The Media Online’s weekly round up of moves in media.
This week’s BIG move: Nomsa Philiso resigns from SABC after 24 years
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has announced the resignation of group executive for television Nomsa Philiso.
Philiso, who has been with the public broadcaster for 24 years, has served in a variety of roles, from general manager: sales operations, and group executive: commercial enterprise and television, to acting group chief executive officer.
In a statement, the SABC said, “Ms. Philiso has played a critical role in the positions she has occupied, and over the years has provided strategic guidance and support in dealing with the ever-changing television landscape and was an invaluable asset to the SABC.”
She will depart the broadcaster at the end of this month. The SABC is in the process of identifying a successor in an acting capacity.
For more, click here.
People moves
Hive Digital Media announces management structure
Newly formed specialist digital media agency, Hive Digital Media, formerly the digital sales unit of SPARK Media, has announced the appointments of its chief revenue officer (CRO) Parmeshan Moodliar (left), chief operations officer (COO) Kristin Louw and group programmatic and data manager Ashleigh Footit.
“It gives me great pleasure to announce changes in the management structure of Hive Digital Media effective 1 July of this year,” said Marc du Plessis, group executive: digital investments at Caxton.
“In his role as chief revenue officer, Parmeshan will oversee the sales, PR, brand management, trade marketing and finance units, as well as work with Ashleigh on the Programmatic and Data divisions, while Kristin as chief operations officer will manage the channel, marketing services, traffic, Adops, Story Studio (content production) and HR functions of the business.
“Both Parmeshan and Kristin have been with the group for several years now, are well respected by their teams and are backed by an established client base,” Du Plessis said.
According to Du Plessis, the business has taken the strategic decision to split their digital sales unit from SPARK Media in order for each business unit to concentrate on the platforms they know and can best represent, giving their clients the best service & value possible.
The executive committee of Hive Digital Media will begin working immediately in planning for the new fiscal and embedding the new structure, while focusing their energy and B2B messaging on their offerings such as LNN (Local News Network), All4Women, Health Spas, Guzzle and Ignition (programmatic offering). SPARK Media will once again focus solely on being the strategic sales arm for Caxton Local Newspapers.
Fernando de Yarza elected President of WAN-IFRA.
Fernando de Yarza López-Madrazo, President of Henneo in Spain, has been elected President of the World Association of News Publishers, at 71st WAN-IFRA’s annual Congress in Glasgow, Scotland. WAN-IFRA also appointed a new president and a new vice president of the World Editors Forum. Fourteen executives from leading news media companies were also elected to new terms on the board of WAN-IFRA.
De Yarza succeeds Michael Golden, president of WAN-IFRA since 2017. Together with Stig Ørskov (CEO, JP/Politikens Hus, Denmark) who was elected Vice President of the organisation at the same meeting, Lisa MacLeod (Tiso Blackstar, South Africa), Paul Verwilt (Mediahuis, Belgium), Gerald Grünberger (VÖZ, Austria), Phillip Crawley (The Globe and Mail, Canada), Karin Pettersson (Schibsted, Sweden), Marcelo Rech (RBS, Brazil), and Warren Fernandez (The Straits Times, Singapore), they will form the new Executive Board of WAN-IFRA for the two coming years.
“I would like to dedicate my election to all the journalists and publishers who are under threat around the world, and to my grand-mother who commemorated a month ago the assassination of her father, killed, 80 years ago on the steps of his newspaper, defending press freedom,” said De Yarza. “She was then just 24 years old and had to lead the newspaper under the dictatorship, helping to bring democracy back to Spain with many other brave journalists in the country. I would like to dedicate this to her and to all the women journalists who defend press freedom around the world.”
Dion Chang to headline Wine & Food Tourism Conference 2019
This year’s Wine & Food Tourism Conference, taking place at Spier near Stellenbosch on 18 September 2019, will feature South Africa’s most respected trends analyst, Dion Chang, as headline speaker.
