eNCA: Where are the live broadcasts? Twitter is better than eNCA

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Stochos

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What is the point of 'TELEVISION news' channel eNCA when it is a glorified radio station with TV cameras.

Where are the live broadcasts of news conferences and court cases?

None of the following are covered Live: (these are examples)
The initial interim relief trial of eTolls;
The Concourt debate of eTolls;
During the recent high curt eToll court case;
Marikana hearings;
Cosatu news conferences.
....

During these events better, reliable and instant news was and is available not from eNCA from Twitter!

eNCA instead of being a very poor imitation of Sky News it should develop its own identity.

Over focus on time fillers, opening introduction jingles and the other great time filler: sport.

This is tragic as eNCA could be a vital part our media. By showing these events live; eNCA would be an indispensable part of the average decision maker's daily news consumption. It would then be able to earn more from advertising.

At present it is not the go to resource when something is happening in South Africa. It is just dismal, poor 'me to' version of Sky News (which makes a point of covering all UK events, no matter how mundane, LIVE)

Is this because it faces no competition? Poor management? Lack of vision? Lack of leadership?
 
I don't bother with news channels. I get my info straight from live sources on the Internet.
 
Response from Patrick Conroy who is the Group Head of eNCA

MC Marietjie

Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 3,928

Hi there @Stochos - we have received a response from Patrick Conroy who is the Group Head of eNCA:

“The complaint is factually flawed. Many of these events have been broadcast live, including the Marikana Commission of inquiry.
It does not take into account that the Courts frequently prohibit TV cameras from proceedings. We’re not going to entertain a debate on the customers derogatory remarks or their failure to value the fact checking process with regard to traditional broadcaster media which is vastly absent on social media.”
Click to expand...

Derogatory? Did my initial comments strike a nerve?

Mr Patrick Conroy's certitude is both troubling and revealing. 'Not entertain any debate' is an odd statement for the head of a news organisation to make. One would expect that he would thrive on debate; constantly seeking ways to improve eNCA's rather dismal, unwatched offering.

All the eToll court debates and news conferences were NOT carried live. They did not even apply to the court to broadcast any of these and other events live. eNCA made no effort.

CNN made global live-event broadcast standard in 1980. eNCA can't commit and do live broadcasts of local events in SA in 2012, 32 years later!

On the point of social media; Mr Conroy is wrong to so gleefully dismiss it. He should look at what is happening to broadcast media in the US and elsewhere where they actually cover events live as standard and still struggle to attract viewers.

Twitter feeds like that from EyeWitness News (@ewnupdates), Jacaranda News (@Jacanews),Summit TV (@SummitTVsa ), Moneyweb News ‏(@Moneyweb), Alex Eliseev ‏@alexeliseev),Daily Maverick ‏(@dailymaverick), Ferial Haffajee ‏ (@ferialhaffajee),Times LIVE ‏(@TimesLIVE), Nicholas Dawes ‏(@NicDawes) and IOL News‏ (@IOL) are reliable and written by journalists. They are updated in real time and it is fact checked.

On the event of eTolls they beat eNCA by covering all the legal argument live. It was odd relying on text updates when we are in 2012; this failure is due to eNCA.

In closing, Mr Conroy appears to be in a state of denial. There is a great danger in his thinking. It ought to be the channel everyone immediately goes to when something is happening in South Africa; but instead we get recorded footage, time fillers like sport and vacuous banter. eNCA is becoming irrelevant.

He and his organisation should take heed what the Nobel Prize winning author, VS Naipaul once said:

"The only lies for which we are truly punished are those we tell ourselves."
 
Stochos said:


Derogatory? Did my initial comments strike a nerve?

Mr Patrick Conroy's certitude is both troubling and revealing. 'Not entertain any debate' is an odd statement for the head of a news organisation to make. One would expect that he would thrive on debate; constantly seeking ways to improve eNCA's rather dismal, unwatched offering.

All the eToll court debates and news conferences were NOT carried live. They did not even apply to the court to broadcast any of these and other events live. eNCA made no effort.

CNN made global live-event broadcast standard in 1980. eNCA can't commit and do live broadcasts of local events in SA in 2012, 32 years later!

