DA blasts SABC's poll coverage
2006-01-27 21:22
Johannesburg - There was a heated exchange between a Democratic Alliance representative and SABC officials unveiling the public broadcaster's election coverage strategy in Johannesburg on Friday.
Gareth van Onselen, DA national director of research and communication, asked Snuki Zikalala, managing director of SABC news, what criteria was used by the public broadcaster to determine news worthiness.
Van Onselen said the DA in the Western Cape launched its election campaign last week and the SABC agreed to cover the event.
SABC covered rugby match
Van Onselen said: "A day before the launch we were told that the SABC has decided not to cover the event. Instead they took the camera to the Stormers (rugby) match."
Zikalala said: "Although I am responsible for news at SABC... I cannot tell news editors what's newsworthy and what is not."
SABC group chief executive Dali Mpofu intervened after the DA continued to press the issue with Zikalala.
A party representative in the crowd shouted at Van Onselen: "Behave yourself."
SABC 'to investigate the matter'
Mpofu asked Van Onselen to give him the name of the person at the SABC who had told them that the DA event was not newsworthy.
Mpofu said: "The SABC will investigate the matter."
The DA had already submitted a memorandum of grievances to the public broadcaster. The party claimed that the seven events it had held since its election campaign launch on January 15 had been consistently marginalised on television.
Before Van Onselen's question, Mpofu answered a similar complaint from the party's Nick Clelland-Stokes by countering that DA MP Dene Smuts had stated that "so far" the party was happy with coverage.
'Radio is reachable'
DA's Nick Clelland-Stokes said: "We are not satisfied with the SABC television coverage, but we are satisfied with SABC radio because radio is reachable."
Clelland-Stokes said: "They (television) broadcast Thabo Mbeki's speech when he was wearing an ANC T-shirt two days after the elections were proclaimed."
He was referring to the party's traditional annual January 8 policy message - broadcast two days after the official electoral period began.
The Freedom Front Plus's Pieter Mulder lifted the mood by asking the price of the free SABC News pen, given to each person at the launch.
He joked: "Because I want to declare it", referring to parliament's register of members' interests.
- SAPA