This year’s event, themed The Future of Wine & Food Tourism, will as per previous years provide an invaluable platform for participants to network and keep abreast of what is hot and happening in South African wine and food tourism. This is the fourth time this annual conference is being presented.
Known as an innovator, creative thinker, and walking ideas bank, Chang takes the unique view of “trends as business strategy”.
His company, Flux Trends, specialises in understanding consumer mindset and identifying unexpected business opportunities within shifting tendencies, ensuring that global trends have relevance when translated for African and South African businesses.
Margi Biggs, tourism specialist and convenor of the annual Wine & Food Tourism Conference, said: “Dion’s topic at this year’s conference will focus on the trends that are shaping tourism in South Africa, with an in-depth look at wine and food tourism sector.
“With tourism in South Africa set to grow as per, and even outgrow, targets set by national and provincial government, based on proven growth figures over the past few years, we need to act now to ensure the wine and food tourism industry develops in an innovative yet sustainable fashion, creating more jobs and increasingly contributing a sizeable portion to especially the economy of the Western Cape.”
Business moves
Joe Public Connect grows greater
Digital advertising in South Africa is growing at more than four times* the rate of traditional advertising and to meet this growing demand, agency group Joe Public United has actioned a powerhouse move by merging Joe Public Ignite, (previously its beyond-the-line offering) and Joe Public Connect (its digital offering).
The newly expanded entity will provide a bigger and better digital offering to support the growth of its clients in the digital arena. With a staff complement close to 100 people, Joe Public Connect is now fully equipped to maximise its creative talent, leadership and output. A broader range of digital services will now be accessible to Joe Public Connect’s clients, stretching across the full spectrum from traditional digital advertising such as social media and content to the more technical services such as UX, UI, interaction design and web platforms.
The company will be led by managing director Mpume Ngobese, executive creative director Megan Perks and technical director Ben Krawchuk.
*Stats source: PwC report Entertainment and Media Outlook 2018–2022
Getty Images and APO Group announce strategic partnership
Getty Images and APO Group have announced a wide-reaching collaboration to promote integrated text, photo and video solutions to soperating across Africa and the Middle East.
The strategic partnership will combine Getty Images’ unique capabilities, in tandem with APO Group’s world-class media relations to help organisations connect their compelling stories with new audiences.
Getty Images will provide APO Group customers with its full suite of image production, distribution and digital asset management solutions, while APO Group’s range of media relations services, dedicated to Africa and the Middle East, will be available to Getty Images customers.
Africa, in particular, represents a significant growth opportunity for customers of both organizations. With its population set to double by 2050, it will be home to 40% of all humanity by the year 2100. By working together in the region, Getty Images and APO Group can help raise the profile of Africa on an international scale.
Getty Images and APO Group are also united in their passion for
“In APO Group we are confident we have a great partner to develop our presence in Africa and the Middle East,” said Lee Martin, senior vice president, global strategic development at Getty Images. “They are the market leader in their field, and have deep knowledge and expertise of corporations and media across the regions. We look forward to an exciting collaboration that will help us break new ground in untapped markets that are full of potential and opportunities.”
Conversion Science Chosen as Google Marketing Platform Partner
Conversion Science has announced they have been selected as Google Marketing Platform Partner and have received certification for Analytics 360, making them one of a handful Premium Google Partners to achieve this status in South Africa.
Conversion Science is a search engine marketing and analytics agency focused on running highly optimised performance campaigns. The agency specialises in return on investment marketing through Google AdWords, Facebook advertising, YouTube advertising, Conversion Optimisation, Paid Media Strategy, Google Analytics and Training & Consulting.
Conversion Science is led by Ariel Sumeruk, an SEM veteran with a PHD in theoretical physics, who has a sound understanding of how to utilise the machine learning tools such as automated bidding for clients to ensure peak performance of their campaigns.
