Chair of e.tv denies ANC influence

Private broadcaster e.tv hit back at allegations that its editorial independence was under threat from a political and trade union plot to sway coverage on its 24-hour eNCA news channel.

In an e-mail to staff yesterday, John Copelyn, the chairman of eNCA parent company Sabido Investments, dismissed accusations by suspended CEO Marcel Golding - who resigned on Monday - that the ANC had tried to influence its news agenda.

Said Copelyn: "Apart from an ideological rejection of political interference, there are compelling business reasons never to allow this to happen."

The spat between Copelyn and Golding, apartheid-era trade unionists who founded the channel in 1998, using funds from the South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union, has raised questions about media freedom.

The union is an ally of President Jacob Zuma, and Golding said the union used its influence on the board of eNCA's parent company to push for favourable coverage of state infrastructure projects ahead of the election in May.

The Hosken Consolidated Investments board last week suspended Golding for misconduct and later ordered a disciplinary hearing, claiming in court papers that he had purchased shares for the company in Ellies Holdings without proper authorisation.

Former health minister Barbara Hogan also resigned from the board this week.

In her resignation letter, she wrote: "I am mindful of the briefing that Yunis Shaik gave me when he claimed that [the clothing union], a significant shareholder in HCI, had lost patience with the editorial practices of e.tv, citing the failure to give prominent coverage to Minister Ebrahim Patel's economic pronouncements, as an instance of such dissatisfaction."

Golding resigned after losing a court bid to overturn his suspension, which Copelyn said was the result of Golding buying R24-million worth of shares in Ellies without board approval.

Golding has said the investment was a strategic one, made to help another group company.