AfriForum demands answers over Afrikaans news blackout

AfriForum has pushed back against the SABC’s explanation that the Afrikaans TV news bulletin’s recent absence was simply a mistake.

The public broadcaster failed to air the Afrikaans bulletin on both Saturday and Sunday, raising suspicions that it might have been deliberately scrapped, a move that has sparked concern and criticism.

AfriForum demands clarity from SABC on Afrikaans news bulletin

AfriForum has expressed dissatisfaction with the SABC’s response, stating it was inadequate and vowing to escalate the issue.

The organisation has formally requested information from the SABC under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, seeking clarity on the future of Afrikaans TV news. According to Alana Bailey, AfriForum’s Head of Cultural Affairs, the broadcaster’s statement did little to put viewers at ease.

“If last week’s omission was a mere oversight, the SABC could have disclosed this fact publicly and in response to all enquiries a long time ago. Now it gives the impression that aftercare has been applied following the angry reaction of viewers and organisations such as AfriForum,” Bailey commented.

AfriForum is determined to gain access to the facts of the matter in the request to the SABC to provide insight into the success of Afrikaans news programmes.

“AfriForum wants to get to the bottom of this before deciding on further action. We are therefore asking in-depth questions in the PAIA request about matters such as viewership numbers before and after the August 2024 channel and time slot shifts, as well as advertising revenue that Afrikaans TV news bulletins generated then and are receiving now. We also want to know what steps are being taken to prevent future broadcasts from being ‘accidentally omitted, ’” Bailey continued.

SABC denies permanently removing Afrikaans news

In a statement addressing the concerns of viewers after the Afrikaans news failed to air, the SABC insisted that the incident was simply an error.

“The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) wishes to address concerns arising from the non-broadcast of the Afrikaans television news bulletin this past weekend. We acknowledge that the bulletin did not air in its regular time slot on Saturday and Sunday, and we confirm that this was a scheduling error. This should not have happened.” SABC statement

The SABC insists that there is no intent to permanently remove the show, despite the concerns raised over the failure to broadcast.

“We want to assure the public and our stakeholders that there is no plan or decision to discontinue or deprioritise Afrikaans news. The Afrikaans television news bulletin continues to air as scheduled from Monday to Friday, and the weekend bulletin will also continue in its regular time slot going forward.” The SABC commented.