the newspaper's legal costs. It is, as pointed out by Sunday Times editor Ray Hartley, rather frightening to think such reporting would be illegal should the POI Bill be passed in its current form. Publishing its voluntary trading update, Times Media has announced that it is currently engaged in a turnaround strategy, reviewing each of its business units in an effort to cut Avusa's debt. For the six months ended September 2012, its profit from operations was only R16m, compared to R74m last year. The latest SAARF RAMS figures for October 2012 have been released showing overall stability in listenership. No significant changes were registered, apart from four commercial radio stations which posted audience levels that were significantly changed over RAMS Aug 2012: two up, and two down, and twice as many community radio stations as commercial posted significantly changed audience figures over RAMS Aug 2012, with only two of these changes being declines. Lastly, congratulations to all the 2012 PICA winners! Sindy Peters: Group Head, Content PS Take a look at the latest Ornico ad showcase.
Responses to this column welcomed in our ed's column archive. Send all your South African marketing and media news to marketingnews@bizcommunity.com, exclusive contributor pieces to contributors-marketing@bizcommunity.com and international news to internationalnews@bizcommunity.com; also take a look at our guide "How to contribute to Bizcommunity, from op-ed pieces to news". Don't forget to follow @Bizcommunity on Twitter and join us on Facebook!