For your amusement - we were sent this fun yet appropriate story by Tashi Tagg, who follows the SASFED news. Seems she made her own list of demands to the SABC. She posted it on her website (www.tvsa.co.za) on the 9th of June 2009.
Dear To SABC (whoever that might be 'cos I don't have a clue).
Please will you ENSURE that you do the following things because all the MANY, MANY fiasco’s you've been involved in recently are messing with my TV-Mojo bigtime - which SUCKS.
As a viewer and TV-license-payee, this is what I want from my national broadcaster:
MY MEMORANDUM OF DEMANDS:
1. Fun, entertainment and TV shows!!! The very thing you're supposed to provide us with. Pleeeeeeease, - is it too much to ask that you buy and produce cool shows and allow us to watch them: uninterrupted, unhindered, with no threat that they might disappear or be rescheduled - or never get shown even though you have them??
2. I want to be left out of ALL politics surrounding the SABC - it's not what I signed up for - ever. I don’t want to have to stress that you haven’t got money to continue; or haven’t paid people; or that fave shows are going to suddenly disappear because of it.
I also don't want to stress that I'm being censored from seeing something or that TV shows don't have freedom of speech - it shouldn't even be a thought that it's a possibility - I don't want agenda-driven interference from ANYONE.
I want my TV to be my ultimate democratic freedom.
Also, I’ve got waaay too many worries about the recession and money and everything else in everyday life to have to stress about your stresses too. The cheek of it !- the whole point of TV is to escape from the general wear and tear of life - the last thing I want at the end of a long day is to have to worry about or be angry with you for a gazillion reasons on a nightly basis.
3. Actually ... thinking about it, it’s so unbelievably unfair - our relationship’s a completely one-sided thing. I’m giving my eyeballs, my enthusiasm, hope, license fee and feelings; and you’re giving back headaches, stresses, frustrations and repeats after repeats after repeats. Where are my needs being met in all this??
If you were my BF or husband, you'd have SPEAK TO THE HAND.
4. I want you to organise a hot-hot-hotshot advertising sales team to sell advertising in-between; and before and after shows. You are the national broadcaster so it’s just not possible that advertisers aren’t keen to throw their money at you.
But DON’T sell them advertiser-made shows - these types of shows take us all for fools, are never creative and nobody enjoys them so they're a waste of money.
5. You need to respect the moolah that comes in from license fees and appreciate how difficult it is for some people to pay - yet they do. There are those who are so keen to "do the right thing” that they’ll pay their licenses off at R20 a month to make sure they contribute.
These R20’s are worth a fortune, please treat them as such.
6. I want you to be competitive when it comes to the shows you both buy and make - outwheel and outdeal for them, try your hardest (fisticuff if you have to) to get the hottest, latest shows.
Also, provide us with a good mix of local and international programming so that we can be proudly South African and globally connected. Allow us to see our country and the world - NOW. Not in five or ten years time - we DON”T want shows that are dated and old – we want to be relevant and current, in-touch and an inter-connected part of our country and world.
7. Don’t give us a programming line-up that suggests those who schedule things have DStv and a PVR and don’t care what’s on nor how it's structured.
8. Don’t NOT use actors or presenters or other types because they've been involved with other channels or networks. Show us everyone, give us all options.
Also, talk to us, update us, explain.
9. Get the SABC Sports channel sorted out - YESTERDAY already. Use cash generated by the hotshot ad team and set-up a special fund e.g all revenue from sports matches over the next three months goes towards the new channel.
10. In a nutshell: you are our broadcaster and NEED to be on our side so that we can have a TV-mojo that entertains us in this crazy world of ours.
Regards,
Tashi Tagg
Long-time TV addict
