eNews Channel Africa Turns 7

The date was Sunday, June 1st 2008. The venue was Melrose Arch. As 7pm approached, the crowd started counting down: 10, 9, 8...

At the end of the countdown, the screens in the venue beamed live visuals of Jeremy Maggs and Redi Direko (now Thlabi) welcoming viewers to the very first news bulletin on South Africa's first 24 hour news channel, The eNews Channel.

Debora Patta speaking at the launch of the eNews Channel

On the launch of the channel, then eNews Gorup Editor, Debora Patta, said, "Today is a historic day not only for e.tv, but for the whole of South Africa.This is a homegrown channel. We conceived it, built it and now we are delivering it to you. We will criticise if needs be and we will give credit where credit is deserved. If you are doing something good, people out there will hear about it and if not, things might get a little harder for you. This is a platform where we will debate issues with no fear, no favour and cover stories with integrity, as we believe that this is a way of making a contribution to make SA a better place to live in. "

One of the contributing factors to the success of the channel was the eNews brand and on air presentation that was attached to it from the start, a brand that at the time was seeing ratings on free to air broadcaster eTV continuously grow.

Behind the scenes at eNCA on Election Day

Another factor was the quality of broadcast journalism seen on the channel, with the channel setting the benchmark when it comes to South African news broadcasts.

Since launch, the eNews Channel has continuously grown. In August of 2012, the channel changed its name from the eNews Channel to eNCA, to coincide with the channel's launch on the SKY Digital platform in the UK and news streaming service livestation.com outside of South Africa.

Now just a memory

The channel has not been without its hiccups though. Firstly, there was the strange and unexpected exit of former editor in chief, Debora Patta, in May 2013, about a year after she decided to relinquish her duties as group editor and only do her investigative show, 3rd Degree. Then there is also the whole saga with Marcel Golding that led to the revelation that government did indeed sponsor an infrastructure series that aired in 201, among other allegations made by Golding.

In October last year, the channel  decided to come off of the SKY Digital platform as a result of a cost cutting measure (though they will spin it differently). Another cost cutting measure experienced by the channel was the shutting of its growing Africa division earlier this year, basically reversing the expansion that the channel has been experiencing since launching on SKY.

Though competition has increased over time, currently in South Africa eNCA is competing with the SABC's third attempt at a news channel, The SABC News Channel (following the poor performances by its predecessors SABC Africa and SABC News International) and new comer ANN7, eNCA has continued to maintain a dominant position in the local broadcast news industry, still comfortably boasting more than half of the market share.

CNN's Richard Quest alongside then eNCA anchor Eleni Giokos

However (at least according to me), the biggest legacy of the eNews Channel Africa is not the channel itself, but rather the excellent journalists who have passed through their Hyde Park doors and have gone on to other things following their time at the channel:

•  Former News Night anchor, Redi Thlabi, is now a host of a current affairs show at Al Jazzera.
• Former Cape Town based sports anchor, Robin Adams is now a sports anchor at Al Jazeera
• Former Chief Meteorologist, Derek van Dam, has gone on to CNN
• Former Chief Africa Correspondent, Robyn Kriel, has gone on to become CNN's first ever East Africa Correspondent
• Former eNCA Business anchor Eleni Giokos is now at Bloomberg TV Africa
• Former Editor in Chief, Debora Patta, is now a foreign correspondent at CBS News in the US
• Former reporter Shahan Ramkissoon is now Arise News' US Correspondent
• Nkepile Mabuse went from eNews to CNN and is now back at eNCA where she presents Checkpoint

eNCA journalists are also head hunted by other local news channels:

• Ayanda Allie Paine is now an anchor at SABC News' Morning Live
• Peter Stemmet is now the primetime sports anchor at ANN7
• Edwin Kgaswe is now the Sports Editor at ANN7
• Peter van Onselen anchors ANN7's breakfast show
• Francis Herd hosts a daily business show on the SABC News Channel
• Hajra Omarjee left eNCA to become the political editor at ANN7, but vacated that job after about a year and is now the political editor at PowerFM
• Julia Stewart is now at Supersport

But I am most excited about the journalists still at eNCA and to see how they continue to set the gold standard when it comes to covering South African news.