The Media Online’s weekly round up of people, account and business moves in media.
This week’s BIG move: POC Podcasts set to become FIRST African podcast channel on Apple Podcasts
POC (People of Colour, People of Content, People of Culture) is the latest addition to Apple Podcasts Subscriptions. Launched in 2020, POC’s aim, and channel launch, was motivated by the lack of a South African voice that spoke to the many diverse African voices of the continent, something that was truly South African, identifiable, and entirely relatable to an audience keen to hear themselves represented in the podcasting world.
“We are excited to collaborate with Apple on their new platform, as now it is easier for our original content to be consumed by not only people in Sub-Saharan Africa but listeners from around the world,” said POC founder, Simmi Areff.
In offering a diverse and original line-up of award-winning podcasts, the POC channel has already successfully attracted more than half a million streams over the past 12 months.
With the addition of the new Apple Podcasts platform as of August 2021, POC is set to reach an even bigger audience of potential listeners and subscribers in over 170 countries, thanks to its overall popularity and power.
People moves
Martin Hiller named inclusion and diversity champion for RX Africa
Martin Hiller has been appointed as the 2021 inclusion and diversity Champion for RX Africa. Hiller is portfolio director: content + creative for travel, tourism, creative industries. Besides his professionalism and expertise in his field, he is also known among colleagues and clients for his passion for an inclusive, diverse culture and his drive to provide platforms for various communities to be heard.
“Making a difference starts with one individual who is prepared to learn, listen and take the appropriate action when required. We all have stories to tell,” he said, “stories that inspire, motivate, and ignite.”
As a gay man Hiller feels strongly that it is vital to have a safe space to share these stories and experiences. “It is these spaces that allow us not only to build fruitful professional and personal relationships with one another, but to be advocates for all minority or marginalised groups.
“It is about being able to provide understanding and support. These conversations can spark change.”
Sechaba Gqeba joins Safm
Sechaba Gqeba will be the new host of the SAfm midday lifestyle show, Living Redefined with Sechaba Gqeba between 13:00-1500 on weekdays. Her appointment follows the resignation of Phemelo Motene at the end of June.
Gqeba has over a decade of broadcast experience. Her commercial radio breakthrough came when she won a region-wide annual talent search hosted one of the country’s commercial radio stations. She has also worked as a news reader on SAfm and Radio 2000, which were overtaken by her desire to host her own radio show. She is also a television presenter, a seasoned MC and speaker. She presented Motswako on SABC 2.
Ms Gqeba will start presenting the show from 01 August 2021. “Based on her experience, the station is happy to have her as the new show host for the Living Redefined with Sechaba Gqeba”, said Fortune Combo acting business manager, Kina Nhlengethwa.
Cape Town Creative writer scores writing gig on eTV NEW soapie
Creative director, entrepreneur and producer Sibulele Siko-Shosha will serve as a writer on the new eTV soap opera, House of Zwide.
Siko-Shosha’s Dumile Brand Boutique has redefined production and allowed her to extend her creative to TV production. Running alongside the creative agency, Siko-Shosha branched out by further establishing her TV Production company, The Narrators Africa, which was responsible for the production of Cape Town’s first prime time drama, Nkululeko, which aired on Mzansi Magic in 2018. She continued to produce an SABC 2 youth dramas Signal High and Snake Park.
African Bank appoints Sibongiseni Ngundze as group executive for sales and distribution
The Board of African Bank has appointed Sibongiseni Ngundze as the group executive for sales and distribution. Ngundze will join the executive committee and will be responsible for managing the Bank’s branch network and customer-facing channels, on 1 August 2021. Ngundze has over 30 years of experience in the banking sector.
Before joining the African Bank Executive team, Ngundze headed up Standard Bank’s Business Banking South Africa / Retail and Business Banking division, where his responsibilities included the delivery of shareholder objectives, driving channel development, building and delivering customer strategy as well as people and business transformation.
Business moves
Ster-Kinekor Theatres reopens cinemas with a blockbuster line-up
The
big screen is back with a sizzling blockbuster line-up after a month of no trading.
Nineteen Ster-Kinekor cinemas reopened on Tuesday with the remaining 33 sites
reopening on Friday, 30 July. All Ster-Kinekor cinemas will resume to operate
with all Covid-19 safety procedures that ensure compliance with directives set
out by government. Each theatre will be permitted a maximum of 50 guests per
auditorium.
