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Press: Press conference - By B4LLS

AIP is now a member of the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB)

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Exciting news! AIP is now a member of the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) tasked with regulating the advertising industry to ensure ethical advertising.

Octavia Hlungwani will now be representing us on the board.

Being part of the ARB includes rights (we now have access to all the big advertisers who are regulated by the board) and responsibilities (we need to make sure that we don’t carry unethical advertising).

Also, please do explore the ARB’s website including its ethical codes on this website here.

Please see the press release below.

ARB AGM RELEASE

At the Advertising Regulatory Board’s AGM held on Thursday 9 March, several exciting developments were announced:

• The inclusion of a section in the Code that aims to regulate the labelling of paid for ranking in advertising listings. This Code amendment was spearheaded by the Competition Commission;
• The addition of an appendix on Vapour Products, on behalf of ARB member Vapour Products Association of South Africa (VPASA);
• The welcoming of new member AIP (Associated Independent Publishers).

The ARB reported sound financials for the year in review, with healthy growth in its reserve fund. Chair of the ARB, Sadika Fakir, commented that as the ARB approaches 5 years of operation, the industry can be proud of what it has achieved, and excited about the potential of self-regulation to protect consumers.

More about the paid-ranking Code Amendment

The ARB worked with the Competition Commission to add the following clause to the ARB Code:

On intermediation services, search platforms and any similar digital platforms, where businesses pay for a particular rank position, or a boost in their ranking, on the search results page, this constitutes a form of advertising and must be clearly identifiable to the average user through appropriate labels such as: 12.5.1 ‘Sponsored’, 12.5.2 ‘Promoted’ or 12.5.3 ‘Ad’

This clause ensures that consumers will understand that if a listing appears at the top of a search on certain platforms, it is not because it is the “best” but because it is paid for. While this may present some enforcement challenges, it is a step in the right direction, and the ARB will work with the Competition Commission to ensure that this protection has teeth.

“We find ourselves faced with new advertising issues the whole time,” says Gail Schimmel, CEO off the ARB. “We’re excited that the Competition Commission flagged this issue with us, and trusts that self-regulation can be part of the solution.”

James Hodge, Chief Economist, Chair of OIPMI and Acting Deputy Commissioner of the Commission, says, “This development is part of a larger enquiry by the Competition Commission. We are pleased that we can work with the ARB to find an immediate protection for consumers exposed to this advertising.”

More about the Vaping Code

The ARB has worked with member VPASA to develop an appendix that addresses the challenges involved in the marketing of Vapour Products. The new Appendix addresses issues such as marketing to minors and health claims. The full appendix will be available on the ARB website at here.

“This is an inspiring example of an industry stepping up to the plate and embracing ethical advertising through self-regulation, in an area where there has been no other action,” says Gail Schimmel, CEO of the ARB. “We are proud to be part of this important development in consumer protection.”

“VPASA has developed self-regulating guidelines for its members which include standards aimed at preventing youth access to the products. We work with the government and other stakeholders such as the ARB to develop processes, legal regulations and standards for our industry and ensure that consumers have access to all available information about vapour products, and that minors are protected. This addition to the Code will ensure that we have enforceable standards around this shared vision,” explains Asanda Gcoyi, CEO of VPASA.

More about VPASA: here.

More about AIP Membership

The Association of Independent Publishers (AIP) was welcomed as a member of the ARB at the ARB’s AGM. Members of the ARB undertake to bind their membership to the decisions of the Board.
The AIP represents hundreds of small, locally owned media outlets from across the country, including newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and online publications.

“The AIP’s membership is an incredibly important development, as it brings small, independent print and online media into the advertising self-regulatory family,” says Gail Schimmel, CEO of the ARB. “This will ensure wider enforcement of ARB decisions and better protection of consumers.”

Kate Skinner, CEO of the AIP, says, “The AIP is committed to ethical and professional business practice. Joining the ARB, committing to the tenets of its Code, and having our voice heard in the advertising space was an obvious for our members. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership.”

News: Person reading newspaper - By Kaboompics .com from Pexels

AIP NEWSLETTER – DECEMBER 2022

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Here is the latest AIP newsletter December 2022. Please send your comments to [email protected]

Please wait while flipbook is loading. For more related info, FAQs and issues please refer to DearFlip WordPress Flipbook Plugin Help documentation.

 

State of the Newsroom 2021: Outside the Mainstream

On 24 November 2022 the Wits Centre for Journalism held a webinar to launch their report –  “State of the Newsroom 2021: Outside the Mainstream”. As AIP we were delighted to see that the focus was on small independent donor funded publications such as Bhekisisa but also most importantly community media including print, online and radio.

