TIME: Almanac 1993/TIME Almanac 1993.iso/time/030689/03068900.005

Text File | 1992-09-23 | 3.7 KB | 75 lines

                                                                                PRESS, Page 58

Filling the South Africa Void


An independent TV show keeps the spotlight on apartheid


    Young men flinging stones at tanks. Streets blockaded by
burning tires. Helmeted troops firing into crowds of rioters.
Night after night, such images once gave television viewers
around the world a chilling picture of South Africa's racial
and political turmoil. But when Pretoria declared a state of
emergency in June 1986 and imposed tough new press-censorship
regulations, the scenes of violence suddenly disappeared. So, to
a large extent, did television's interest in the story. As a
result, there has been a significant drop in network coverage of
South Africa.

    Filling that void is the mission of South Africa Now, a
privately funded half-hour TV-magazine show that strives to keep
the spotlight on southern Africa. The weekly broadcast is
produced by Globalvision, a small independent production
company, with the Africa Fund, an antiapartheid organization.
Launched last April, the show airs on about 45 broadcast and
cable stations across the U.S.  Says Globalvision's vice
president, Rory O'Connor: "We saw a need for a program on South
Africa and decided to jump in both feet first."

    Housed in a cramped Manhattan loft and operating with more
conviction than cash (the budget is $10,000 a week -- minuscule
compared with the money available to most network shows), South
Africa Now presents a lively look at a tumultuous region. Twelve
full- and part-time staffers and a host of volunteers put
together programs of spot news, background reports and cultural
features. The result is a show that is spunky and creative,
though uneven in quality. Interviews sometimes drag on, and
occasionally the picture and sound quality are poor.

    Material comes from a variety of sources, including
free-lance journalists in South Africa and the frontline states
and independent video agencies and documentary makers in Western
Europe. Some of the taped footage is smuggled out of South
Africa. "Journalists who work for us are willing to take
incredible risks to get their stories out because they know we
are willing to put them on the air," says Carolyn Craven,
senior producer and co-anchor.

    Since television has tended to define the South Africa story
in terms of violent conflict, South Africa Now tries to offer
a broader perspective. The show routinely taps the antiapartheid
vein that runs through the work of such South African artists
as Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba and the country's hot
multiracial band Savuka. Its more reportorial pieces have
documented the detention and alleged torture of black children,
analyzed the causes of black-on-black violence, aired footage
of the war in Angola and exposed the activities of the White
Wolves, a right-wing terrorist group. Critics charge that the
show crosses the line between journalism and advocacy. But
staffers insist they are open to many views and regularly
solicit South African officials for comment. "We strive for
journalistic credibility," says O'Connor, "but we have no
problem being identified as antiapartheid."

    After two seasons of struggling hand to mouth, South Africa
Now seems likely to endure. Its producers have received badly
needed funding in the form of a $100,000 grant from the
Rockefeller Foundation and $25,000 from the Carnegie
Corporation. The show has also won a satellite slot that will
make it available to the nation's 334 PBS stations by late
spring. Far from fearing competition from the upstart
broadcast, many network staffers are actively rooting for its
success. That is one piece of good news about South Africa that
everyone can share.