'On the Record with Vuyo Mvoko' abruptly cancelled

Late last week the SABC News Channel abruptly cancelled their daily in depth news programme, On the Record with Vuyo Mvoko, after just under three months.


The City Press is reporting that the reason for the cancellation is that Mvoko, who is also a contributing editor at the SABC, planned to discuss the state capture by the Gupta family on the show. This then led to disagreements between Mvoko and the higher ups at the SABC which has now led to the cancellation of the show.

Mvoko also planned to interview  Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas, who said he was offered the role of Fiance Minister by the Gupta family, on the show.

This move is just another that is bringing to light the SABC's apparent policy to not broadcast anything critical of the President or the ANC.

On the cancellation, Mvoko tweeted, "#OnTheRecord on #sabcnews tonight. #OTR_404 is no more. Thanks 4 support. Apologies for abrupt end." Since the tweet, many have expressed disappointment in the move, including the Public Protector, who tweeted the following in reply, "@PublicProtector Team is saddened by the news. We trust the canning of #OTR_404 is not due to improper motives."

The SABC News Channel schedule will go back to what it was before On The Record started, airing a three hour Your World from 9pm.

SABC News Channel launches 'On The Record' with Vuyo Mvoko

"And a very warm welcome to the very first episode of our new show, On the Record." Those were the first words of SABC News' Contributing Editor, Vuyo Mvoko, welcoming viewers to his new show this past Monday night, January 11th.

On The Record aims to go beyond the day's headlines to bring viewers a select few stories that viewers simply have to know, debates, as well as interviews and profiles with people viewers ought to know.

The show has a decent format: start with a few news stories with Mvoko drawing a narrative in between links as well as providing commentary, none of which seems to be scrolling on a teleprompter. Not being a traditional news bulletin, the program has the luxury to linger longer on certain news stories, creating insight viewers would otherwise not have received during a regular bulletin.

After the first segment details the main news story of the day, the second segment features the show's focus story of the day, which is something discussed in with on air guests. The premiere episode featured a simply explosive debate around the recent race issues experienced in the country. It featured author, Eusebius McKaizer (Run, Racist, Run), rights activist, Ernst Roets (Afriforum)as well as Andile Mgxithama (Black First, Land First).

Following the lengthy debate, the premiere episode aired an interview with the current ANC Youth League President.

With the launch of On The Record, Your World gets cut down to only two hours, starting now at 10pm. Both shows use the same studio though.

The show is also not Mvoko's first attempt at a show on the channel as he has previously experimented with different formats in the past.

One The Record with anchor Vuyo Mvoko airs weekdays from 9pm to 10pm on SABC News Channel (DStv 404).