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The SABC's Hlaudi Motsoeneng this morning called South Africa's journalists lazy, said he will be asking ministers for more money, and reiterated the public broadcaster's editorial stance of telling 70% good news.
The highly controversial and famously
matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng spoke at the The
New Age Business Briefing breakfast the morning after president Jacob
Zuma's chaotic and highly embarrassing State of the Nation Address which saw people
arrested before the event had even started, and a brawl inside the National
Assembly during which the police forcibly removed EFF members, and the DA walking
out.
Parliament also came in for sharp criticism
from the South African and international news media, various publications, several
civil society watchdog organisations and the South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef) over the shocking censorship of the press on Thursday evening.
A secret scrambler inside parliament was
activated on Thursday evening to prevent the press from using cellphones and
internet enabled devices to cover the live proceedings and to report the news.
Addressing various ministers and president Jacob Zuma at the breakfast briefing, Hlaudi Motsoeneng called South African journalists
lazy.
"You know this days, our journalists today
are so lazy. It is a fact," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.
"You know a good journalist is someone who go
and investigate a story and covers both sides of a story. Not making hullabaloo
about headlines. And SABC, we are not selling news, we are informing people of
South Africa," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.
'You need to spend
money on SABC'
"I want to say to some of the ministers here:
You need to spend money on the SABC. And those people who are progressive, like
SABC," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.
"Because I don't understand where, why are
you spending more money on people who are not even appreciating what government
is doing. And we are not talking about propaganda here. We are talking about
the facts."
'SABC we are doing
very, very well'
"So it is important that as a public
broadcaster, we are going to stick to what we believe. And SABC we are doing
very, very well financially. We are stable. We have even paid government
guarantee. People are just talking but they don’t know what they’re talking
about," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.
During his speech before the ministers Hlaudi Motsoeneng
said people must pay their TV licence as a ripple of laughter echoed through
the audience.
"I also think you are paying your TV licence.
Because it is very important for all people of South Africa to pay TV licence."
Hlaudi Motsoeneng said in his speech that the SABC
believes in 70% good news coverage.
"While we have this relationship with New Age, they share the same views with
us – 70% good story to tell. And we must do that."
While Generations
– The Legacy’s viewership has plunged by millions since the principal cast
was fired in 2014 and replaced with new actors since last December when the
SABC's biggest moneyspinner returned to TV after an absence of two months, Hlaudi Motsoeneng told the attendees on Friday morning that its signature programming
is doing well.
"The new Generation
is doing well. The Muvhango is doing
well. If you have been following SABC we have been introducing more local content,
dramas and so on and so on."