Ster-Kinekor will continue to screen all staffbefore opening the cinemas each day, as well as at each shift with regular sanitising breaks during their shift. Staff will wear face masks and gloves where required and have been trained on safe work practices to ensure safety for themselves and for guests. Cinemas will be sanitised the before and after each show and Ster Kinekor has increased cleaning times between every show to make sure all seats and surfaces are clean and safe.
A number of box office blockbusters will be making their way to the big screen including the global box office phenomenon Fast & Furious 9 will return for only its second week on circuit, this is after the film had a successful opening weekend prior to adjusted level 4 lockdown restrictions.
Tribeca maintains Level 1 B-BBEE rating for fourth consecutive year
Tribeca Public Relations has maintained its Level 1 B-BBEE status for the fourth consecutive year, after an audit and verification process conducted by JS BEE Solutions, a SANAS accredited B-BBEE verification agency. The process was guided by the Marketing, Advertising and Communication (MAC) Sector Code
The Level 1 status affords Tribeca a B-BBEE procurement recognition level of 135%, making it communications agency of choice for organisations whose own B-BBEE strategies focus on achieving high procurement recognition levels, as outlined in the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Amendment Act of 2013.
“Tribeca is immensely proud of our Level 1 B-BBEE status because it is achieved out of a belief that contribution is more important than compliance and that people and relationships are the most important aspect of our business,” said Nicky James, managing director, Tribeca.
Tetra Pak South Africa appoints GGi as agency of record
Tetra Pak South Africa has appointed GGi Communications to handle its PR and reputation management.
GGi’s remit will centre primarily on media relations to entrench Tetra Pak’s standing as a world leading food processing and packaging solutions company providing safe, innovative and environmentally sound products that each day meet the needs of millions of South Africans.
“We are focusing on our key imperatives of the role played by food packaging in the remit of food safety, security, availability and affordability, all of which are crucial to the South African landscape, and we are confident GGi will partner with us to cement Tetra Pak’s positioning in this regard,” said Khanyi Madlala, communications consultant for Tetra Pak South Africa.
Hope reigns for entrepreneurs impacted by looting
Entrepreneurs impacted by the recent country’s looting have been linked up with mentors to rebuild their livelihoods through an initiative called Restore SA.
Restore SA aims to connect small business owners affected by looting with volunteer mentors. The Restore SA initiative has also set up a fund to raise funds to assist affected businesses. The fund will be managed by partner non-profit Ranyaka Community Transformation, who will identify businesses in need of support and oversee the disbursement of funds. 100 percent of donations will go to the businesses owners.
The idea was sparked by the founder of social enterprise initiative Fix Forward and the fund was launched in partnership with weFix, who will be donating 10% of the value of trade-in phones they receive in the coming months. Individuals, both locally and abroad have also pledged to donate.
“The informal economy employs millions of people and in a country plagued by high levels of unemployment, we need these affected businesses to rebuild and prosper,” explained Restore SA Founder Joshua Cox. “South Africans are heartbroken at the devastation which has unfolded.”
“Many South African’s with various skills have reached out and want to support these business owners as they try to rebuild,” he adds. “Restore SA has been created to connect small business owners affected by looting with skilled people who freely offer mentorship support.”
“When we heard about Restore SA, we saw an opportunity to support and help rebuild those businesses that had been affected by the unrest,” says Malcolm Daitz, CEO at weFix. “We believe that it is the responsibility of all South African businesses to help restore our economy by offering support to those entrepreneurs who need it.”
Donate to the Restore SA fund here: www.restoresa.co.za/rsa-fund/
Direct Selling Association achieves Platinum WFDSA Member status for third year in a row
The Direct Selling Association (DSA) of South Africa has retained its Platinum DSA Membership Status with the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA) for the third consecutive year.
The WFDSA’s Platinum Status is the highest accolade that the WFDSA bestows on DSA’s globally. The hat-trick of Platinum Status awards pays tribute to the commitment to hard work and leadership consistently shown by the DSA of South Africa and its member companies, said chairperson Rajesh Parshotam.
The DSA of South Africa is a national business association of direct selling companies that distribute goods and services directly to consumers through a professional channel of direct sellers who are independent contractors, operating as entrepreneurs and small business owners.
Making moves
IOL launches free listing and marketing platform for food businesses
Online news portal IOL has launched a free listing and marketing platform, Eat Local, to connect neighbourhood food-related businesses to their local communities in a bid to support and boost local and help keep the national economy going.
“Let’s find every possible way to support our favourite restaurants, small food businesses, our favourite servers and the many home industry initiatives in our neighbourhoods as they struggle to survive in the face of Covid-19 and the lockdown,” said Lance Witten, chief audience officer at IOL.