Making moves
Henley announces winners of Sol Plaatje media scholarship
Henley Business School Africa has announced the inaugural winners of its brand-new Sol Plaatje scholarship for media professionals. They are: Thabiso Thakali, news editor of the Sowetan newspaper and Pauli van Wyk, an investigative journalist from the Daily Maverick.
“Thabiso Thakali – who co-authored the authoritative A-Z of South African Politics this year –has been awarded the Sol Plaatje media scholarship for the Post Graduate Diploma programme , while Pauli van Wyk (left), possibly one of the most highly decorated journalists of her generation, has won the Sol Plaatje MBA scholarship,” said Henley Business School Africa dean and director, Jon Foster-Pedley.
The scholarships, Foster-Pedley said, were established to honour of one of South African journalism’s greatest practitioners by giving current media practitioners the once in a lifetime opportunity to step out of the newsroom, or studio, and into the classroom and hopefully emerge with the tools they need to recalibrate the media industry when they graduate.
Business School Africa seeks to give back and invest in our own community, while developing ground breaking courses and programmes to build the leaders who build the businesses who build Africa.
WAN-IFRA launches a new programme to support local journalism in Europe
WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers, is launching a European news transformation and coaching programme for regional and local news publishers, in partnership with the Google News Initiative. Publishers are invited to apply now.
The deadline for application to the Programme is 1 September 2019. The programme will begin in October 2019 and will run for about 12 months. More details about the programme curriculum, eligibility to enter, and the application process are available at http://www.tablestakes-europe.org
For the Diary
Tick, tock…Not long to go until the 2019 Call to Entry for the MTF Academy closes
If your passion is film and television and believe you have what it takes to be the future of Africa’s creative industry, don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity!
Log in here and register for the MTF Academy entry (separate login details from the portal) and complete the entry process that will take you one step closer to achieving your aspirations in film and television!
The call is open to all emerging filmmakers with either some industry experience or a relevant post-school qualification in filmmaking to apply for this exciting opportunity to hone their television and film production skills under the guidance and mentorship of industry experts Femi Odugbemi (Lagos, Nigeria hub), Njoki Muhoho (Nairobi Kenya hub) and Berry Lwando (Lusaka, Zambia hub).
Radio Days dates
Radio Days Africa invites you to celebrate 10 years of learning, engagement, conversation and thinking around the different aspects of the radio business within the African context.
Radio Days Africa is the largest radio conference in Africa, and is presented by the Wits Radio Academy under the auspices of the Department of Journalism at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Join the 10th edition of Radio Days Africa as we discuss the future of the medium, issues facing radio, the changing environment, share new ideas and learn new skills from the continent and the world.
The conference will again be hosted at the Wits Club in Johannesburg, from Wednesday, 3 July to Friday, 5 July 2019. The full programme is available at www.radiodaysafrica.co.za
MIX FEST 2019
Date: 28 – 29 September 2019
Venue: Cradle Moon Lakeside Game Lodge
Price : R300 – R5500
Bookings: https://www.howler.co.za/
Facebook Event: http://bit.ly/2WvD40X
Mix 93.8 FM in partnership with Channeled Events will be hosting the first ever MIX FEST on 28 and 29 September 2019 at Cradle Moon Game Lodge, in the historical Cradle of Humankind, Muldersdrift.
The event will host live music, multiple bars and a pop-up food market.
Line-up for the event includes Springbok Nude Girls, Mango Groove, Desmond and the Tutus, Watershed, Shortstraw, Rubber Duc, The Black Cat Bones, CrashCarBurn, Shotgun Tori, Wolfgang Marrow, The Color Blew, CHLLFCTRY, Jerry and the Bandits, Michael Lesar, Mix 93.8 FM Presenters & DJs. The event will host live music, multiple bars and a pop-up food market. Accommodation options include chalets & fixed tents.
As September is deaf-awareness month, Mix 93.8 FM will donate a portion of all ticket sales to the Rotary Club. Donations will also be accepted towards the charity organisation at the one of a kind Silent Mix private headphone party on the Saturday night.
