Perlman+considers+options+SABC,+Edwin+Naidu,+Sunday+Independent

Sunday Independent, March 04, 2007 //Edition 2//
=Perlman considers options after leaving SABC=


 * Edwin Naidu**

Respected radio personality John Perlman is not short of job offers after leaving the SABC on Friday.

"I had a five-week break in December so I want to get busy again… I've had a lot of interesting offers but I need to clear my head first before deciding what to do. I'm still catching my breath," he said after leaving AM Live, the talk radio show he hosted with distinction for nine years.

Perlman told The Sunday Independent he was intent on reflecting on the positive aspects of his stint with the public broadcaster's radio station SAfm.

"It's been an emotional day," he said, referring to the broadcast of his final show on Friday. "Today, I am feeling very positive although it [his departure] has been sad. I want to remember the best of times."

Perlman said he left because of a variety of complex issues that he did not wish to resurrect. "My views on certain things are a matter of record," he said.

Perlman's departure was preceded by a picket protest led by the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) and the placement of an advertisement carrying more than 200 signatures paying tribute to him.

"I am grateful that people have raised these issues. There are really important issues facing the public broadcaster and anything that focuses on them would be good," he said.

Perlman's on-air clash with Kaizer Kganyago, the SABC spokesperson, over the existence of a blacklist of commentators critical of the government led to a commission of inquiry.

Kganyago denied the existence of the blacklist in an interview with Perlman, who confirmed he was aware of the ruling to bar several commentators from the airwaves. Following the saga, the SABC was given a list of recommendations aimed at removing an atmosphere of fear and mistrust at the corporation. Insiders claim none of them has been implemented. Perlman, however, was reportedly given a warning for bringing the organisation into disrepute.

He refused to accept the warning and wanted a disciplinary hearing to go ahead. It has been suggested that Perlman left because of the SABC's failure to implement any of the commission's recommendations.

Last week, the FXI laid a complaint about the SABC, relating to the alleged blacklisting of commentators, with the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa. The FXI also staged a picket outside the SABC on Friday.

Dali Mpofu, the SABC group chief executive, said the corporation agreed with critics who regretted Perlman's decision to leave.

"People are entitled to their views, if they have money to express it through advertisements, although I am not sure Perlman would agree with all of the issues they raised," he said.

Mpofu said people were second-guessing the reasons for Perlman's departure.

"…I tried to persuade him to stay but he's been here nine years and for an organisation of this size with more than 7 000 employees you expect people to move on and seek greener pastures. The SABC will move forward. The corporation will be here long after all of us are gone," he said.

Jane Duncan, the FXI director, said the picket was held to demand a response from the SABC to a memorandum submitted to the broadcaster by members of the FXI's communication rights campaign in November.

The memorandum raised a number of issues of concern to various communities that the SABC claimed to serve.


 * From: http://www.sundayindependent.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3713246**

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