Registration on the #EatLocal platform is free and is as simple as logging onto the website and completing a form.
“IOL is throwing its muscle behind the #eatlocal initiative in offering a free platform to all restaurants and home industries, big and small, to market their specials, to let South Africans know about their Covid-safe initiatives and to support one another now and beyond the other side of this pandemic,” said Witten recommending businesses sign-up to make the most of every marketing avenue open to them.
Communities can also support local restaurants by visiting eatlocal.org.za, joining the #EatLocal Facebook community, and following the hashtag #EatLocal on social media, and encouraging small food businesses to list on the site.
Ruptly announces October return for online internship programme Ruptly Academy
Ruptly, the global video news agency, has launched its latest season of Ruptly Academy, an online training and mentorship project that identifies and nurtures the next generation of journalism talent.
Ruptly Academy first debuted in 2020 at the height of the pandemic to offer masterclasses in practical journalism to young reporters across the world and to provide feedback and guidance via a series of live webinars. The next programme will begin on 28 October 2021. Applications are now open, and due to limited spaces and high demand, the company said priority will be given to early applicants.
Ruptly Academy focuses on practical journalism that is rarely taught on most media-related courses. The masterclasses are led by Ruptly’s own senior team and cover a diverse range of subjects – including news verification, live broadcast techniques, working in hostile environments, making money from journalism, and harnessing the power of social media.
In addition to a series of tutorials, participants will also be given practical assignments, follow-up webinars and individual feedback – all on a flexible schedule that fits around their work or studies.
Upon completing the 10-week course, students will receive a certificate, and outstanding candidates will be offered the chance to join one of Ruptly’s international offices – putting what they have learned to the test in a real live newsroom environment. More information is available at the Ruptly Academy website.
World’s largest PR professional body condemns disinformation report
Following media reports concerning alleged disinformation spread by the Eswatini Government, the Association that expelled Bell Pottinger from its membership – the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) – has condemned the behaviour in the strongest possible terms.
Having recently launched its Africa Network in March with Edelman Africa and Middle East CEO Jordan Rittenberry as its Chair, the world’s largest PR professional body is calling for stronger ethical compliance across the continent’s PR industry.
PRCA Africa Chair Jordan Rittenberry MPRCA said: “The PRCA Africa Network places huge importance on protecting ethical standards in PR and communications. Although there are often no easy answers when confronting ethics in the real world, our primary focus moving forward is to bring ethics to the top of the agenda and challenge the wider industry to take a lead in building a better world. I urge all practitioners to join us in our mission to raise professional standards across Africa.”
Call for papers for the 22nd PAMRO All Africa Media Research Webinar
PAMRO’s 22nd annual conference will run over three days in October. The virtual conference will explore the theme ‘Finding certainty in uncertain times through measurement’ and is free to all delegates.
The conference will host research experts from across Africa and the rest of the world, who will come together to exchange knowledge and to learn from one another’s successes and failures. The ultimate goal of the event and the organisation is to harmonise research methodologies and encouraging excellence in the industry.
Papers on measurement innovation, research-on-research, cross platform analysis and best practice from professionals in the field of data analytics will be vetted according to their relevance to the industry. Although case studies are welcome, they need to convey findings that are of value to the broader research community.
Only papers sent to the PAMRO Executive Director will be accepted. Please email, Jennifer Daniel (jdaniel@pamro.org) before 4 September.
DA to submit a PAIA application to the Presidency to make Digital Vibes SIU report public
The DA is submitting a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application to the Presidency to obtain access to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) report into the Minster of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize’s involvement in the Digital Vibes corruption scandal.
Two weeks ago, the Presidency confirmed that the report had been delivered to President Cyril Ramaphosa by the SIU.
Diary
Pendoring Media Alert
Coming up to Women’s month, the Pendoring Awards will be hosting a student webinar on Tuesday 3 August 10AM with:
- Nkgabiseng Motau – Think Creative Africa co-founder & chief creative officer
- Lebohang Masango – author of Mpumi’s Magic Beads
- Mpume Ngobese – Co-MD Joe Public
- Thandeka Gilbert – copywriter at. The Odd Number
Its purpose is to discuss the importance of the use of all 10 indigenous languages in South Africa, the Msanziglots campaign and to inspire entries for this year’s Pendoring awards (deadline 20 August).
Register here:
The all female panelists come off the all female creative team from Think Creative Africa and Lady Skollie who created this year’s Msanziglots campaign.