Euthanasia the SABC ’ s best option
ETERAN journalist and author Max du Preez has an idea about how the leaderless and hapless public broadcaster could be resuscitated. He suggests “sell the SABC to the Guptas, scrap TV licences and save us the daily soap opera that is Auckland Park”. Another idea, he says, would be to “film the SABC board and executive every day and broadcast it as reality-TV with John Cleese as presenter”.
This about sums up the circus that our public broadcaster has become. No, I am being unfair to hardworking circus professionals, who must demonstrate ingenuity and talent to produce a quality show. The same cannot be said for the leadership at the SABC.
Having worked for the broadcaster, I know that there are some consummate professionals in the programming, PR and news departments who excel despite an executive and board that repeatedly let them down.
We will probably not even remember the names of the board members who have left, because in a few months we will be back here again. If it is not the politicians meddling, it is the board and management
Vat each other’s throats. Suspensions, demotions and expulsions are announced, blood gets spilt, golden handshakes are secured to kiss it all better and off the characters go into the sunset. The same tragicomedy will play itself out this time, as it always does. And the public are the losers.
The latest saga of the mass resignation of board members — coupled with the toxic mix of political interference, questionable business models and pedestrian programming — means the SABC must stop any pretence of being a public broadcaster. Such institutions are under pressure everywhere as they compete with the internet, digital terrestrial television, social media and satellite television. I am sure that public broadcasters in other parts of the world are constantly in strategy sessions trying to figure out how to navigate this challenging path. It requires expertise, commitment and innovation. I am sure this is the last thing on the minds of those who are behind the chaos at the SABC.
We must remember that although the SABC is a public broadcaster that can be and has been bailed out by the government, it does not derive its revenue only from licence fees, but also from advertising. The commercial aspect is therefore crucial to its viability and survival. How on earth can an institution that is falling apart ever attract investors and clients? As audiences leave the SABC in search of greener pastures, so too will advertisers.
The SABC is also failing to make a meaningful difference in the lives of the public. Yes, I know it broadcasts the plight of the truly desperate and claims to be “touching lives”. The best way to touch lives is to roll up your sleeves and actually do the work. Announcing the problem is the easiest part. I can confidently say that the commercial media in South Africa have taken up the roles of whistle-blower, social worker, legal adviser, trauma counsellor, fundraiser, and so forth. I know for a fact that employees in commercial media are doing more for the community than all the channels of the public broadcaster put together.
Community radio and TV channels are also doing amazing work not only in broadcasting content, but in highlighting the problems of the communities they serve.
So do we need the SABC? No, we do not. It may not be dead yet, but it is definitely on the verge of becoming obsolete. It suffers from a paucity of credibility and integrity. I wonder if any of the stakeholders actually care about creating a credible, efficient broadcaster? Like the apartheid government, the powers that be are using the SABC as a pawn in their dirty political games.