Not an April Fool's joke: Hayibo lives!

[Mandy de Waal] Satire-loving South Africans were heart-broken when Hayibo.com closed shop seven months ago. Well, there's bad news and good news in the offing. The bad news for foot-in-mouth politicians is they're back, and the good news for the rest of us that this is no April Fool's joke.

Show us proof of editors censoring govt info, SANEF tells Manyi

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] The South African National Editors' Forum (SANEF) has this week requested government's controversial spokesperson Jimmy Manyi to provide it with concrete evidence of editors censoring government information. "It should be borne in mind that this is a serious allegation he has made against the press," SANEF member Raymond Louw told Bizcommunity.com last night, Thursday, 31 March 2011.

The press muses amusingly

[Herman Manson] April 1 in the media world is a bit like casual day at school. Everybody pitches but no-one is really there. That's because we are all browsing to 'Net to see which scores got settled, who threw the best punch without anybody really realising that's what it was, and who should we copy next year this time around. [updated]

SABC board to take firm cost-cutting action

[Chris Moerdyk] The SABC board is believed to have endorsed far-reaching proposals to put the broadcaster back onto a sound financial footing and to bring an end to continually having to be bailed out by the taxpayer.

Biz.Travel Q&A with Sandro Fabris

[Brian Berkman] Sandro Fabris is regional managing director of Orient-Express Africa. Brian Berkman, Biz.Travel's contributing editor, had a chat with Fabris about one of Cape town's most iconic hotels, The Mount Nelson.

While electronic media grows, print falls behind

[Herman Manson] The South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) has released its latest data on the local media environment for January-December 2010. No news was construed as good news for print - on average, newspapers and magazine seemed to hold steady - while electronic media continued its growth path as more people are listening to radio, watching TV or surfing the Internet.

Radio: good buy or good bye?

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] Some say radio has stalled and lacks "creativity", while others believe it is being killed by over-regulation - an issue they say ICASA should look at. Doomsayers categorically say it is slowly but surely following print to the graveyard, where it's already resting in peace, waiting for Judgement Day. The Journal of Marketing meeting this morning, Thursday, 31 March 2011, heard insightful testimonies about radio. Is it dead or alive?

Double Adaptor; it's like Britney Spears "getting down" to Metallica

[Ruth Cooper] Double Adaptor are storming up the local electro dance scene and have now set their pretty eyes on conquering the Euro market. In April they will be taking some of those sexy beats and vivid visuals to Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic. We chatted to the brothers, Email Checkerr and Flikkerr aka Tim and Dan Apter about their upcoming tour and a future of "bigger parties and brighter lights."

Motorists to benefit from new Act

[Henrie Geyser] Selling a used car just won't be the same for car dealerships wanting to off-load a dicey vehicle to an unsuspecting buyer, thanks to the new Consumer Protection Act.

Govt to invest R30 million to market domestic travel

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] The South African government will this year spend R30 million on advertisements and promotions on TV, radio, print, online, mobile and outdoor to encourage its citizens to undertake affordable domestic trips more often, tourism minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk told journalists yesterday, Tuesday, 29 March 2011, in Modjadji, Limpopo.

True colours of Vodacom

[Duncan McLeod] Vodacom is widely expected to take the wraps off its new brand this Friday, 1 April 2011, at a concert at Soweto's Orlando Stadium, Gauteng. It's expected to adopt the red and white colours of its parent, Vodafone. But what, if anything, will it mean for ordinary consumers?

Ignoring the press is not productive, says spin-doctor supremo Alastair Campbell

[Gill Moodie] But until the press accepts that it has a vested interest in there being good, strong government communications, neither side will get a good deal, media-relations expert Alastair Campbell, who was former British prime minister Tony Blair's press secretary, tells Bizcommunity.com.

[So Queer] Deadly spotlight

[Siphosethu Stuurman] Longevity in the light of fame is something that eludes most of today's celebrities. For most, their time in the limelight is no more to be relied on than the Proteas performance in the Cricket World Cup. However, an extraordinary few manage to keep the fire burning until the very end. The late Elizabeth Taylor was one of those exceptional Hollywood stars and was often referred to as the last surviving link with the golden age of Hollywood.

Renee Silverstone leaves Jupiter

[Herman Manson] Renee Silverstone has resigned as CEO of The Jupiter Drawing Room (Johannesburg) after 22 years with the company. Silverstone had co-founded the company with Graham Warsop in 1989.

A cautionary tale of web numbers

[Matthew Stone] As incredibly powerful as web analytics are, they come with the same warnings as all statistics. They require a certain amount of expertise at both ends of the spectrum. The creation of statistics is far more mysterious and non-standard than people think...

The truth about socialising the enterprise

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] As more and more brands move to the social media sphere through a number of phases, which include listening, experimentation, operational and fully integrated, the spotlight falls on the challenges marketers face in this 'new' and unpredictable environment, where confusion reigns as to who is really in control of the 'proceedings'.

SA Tourism's Sho't Left expedition roars into Limpopo

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] South African Tourism's 'discovery' expedition roared into Limpopo yesterday morning, Monday, 28 March 2011, in a convoy of 11 Discovery 3 and 4 Land Rovers, carrying a group of journalists keen to explore the home of the 'Big Five' (elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards and rhinos). The event was part of the launch of the Sho't Left 2011 campaign - a programme designed to market domestic tourism.

Government - SA's most ambitious media baron

[Mandy de Waal] Not satisfied with just owning this country's biggest broadcaster, the state is set to launch what will be South Africa's biggest circulation newspaper at a print price tag of well above R1 million an issue. Critics warn of printing for pulp, of a government that has not done its homework, but also of a state that's knee-jerking politically and seriously damaging media diversity in the process