eNCA
eNCA
really went all out with the trial. They have created a sub-website dedicated
to the trial on their website and streams all court proceedings live from
Pretoria for public viewing. One of their journalists mentioned on twitter that
traffic to their website has more than tripled out of interest in the
case.
TV is no
different. They have really gone with 'gavel-to-gavel' coverage of the trial
even though there are other national stories that I feel deserve more attention
like the power crisis that we are in (but for once the media aren't presenting
it as a 'crisis' as they do not want our attention to be removed from the Oscar
coverage, which will provide them with more eyeballs watching tv for a longer
period of time, a prime example of how the media curate the news we see). Their
'main' shows, with the exception of the Cape Town-based News Day has gone with
the format of a one anchor in studio one anchor outside court approach. Their
7pm hour, which is being called "Oscar Hour," is quite good and
comprehensive (along with short weather bulletins at the top and bottom of the
hour). The same hour is then rebroadcast at ten pm, barely 3 hours old, and at
a time when they could show other news while a sizable audience is still
watching.
Their
midmorning show with JoAnne Josephs and Gareth Edwards, is probably the best of
their shows as they get to broadcast during court proceedings and get to
provide analysis during breaks in court. They also broadcast this show off the
set used for NewsNight as well. These two could be put in the prime time show and
their quality will show why they would be worth those hours.
As
expected, Karyn Maughan is the star of their coverage. During court
proceedings, her Twitter feed gets to share time on the ticker. I am, however,
surprised as to see how little tv time she gets as other journos like Cathy
Mohlalhana seem to be getting more tv time.
One thing
that I would see as a step up for eNCA is their decency to finally drop
repetitive sports bulletins in favour of more sports coverage. If it was up to
me, they would remove nearly all sport coverage. Think about it: All people
that have access to eNCA have DStv and all DStv packages have the superb
SuperSportBlitz channel for rolling sports coverage whenever they want. if
viewers want sport news, they know where to find that channel and if they want
news, they should go to eNCA.
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