On the point of social media; Mr Conroy is wrong to so gleefully dismiss it. He should look at what is happening to broadcast media in the US and elsewhere where they actually cover events live as standard and still struggle to attract viewers.

Twitter feeds like that from EyeWitness News (@ewnupdates), Jacaranda News (@Jacanews),Summit TV (@SummitTVsa ), Moneyweb News ‏(@Moneyweb), Alex Eliseev ‏@alexeliseev),Daily Maverick ‏(@dailymaverick), Ferial Haffajee ‏ (@ferialhaffajee),Times LIVE ‏(@TimesLIVE), Nicholas Dawes ‏(@NicDawes) and IOL News‏ (@IOL) are reliable and written by journalists. They are updated in real time and it is fact checked.

On the event of eTolls they beat eNCA by covering all the legal argument live. It was odd relying on text updates when we are in 2012; this failure is due to eNCA.

In closing, Mr Conroy appears to be in a state of denial. There is a great danger in his thinking. It ought to be the channel everyone immediately goes to when something is happening in South Africa; but instead we get recorded footage, time fillers like sport and vacuous banter. eNCA is becoming irrelevant.

He and his organisation should take heed what the Nobel Prize winning author, VS Naipaul once said:

"The only lies for which we are truly punished are those we tell ourselves."
Click to expand...

Do you realise how much it costs to broadcast some of these events live? Certainly if I was a casual news watcher, and tuned in to eNCA to catch the latest news the last thing I want to see is a Cosatu press conference (which hardly ever starts on time) covered live). The Marikana Commission hearings go on for hours...who would sit through all of that, I'd rather have it digested and served to me in bite-size portions.
AFAIK there's only two channels in the world that cover press conference, and political events live...that's C-SPAN in the US and Al Jazeera Mubasher/Misr in the Middle East. eNCA can't and won't broadcast everything live, that's just the business of operating a news channel.
 
Stochos said:
What is the point of 'TELEVISION news' channel eNCA when it is a glorified radio station with TV cameras.
Click to expand...

I have asked myself that question time and time again. They don't even do live news stories around their offices!!!! It is quite useless really...
 
Garyvdh said:
Is that the e-mail you sent in your first post?
Click to expand...

It was posted on that DSTV forum; which predictably was closed for further comments.

The response is from the Head of eNCA, Patrick Conroy.
 
brixton tower said:
Do you realise how much it costs to broadcast some of these events live? Certainly if I was a casual news watcher, and tuned in to eNCA to catch the latest news the last thing I want to see is a Cosatu press conference (which hardly ever starts on time) covered live). The Marikana Commission hearings go on for hours...who would sit through all of that, I'd rather have it digested and served to me in bite-size portions.
AFAIK there's only two channels in the world that cover press conference, and political events live...that's C-SPAN in the US and Al Jazeera Mubasher/Misr in the Middle East. eNCA can't and won't broadcast everything live, that's just the business of operating a news channel.
Click to expand...

I don't expect everything to be broadcast live; only those items that are newsworthy.

The eToll court cases should have been broadcast live as it was important as it raised many issues for the country at large.

During the eToll court case it was odd to be relying on text updates via Twitter, in 2012, when it could and should have been broadcast live.

If CNN could do live broadcasts of newsworthy events, globally, over 30 years ago; why can't eNCA do that in 2012?

The technology is now old and mature and its costs have come down. The cost issue is relevant but there are many solutions; even a broadband link would suffice in some instances. Why bother with a TV news channel when it can't broadcast matters of great public importance, live? That would be the cost of doing business and attracting something that eNCA does not have in vast numbers: viewers!

The events that warrant live coverage, could be:
  • a major figure is giving a speech;
  • a major news conference,
  • court cases;

These events are carried live on local TV stations in many cities in the US. So why not a national broadcaster which boasts that they now to broadcast its endless repeats, time fillers, silly banter to on the Sky satellite to UK homes. If there is a dearth of viewers in SA; how many are watching this drivel in the UK?

eNCA could be a vital part of the public debate; yet the petulant and immature response from the Patrick Conroy indicates someone out of his depth with television and social media.
 
Recall their 'live' coverage of the cooliing towers coming down in CT :erm:
 
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