If you missed the webinar please see the link here for a full discussion.

If you would like access to the copy of the report please click the link below:

https://journalism.co.za/resources/state-of-the-newsroom/

AIP and OSF Africa address sustainability challenges faced by community media

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AIP supported by the Open Society Foundation Africa (OSF Africa) recently held a roundtable to discuss sustainability challenges faced by community media publishers.

The virtual roundtable held on 25 October 2022 was chaired by AIP Western Cape board member, Anetta Mangxaba. Speakers included Cheryl Akinyi Odhiambo from OSF Africa; veteran publisher and AIP chairperson Mbali Dhlomo; Professor Bill Reader from the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University and Park Advertising Group Managing Director, Chris Botha.

Cheryl opened the discussion with an input on the importance of community media in Africa. She noted the vital role that community media played in reporting on news and events that took place during the Covid-19 pandemic. She explained, “Having information moving all the way to the grassroots level was really aided by the small media outfits in different geographic locations in countries across the continent.”

Please see the link here for the full discussion and our AIP YouTube channel.

News: Person reading newspaper - By Kaboompics .com from Pexels

The importance of keeping sustainability the focus

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You are invited to AIP-OSF round table on sustainability

Nurturing green shoots in community print and online media: The importance of keeping sustainability the focus

Register in advance for this meeting:

CLICK THE LINK TO REGISTER : https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpceigqzojEtN2FwXvWugBxbTuWH6bYu37

*Zoom link will be sent to you once you have registered

The 1 hour session will be followed by a 15 minute Q&A

Date:Tuesday 25 October
Time: 12 noon

The roundtable will be chaired by our AIP Western Cape board member, Anetta Mangxaba, Cheryl Akinyi Odhiambo (OSF Africa) will open the round table with an input on the importance of community media on the continent. We will then have an overview of the community media sector in SA and our sustainability plans, presented by Mbali Dhlomo (AIP chairperson).

Chris Botha (Park Advertising) will share a new vision for community media advertising, and what needs to be done. The session will conclude with a discussion on the international sustainability perspective, led by Prof. Bill Reader (E. W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University).

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpceigqzojEtN2FwXvWugBxbTuWH6bYu37

News: Person reading newspaper - By Kaboompics .com from Pexels

AIP Newsletter August – September 2022

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Here is the latest AIP newsletter August – September 2022. Please send your comments to [email protected]

Please wait while flipbook is loading. For more related info, FAQs and issues please refer to DearFlip WordPress Flipbook Plugin Help documentation.

News: Person reading newspaper - By Kaboompics .com from Pexels

Call for Tenders: Supporting community media sustainability in the digital environment

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Introduction

The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is the most influential media freedom advocacy grouping in South Africa. It consists of title editors and senior journalists operating in print, broadcasting, and digital mainstream at national, regional and community media levels, as well as media trainers and academics from major journalism departments and training institutes in the country.

SANEF’s vision is to promote the quality and ethics of journalism, to reflect the diversity of South Africa, to champion freedom of expression and to work towards the sustainability of journalism.

SANEF is aware of the critical importance of community media to the overall diversity of the media industry. However, we are concerned about the difficult environment that community media are operating in and the fact that many print and broadcast newsrooms struggle to diversify their content distribution and revenue options to include digitally driven future growth areas.

As one way forward SANEF would like to launch a project to assist selected print and broadcast community media organisations to create an online presence through developing sustainable websites and social media strategies. Where necessary, the service provider can also showcase how collaboration can benefit community media, in specific  and close regions.

Services required

SANEF would like to invite civic/media tech organisations/companies/consultancies with a track record in digital media/journalism projects to manage and implement a community media digital development project with the following elements:

  1. Design digital workflows and tools for implementation in traditional print and broadcast newsrooms to enable them to publish their content on both traditional and online platforms, as part of a plan to ensure future sustainability.  Elements should include basics such as tools and workflows for digital newsgathering and multimedia production, a WordPress, or similar or better, content management and web publication system and social media strategies and management tools; as well as optional modules such as for streaming and podcasting services, and for different platforms (e.g. WhatsApp, TikTok). The proposed websites should also offer publishers/broadcasters an opportunity to explore alternative revenue streams, i.e. subscription services, online ad revenue, e-commerce or added-value offerings. The websites should also provide for interaction with third party applications, such as Pocket Reporter, which guides young reporters on how to do a variety of stories.
  2. Management of a pilot project to implement variations of this online toolkit in a first batch of 10 to 15 community print and broadcast newsrooms, considering available r  individual infrastructure, requirements, and online opportunities in their communities. The project roll-out in each newsroom should include workshops to agree on a suitable set of solutions in each environment as part of a future sustainability plan, hardware, and software set-up as well as the necessary workflow and tools training to enable them to work on their own. In this process the proposed digital workflows and tools (as in 1 above) should be tested and refined for possible roll-out to a second batch of community newsrooms (not included in this tender).
  3. Establishing a central development and help desk to provide support for the roll-out and operations of the digital production and online services of the selected newsrooms.
  4. The proposed criteria and process to select the first batch of community newsrooms for the pilot project, considering provincial, language, urban/rural diversity and different kinds and sizes of newsrooms.

