National broadcaster blacks out SA domestic season

Johannesburg - In an era where the favourite buzzwords are ``transformation'' and ``affirmative action'', especially in sport, those who rely heavily on the electronic media for accurate up-to-date information are being seriously disadvantaged.

Especially if they tune into the national broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation and their so-called ``flagship'' SAFM, the self-styled ``station for the well informed''.

But as the domestic first-class season moves into its second week SABC and the ``station for the well informed'' along with others run by the corporation have gone out of their way to ignore the SuperSport series. So, about the only way those looking for information on the domestic front are going to get it is by either popping on to the web and read CricInfo or buy one of your local newspapers.

There we were on Monday morning, all aware that Kepler Wessels had retired the previous day. About 15 hours after the event up jumps the sports programme announcer on SAFM to warble away his chosen lines and switch on the tape with a snippet of interview with Wessels and the so called reasons to quit. The retirement came, we were all told, after Griqualand West had lost to Gauteng.

Okay, so what was the game? A three-day friendly or a limited-overs slog? Perhaps a six-a-side frolic? And what is this? Adam Bacher scoring 195 in a bid to win back his Test place being totally ignored as was Daryll Cullinan's century. And Gauteng's record score of 640 for six declared. What about Boeta Dippenaar, after his indifferent performances in Nairobi Kenya, scoring a double century for Free State against Boland to rescue his side from defeat?

Not even that exceptional performance elicited some recognition on radio in this country as SABC seem to have, in a fit of pique, deliberately blacked out or boycotted information about the SuperSport Series because it is an event sponsored by a rival media organisation. Now that would be an interesting one to place before the Independent Broadcasting Commission: denial by the national broadcaster of the public's right to know.

Just the sort of childish act which continued on the Saturday afternoon when Mabaleng perpetuated the ostrich in the sand attitude by ignoring the obvious and broadcasting the frivolous. Along with a couple of winter sideshows invading the summer scene attention was deliberately, it seems, deflected in numerous directions and away from the SuperSport Series.

Having lost rugby to SuperSport, and just about everything else, the Saturday sport TV show concentrates hour after hour on soccer: summer and winter. Radio, however, goes one further: SAFM and the sports bureau warbler delights in passing off cricket information which is more than 24 hours old, or in the case of Richard Pybus taking over the Pakistan coaching job, a week. Then again, when Graham Barlow was named yesterday by Border as Pybus' successor, the mystery competition in which Border and the other 10 provinces play was again overlooked.

Now comes information via the grapevine, and a pretty accurate one it has proved to be in the past that SABC have decided, in their boardroom wisdom, not to give any airtime to the domestic season at all until December 1 when the Standard Bank Series (limited-overs) competition is launched. Then, what do we have? Hey, we actually have a domestic season which has suddenly just started: blackout the first two months, though, that's not at all important.

Forget, of course, South Africa would have by then played three Tests: two against Zimbabwe and one against England with the team for the first of these having been announced in the middle of the third series of SuperSport Series matches. Anyone having not read a newspaper would be wondering how Bacher earned a place back in the side at the expense of . . . Allan Donald has failed a fitness test for the Zimbabwe series when he was bowling for Free State against Western Province . . . Grapevine information also has it that Radio 2000 may give a ``30 minutes packaged highlights'' at 6.30 pm of each day's play of the first Tests against Zimbabwe in Bloemfontein, with two minute crossings every hour.

Ali Bacher, managing director of the United Cricket Board, was to have had a meeting this week with some SABC big wig to sort out radio coverage of the Tests between South Africa and England. The SABC are, suggests the grapevine contact, offering Radio 2000 to cover a portion of the day's play: tea until close with two minute up dates every half hour. As the good doctor explained during Tuesday's launch of the R102-million (about $US60-million) sponsorship involving Castle Lager and MTN, SABC keep on palming off Radio 2000 as, like the SuperSport Series, is some mythical Shangrila.

Perhaps the SABC and their Saturday afternoon radio sports division need to take a careful look at their shrinking image and programming. Their current excuse is that there is too much soccer/rugby/athletics/boxing/horse-racing/jukskei/polo/hockey/road running to broadcast: and this at the start of a cricket season. Last night was a pretty good example. The national under-23 soccer side involved in some play-off, and an obituary of some former soccer club captain was given an airing (along with Border and the Barlow connection) while the big news of the day, Allan Donald's fitness worry was ignored.

One Reef independent radio station (Classic FM) broadcast an interview with national selection panel convener Rushdie Majiet about the selectors' thoughts on Hansie Cronje's future. As usual the sports warbler on SAFM (renamed the station for the uninformed) missed that one. Yet it makes you wonder, when he describes Paul Adams as a right arm spinner during the LG Cup tournament in Nairobi, if he really knows what `Gogga' actually bowls. During the LG Cup tournament we had that misnomer for a sports programme ``inspiration for the nation'' screening a 90 minutes highlight package of South Africa's games so late that few stayed up to watch. And then they claim there was no interest. Indeed the SABC have bowled themselves yet another discriminatory googly and don't quite know how to handle it.