ANC leaders charged with overseeing a probe into a tribunal for the media defended the initiative under interrogation by the country’s editors yesterday. The Jacob Zuma-led ANC confirmed at December’s Polokwane conference a decision by the then Mbeki-dominated organisation last July to investigate whether the current system of press self-regulation should be replaced by a […]
Media
Posted inBusiness, Media
The business of free
Many of the most popular websites in the world offer a free service, yet are hugely profitable. Free search from Google; free messaging with MXit; free news from Mail & Guardian Online, even free photocopies! Most people who use them haven’t even considered how these ventures might make money. In fact, if you consider the […]
Posted inMedia, Sport
Team SA
I’m a fan of American football. I like the mix of chess, athletic grace and brute force. I like the stop-start nature of the game. I like the tension as the team with the ball get set to make their third attempt to move 10 yards in three plays or lose possession if they fail. […]
Posted inMedia
Living in the past
Some time ago I was reading the Yfm page on Facebook and, I must say, I was not surprised at the number of people who are still complaining about the changes that have taken place at the station, two years down the line. This got me wondering why it is that people are just so […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
Authors with a twist
I appreciate it when writers step out of their genre boxes and do something a little inventive and out of the ordinary. Here are a few of my favourite out-of-the-boxers: Tom Robbins. My first love in fiction, and the one who taught me that rules in writing aren’t really rules at all. Not even guidelines. […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Zuma, Nzimande clash … over media effects
Signs of division appeared in Jacob Zuma’s camp this week when the ANC president disagreed publicly with one of his staunchest supporters over media effects. While SACP leader Blade Nzimande accused City Press of sowing division and confusion within ANC ranks, Zuma has come to the conclusion that nobody much bothers about what they read […]
Posted inMedia
What readers really, truly want
Grumpy old media critic Jack Shafer has accused online news media of turning their sites into “virtual tabloids by peppering their home pages with the most sordid and bizarre stories that can be culled from the world’s news wires”. Shafer says website tabloids, such as CNN.com, MSNBC.com and Foxnews.com, celebrate and rely on stories that […]
Posted inMedia
The trial of John Tengo Jabavu for (mis)representing African opinion
Friends asked me to attend a day-long talk shop by some of the country’s opinion-leaders at some white university the other day. I did not have to think hard before I answered with a resounding: “I am not particularly interested!” They were quiet for a minute before they answered: “This is so surprising.” I guess […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
Innovative sites: Original, inventive, ingenious
Here are my top three favourite inventive websites: Springwise (www.springwise.com) “New business ideas for entrepreneurial minds” they say. Only it’s so much more … Springwise has a team of 8 000 springspotters all over the world who submit interesting businesses they’ve seen at work in fields as diverse as Eco & Sustainability, Fashion, Life Hacks, Non-Profit […]
Posted inBusiness, Lifestyle, Media
Using Madiba
It was interesting to notice last week a few blogs on Thought Leader about Nelson Mandela, affectionately known as Madiba. I was hoping to respond to these blogs earlier, but blogging is not my full-time occupation and I just could not find the time to do so. I have always felt that many people use […]
Posted inMedia, Tech
Will Wikia Search become as popular as Wikipedia?
Wikia Search is to take on the big three search engines (Google, Yahoo and MSN) in the next couple of weeks. With the dominance of the top three, it is going to take nothing short of a miracle to upset the current status quo. Enter Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia. Wales launched the popular […]
Posted inBusiness, Media, News/Politics
The paranoid Mr Zuma
Daniel Gross, financial columnist for online magazine Slate, bumped into Jacob Zuma at Davos this week and nominated him as “the world leader with the most aggressive bodyguards“. It seems that Mr Zuma’s paranoia is not limited to the remote possibility of being molested in the Swiss Alps. He also believes the media in his […]