SABC staff were shocked when an announcement was made that the popular Face the Nation political talk show, hosted by Clement Manyathela, was being canned because it drew “millions” of viewers.
Several sources in the SABC have told the Sunday Times the flagship programme was doing well, and at one stage the broadcaster was contemplating hiring more people for the show or doubling the number of weekly slots to four.
Manyathela, who is also a popular radio presenter on 702, said he was told of the decision at a meeting with management last month. The official reason given was that the SABC could no longer afford the show.
A producer at the SABC said the show could not be cripplingly expensive because only three people worked on it, in addition to Manyathela.
The newly appointed head of news, Deidre “Dee” Uren, is said to have been under sustained pressure, particularly from the Presidency, leading to her decision not to renew the show.
“She said the Presidency is complaining about that interview [with presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya],” said a source.
“Dee, then, is the one who went to say, ‘We are not going to renew Clement because of that.’ Normally the people who make decisions on presenters are executive producers, not even the head of TV, but on this one of Clement it is her [Uren] who said, ‘This one is not going to be renewed.’”
Another insider, who is in senior management at the SABC, said complaints reached boiling point after Manyathela’s interview with Magwenya.
“What I heard around mid-February was that it had to do with how he treated Vincent. I heard Clement’s show was being terminated and that it was being presented as if there were no money. But the issue is an interview that was done with Vincent; that was like a breaking point,” said the insider.
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