The Media Online’s weekly round-up of media business moves all in one place.
This week’s BIG move
Media24 launches new lifestyle platforms called News24 ALL THAT and Netwerk24 ALLES
Two new comprehensive lifestyle platforms, News24 ALL THAT and ALLES on Netwerk24, have just been launched, positioning themselves as the go-to destinations for product reviews, news, and shopping guidance across eight essential lifestyle categories.
The platforms promise to simplify the overwhelming world of consumer choices by delivering expert insights and honest reviews on everything from skincare routines to the latest smartphones.
ALL THAT and ALLES addresses the modern consumer’s diverse needs through carefully curated content in:
- Beauty & Fashion – From trending sneakers and denim to skincare innovations and handbags
- Health & Fitness – Exercise equipment, wellness products, and fitness apparel reviews
- Home & Garden – Interior design trends, home improvement tools, and outdoor living
- Kitchen – Cookware, appliances, and culinary accessories for every chef
- Outdoor – Braai equipment, camping gear, travel destinations and adventure essentials
- Pets – Everything pet lovers need for their furry, feathered, and scaled companions
- Play & Learn – Educational toys, computer games, online courses, and skill development tools
- Tech – Laptops, cellphones, cameras, and cutting-edge gadgets
People moves
Veteran journalist, columnist and author Gerald Shaw dies
In a post on the SA Journos from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s – and beyond Facebook page, the Shaw family said Gerald Shaw made a significant contribution to South Africa’s political history, largely through his influential weekly Political Survey column, published in the Cape Times from 1966 to 1996.
As a journalist, he was a witness to troubled times, of state-sponsored torture and destabilisation. He was brave and resolute in taking on these scourges in his journalistic writing. He also wrote extensively about a dawn of new hope during the first years of the new democratic South Africa.
Shaw had several books published, including “Some Beginnings”, a history of early Cape Times editors, for his Honours degree. He edited “The Garrett Papers” published by the Van Riebeeck Society, for his Master’s degree, which was obtained ‘cum laude’.
He also wrote An Informal History of the Cape Times and a Family Chronicle, which traced the Shaw family’s Irish and English roots. “Believe in Miracles: South Africa from Malan to Mandela – and the Mbeki Era – a reporter’s story”, was published in 2007, a personal account of his political journalism career and the events that shaped it.
He was an author, journalist, commentator, family man, appreciator of nature and literature, and he loved visiting the Kruger National Park. Everyone wanted to be on his team for Trivial Pursuit. His wife Lou Shaw, an active and passionate Black Sash member, and his four children Robert, David, Maryann and Helen, were fortunate to enjoy his company in various ages and stages during his 92 years. He was able to see his seven grandchildren growing up.
In later life Gerald suffered from dementia. He died peacefully at home in Rondebosch on 2 June.
Read the full obituary here.
Business moves
SA named one of Publicis Groupe’s five global Centres of Excellence
Publicis Production South Africa has quietly become one of the network’s most strategically important production hubs globally and is now recognised as one of only five Publicis Groupe Centres of Excellence worldwide, based on the calibre and scale of work produced locally for global brands.
At the heart of the operation is an in-house production studio built to meet a fast-changing reality: brands no longer make “one big ad” and call it done. They build omni-channel campaigns that need to travel across platforms, formats, audiences and markets, with speed and consistency – and quality of course.
Katherine Jones, senior VP: Production Practice at Publicis Groupe Africa, says: “Production is evolving at speed and technology is completely changing our world, but in the most exciting way. We’re sitting at the sharp, pointy end of the future of communications.”
One of the clearest indicators of Publicis Production SA’s global role is the scale and sophistication of the work it delivers for major international brands across multiple markets. That means creating content at scale for global brands, delivering thousands of assets across multiple markets and formats as campaigns expand across geographies, channels and audience touchpoints.
Lucky Hustle wins Chery account with bespoke high-performance agency model
Lucky Chery, a purpose-built agency team created by award-winning creative agency Lucky Hustle, has been appointed as the lead agency for Chery South Africa following a competitive pitch process. The appointment will see Lucky Chery lead Chery’s strategy, creative, digital and digital buying as the automotive brand enters its next phase of growth in the South African market.
The win reflects Lucky Hustle’s belief that modern brands require more than a traditional agency structure. They require agile, senior-led, high-performance teams designed around the business problem, not the agency organogram.
The agency’s approach was led by Darren Morris, CEO of Lucky Hustle, who shaped a model that brought together the right combination of strategic, creative, digital and delivery capability for Chery. The dedicated Lucky Chery team will be led by Ryan Nofal as CEO, overseeing the account and ensuring the team delivers with the speed, sharpness and commercial focus required in one of South Africa’s most competitive categories.
WeThinkCode_ and Trevor Noah Foundation partner to strengthen youth pathways into the digital economy
WeThinkCode_, a non-profit tech academy building Africa’s digital talent pipeline, has partnered with the Trevor Noah Foundation through the IDC Social Employment Fund (SEF) initiative to equip young South Africans with foundational digital and work readiness skills.
The collaboration forms part of the broader NEET Youth Pathways ecosystem, a multi-partner effort aimed at strengthening access to opportunity for young people who are not in employment, education or training. Through this initiative, WeThinkCode_ aims to reach over 360 young people between March and August, providing them with the skills, exposure and confidence needed to engage meaningfully with digital tools and pathways into the economy.