In summary, the project deliverables and budget must make provision for:

  • In point 1, a digital community media sustainability strategy, supported by a blueprint for implementation of a generic plan with variations for different kinds of newsrooms and online content services; plus, the hardware and software requirements per newsroom to implement variations of the blueprint. Also provide a timeline for implementation for each newsroom and for the entire project.
  • In point 2, the individual newsroom digital sustainability implementation plan, hardware and software implementation and training for each newsroom. Provision needs to be made for an assessment stage and adjustments (where necessary), and recommendations for the next batch based on lessons learnt from each newsroom.
  • In point 3, please provide details of the nature and operations of the central desk and services to be provided, from bulk hardware and software acquisition and licensing to management of a central server (if required) and support and maintenance services.
  • In point 4, details about the management of the selection process.

Submitting the tender

The tender document(s) must contain the following:

  • Name of bidder and contact details including company registration
  • Demonstrated experience in undertaking similar projects
  • Two references (name, phone and email, context in which you have worked together).
  • Detailed outline of the project plan, timeline and budget

Shortlisted bidders may be asked to present to the SANEF Management and Community Media sub-committees.

Due date for submission: Monday, 11 July 2022

Submit your tender(s) to [email protected].

Please note the decision of the SANEF Management and Community Media Sub-Committees are final and no correspondence will be entered into with unsuccessful bidders.

Litigation: Judge Gavel with Justice Lawyers Having Team Meeting at Law Firm - By SUWANNAR KAWILA

AIP Legally Challenges Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) and Competition Commission for Its Refusal to Support Publishers Impacted by Unfair Competition

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The Association of Independent Publishers (AIP) have served legal papers on the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) and Competition Commission South Africa (CCSA) to review certain decisions by the CCSA and MDDA relating to, amongst other things, the criteria for funding of their Economic Development Fund (EDF) with a view to ensuring that the EDF benefits small, grassroots publishers who were the victims of unfair competition.

The EDF is a fund which was established by the CCSA and administered by the MDDA. In 2011, the Commission initiated an investigation into various large media companies. The investigation uncovered evidence that the latter, through the Media Credit Coordinators (MCC) had agreed to offer similar discounts and payment terms to accredited and non-accredited agencies that placed adverts with MCC members. The Commission found that the MCC was ultimately a pricing mechanism that breached the Competition Act, 1998. As a result of these investigations, the implicated companies were fined an amount of R39 million and the funds were housed in the EDF.

Over a number of years, the AIP and its members have met with the CCSA and the MDDA to plead that a substantive portion of the funds be set aside to directly assist independent publishers, who bore the brunt of the unfair competition. However, these pleas have fallen on deaf ears. The CCSA and MDDA have chosen instead to allocate the funds to other categories such as start-ups and students.

The MDDA released a document on 17 January 2022 that confirmed that the amount collected was R39 million but only a tiny portion of the Fund (R5.2 million) would be disbursed for sustainability projects that would assist surviving publishers.

At the end of January 2022, the MDDA sent out an advertisement calling for applications to the Fund, giving applicants only a single month to apply. The AIP immediately expressed its distress and met with both organisations to discuss the eligibility criteria again and, again, no progress was made.

A small glimmer of hope then appeared when the MDDA Board stated that they were happy to meet with the AIP Board on 22 April to discuss the matters. However, nothing came of the meeting. The AIP then decided to take the matter to court.

Chairperson of the AIP Board, Ms Mbali Dhlomo expressed her disappointment at the manner in which these two state organs have treated the AIP. She stated, “They have been playing a cat-and-mouse game with us for far too long now. We need a solution which will be beneficial to our members who bore the brunt of the unfair and anti-competitive behavior by the major media players between 2010 and 2015.

The community print media sector is made up of very committed publishers who have struggled for a number of years. It cannot be that when funds become available, only a fraction of these funds are allocated to the print media sector, and publishers have to apply to access them. They deserve better than what has been offered to them.”

ISSUED BY THE AIP BOARD

Spokespersons:

Kate Skinner – Executive Director – (082) 926-6404

Mbali Dhlomo – Chairperson of the AIP Board – (083) 466-0027

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