SABC

Chairperson of the SABC Board, Professor Ben Ngubane, says the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association conference is being held at the right time for South Africa. The conference, which is being held in Sandton, north of Johannesburg, was founded in 1945.

Objectives of the gathering include promoting the concept of public service broadcasting and fostering freedom of expression. Ngubane says they are excited that one of the major training points at the conference will be about educating and preparing sports commentators on what they need to do in terms of pre-match planning, language and the sports commentary. He says these aspects emphasise the importance of the conference as well as that of the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Ngubane added that the workshops held at the conference will be very helpful to South Africa's media as the World Cup draws near. Earlier, the Communications department's Mlindi Kgamedi said public broadcasting should be a window through which South Africa's diverse cultures and its people should be reflected. Kgamedi also said there is a need for public broadcasters to be centres of excellence.

Mlindi's expectations are for discussions to be more robust in the next few days as delegates engage on issues including media freedom, the coverage of major sporting events and new ways of funding public service broadcasting content. According to Mlindi, lessons shared on the coverage of major sporting events will certainly be useful as the SABC prepares to broadcast the World Cup.