SABC biased in its election coverage

Wits University Caxton Chair of Journalism Prof Anton Harber said the SABC is seen to have been captured by the ruling party - a situation he believes is caused by the ANC's deployment of its cadres onto the public broadcaster.

“Its election coverage is highly inadequate. It should be probing and questioning political parties' policies and giving us an in-depth coverage on candidates and their agendas. What we see on TV is not enough for people to understand policy.”

NVDL: Think about it - you never hear about the ideas or see the faces of any of the smaller parties. It's about the ANC vs COPE and the DA. Really? I thought it was about democracy.

clipped from www.bizcommunity.com Already battered by massive financial losses, internal power struggles, low staff morale, political meddling, a litany of lawsuits and various corporate ills, the SABC is once again facing accusations of bias in its election coverage from various quarters, including the ruling ANC and COPE. Last night, Wednesday, 11 March 2009, The Weekender and Wits' Faculty of Humanities hosted a public debate at Wits University, Johannesburg, to discuss the embattled public broadcaster's role and responsibility in the general elections. “Yes, to some extent the SABC is biased against certain people, especially the smaller parties and women. At least 85% of election coverage goes to the big guns, and the rest is given to smaller parties. Besides, women are not getting as much coverage as men, which is also problematic,” said William Bird, director of Media Monitoring Africa (MMA).