SABC show canned for asking politicians questions that are too ‘harsh’

· Citizen

The SABC has taken its political talk show Face the Nation off air, allegedly because politicians complained that host Clement Manyathela’s questions were too “harsh”.

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Manyathela said he was told in a meeting in February that the SABC could not afford to keep the show running.

But sources told the Sunday Times that the real reason is that the SABC received complaints from ANC and government officials that Manyathela was too tough on them.

Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, however, took to social media on Sunday morning to dispute this.

“This is a complete lie. There was no political pressure on the SABC to cancel the show,” he said.

He then called out Manyathela and the SABC, telling them to give the “real reason” for the show’s cancellation.

Manyathela responded by saying, “The reason we were given by management is that, despite the show being one of their prominent shows and their ‘flagship’ show, they can’t afford it anymore.”

Magwenya interview said to be the last straw

Sources told the Sunday Times that although the Presidency and the ANC had been unhappy with the show for a while, an interview with Magwenya in January led to the Presidency ramping up the pressure on the SABC.

During the interview, Manyathela had asked why President Cyril Ramaphosa had not made the Madlanga commission interim report public and why he had not fired police minister Senzo Mchunu.

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni is thought to have been the main critic of Manyathela’s show. The publication, however, said she denies this.

Magwenya told the Sunday Times he did not complain about the interview.

“I don’t go onto radio or television shows expecting to be treated with kid gloves. I did not complain about my experience on Face the Nation with Clement, nor did I raise any discomfort with anyone in government or at the SABC about the interview on that day,” he said.

SABC sources said they were surprised by the show’s cancellation as it was among the broadcaster’s best performing shows.

They added that the SABC was considering increasing the number of shows and that it wasn’t an expensive show to air.

SABC defends decision

The public broadcaster’s spokesperson Mmoni Ngubane said the decision to cancel the show was based on normal broadcasting practices.

“The SABC periodically reviews and adjusts its programming. This is an industry and market standard practice that typically occurs on an annual basis. These changes are informed by the SABC’s content delivery strategy and a range of performance indicators, including audience ratings and revenue performance,” she said.

On Sunday, Manyathela said he was proud of the work he had done on Face the Nation and claimed the show was successful.

“[A] former exec for news told us a year after we started that FTN brought in numbers on that slot that SABC has not seen in four years. We held power to account, asked tough questions even when it was uncomfortable,” he said.

“Thank you to all our viewers. And the politicians who came to our show even when they knew they would face tough questions, and yet they still submitted themselves to be held accountable. That is the leadership we need.”

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