SABC’S DISRESPECT FOR ITS AUDIENCE
Reith was known as dour and puritanical but he invented the world’s first guidelines for public service broadcasting (PSB). He brooked no direct political interference. For him, the essence of PSB was that it must be centralised and operate nationally, while being devoted to a high programme quality without being concerned with commercial factors.
The SABC was one of several national broadcasters founded on the BBC model. But in this country both the reality and the perception of political objectivity were steadily corrupted after 1948 under the National Party. Under ANC governments, apart from some occasional flirtations with broadened access, “his master’s voice” has seemed stronger than ever.
Other changes to the Reithian model have been more subtle, but dramatic. Even though advertising was accepted on Springbok Radio from 1950, commercial imperatives were not an issue at the SABC until the 1970s.
With the advent of television in 1976, it was assumed that TV could be funded by extending the principle of the old radio listener’s licence. But within months the planners realised how voraciously TV consumes money — it is both capital- and labour-intensive — and advertising was invited. By 2005 the SABC’s total revenue was R3,3bn; licence fees provided just R493m (15%).
Much of the licence income is paid under duress because you can’t buy a TV set if you don’t have a licence. This indefensible protectionism is just one symptom of a deep structural tension at the SABC. Government expects it to fulfil a PSB role, but insists that this must be cross-subsidised by advertising. Thus we have a strange hybrid of content: mind-numbing soap operas interspersed with ministers making speeches.
Senior executives may talk earnestly of the SABC’s social responsibility, but the sleek vehicles in the car park are not those of a public service organisation. “Nonexecutive” board members exert political pressure on producers. New boards bring in new CEOs, who in turn appoint their own sycophants, with dire consequences for continuity. The place is full of agendas, vested interests, depression and unprofessionalism, all of which threatens to swamp the talent that remains.
So the SABC is not an easy place to run. The political pressure is relentless and the business model flawed. It would defy even the most experienced and sure-footed executive — and that is not a classification that one would think of applying to CEO Dali Mpofu. After the latest row over editorial independence, it will be instructive to see who really runs the SABC if (a big “if") Mpofu dares take on his news czar, Snuki Zikalala. Meanwhile, the news bulletins have no black tie and the people of SA are being treated with profound disrespect.
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