“We know that talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not,” said Ruvimbo Gwatirisa, Director of Partnerships at WeThinkCode_. “This partnership is a practical way of closing that gap by meeting young people where they are, building foundational capability and connecting them into an ecosystem of support that enables real progression.”
Downtown Music Publishing Africa enters strategic partnership with Labelheaded
Downtown Music Publishing Africa has entered into a new publishing administration partnership with Labelheaded, the fast-rising independent music company founded by respected South African music executives Wendy Verwey Bekker and Ian Bredenkamp.
The agreement will see Downtown Music Publishing Africa provide global publishing administration services to Labelheaded’s growing roster and catalogue. Sister company FUGA has also partnered with Labelheaded on distribution and marketing services, creating a seamless, end-to-end ecosystem for artists and rights holders.
Labelheaded is not simply a new idea. In just six months of operation, the company has signed eight of South Africa’s most exciting and established artists, including Maleh, Ross Learmonth, Pilani Bubu, December Streets, Espacio Dios, Relebogile Mabotja and Len Muller.
The company operates across label services, digital distribution, publishing, artist development, metadata management, and marketing.
Uhuru Marketplace brings personalised AI selling tools and services to South Africa
Uhuru Marketplace is a peer-to-peer AI-powered marketplace designed to reduce the barrier to entry for South Africans selling second-hand tools and services to the local market. The platform provides a professional, easily personalised, AI-embedded marketplace to anyone with a mobile phone and an idea, simplifying the seller journey and amplifying access to a growing second-hand buyer market.
Uhuru is live and actively growing its seller base, currently hosting approximately 1 200 items across seven stores, and is in an active development phase with several significant features in the pipeline.
Despite growing demand for accessible tools, South Africa has a shortage of solutions that allow sellers without marketing and photography budgets to reach their target audiences, and Uhuru Marketplace effectively closes this gap.
Where other marketplaces expect sellers to manage photography, pricing and content on their own, Uhuru has an embedded AI assistant that works directly with sellers throughout the listing process. The result is a platform that actively helps sellers across item presentation and pricing and ensures that they are better positioned to reach more buyers.
Campaign moves
MTN South Africa and M+C Saatchi Abel launch digital-first brand for a new generation
Tasked with creating a brand for a generation that lives a large portion of its life online, M+C Saatchi Abel partnered with Africa’s telecommunications leader MTN to launch Pi by MTN, a digital-first brand built to reshape how modern South Africans manage their mobile and home connectivity.
M+C Saatchi Abel moved away from traditional telco marketing, developing a brand identity designed to exist natively in digital spaces, precisely to ensure a seamless user experience for customers.
The campaign is more than a product launch. It is the birth of a brand, designed to differentiate itself in a saturated telecoms market on digital-first principles for customers by offering greater convenience, control, flexibility, and value.
Customers can easily manage their mobile and home connectivity online through one intuitive account designed for the entire household or family, with flexible month-to-month plans and guaranteed discounts when adding 4 or more lines. Pi by MTN delivers a simpler, smarter and easier way to manage mobile and home connectivity.
Making moves
Press Council rules in favour of the SABC over Face the Nation story
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has welcomed the ruling of the Press Council of South Africa in relation to its complaint by the SABC against The Sunday Times and TimesLive.
The complaint related to articles and associated promotional material which reported that the SABC had decided not to renew the talk show Face the Nation as a result of pressure from the ANC and government officials.
Following its consideration of the matter, the Press Council found that The Sunday Times and TimesLive breached key provisions of the Press Code. In summary, the Press Ombud found that the publications breached:
- Clause 1.9, which requires the media to supplement reporting when important new information becomes available; and
- Clause 10.1, which requires headlines to provide a reasonable reflection of the contents of an articleand not mislead the public.
As part of the sanction imposed, The Sunday Times and TimesLive have been directed to apologise unconditionally, retract the offending statements, publish the figures provided by the SABC explaining its decision not to renew the programme, and further explain the basis for the claim that the programme
drew “millions of viewers”. An additional requirement is that the apology appears on the front page of the Sunday Times and across all platforms where the articles were published.
Jacaranda FM’s Feel Good Tour and 40th birthday celebrations end on a high
The Feel Good Tour culminated in a spectacular grand finale celebration at Prison Break Market in Fourways on Friday. Listeners gathered for an unforgettable evening as DJ Ankletap broadcast Party Nights With Ankletap live, bringing the station’s birthday festivities to an electrifying close.
Media Fluency Masterclass series opens for executives and communication professionals
Kantar webinar: Bring confidence to your creator content strategy
Creator investment is growing fast, but confidence in what drives real impact hasn’t kept pace. Join Kantar’s upcoming webinar on Tuesday 16 June to see how the latest LINK AI enhancements help marketers predict creator effectiveness and make smarter investment decisions before budgets are committed.
Using a consistent framework across formats and channels enables you to compare creator assets more fairly, prioritise what to back, refine or stop, and scale with greater confidence.
In this session, you will learn:
- Why engagement metrics alone don’t fully reflect real impact
- How to sustain brand growth as your investment in creators increases
- How to build creator learning that compounds into stronger ROI
- What today’s strongest creator content has in common
Register here.
