Season 1
In the Public Interest is a South African live production of SABC News that critically debates with different media stakeholders from TV, radio, Internet and press.
The series premiered on SABC3 on Sunday 2 July 2006, at 09h30.
Synopsis
Issues discussed are central to the performance of the media, such as ethics and the commercial pressures that journalists face.
The programme also unpacks and provides analysis of weekly top and breaking stories (either political, social, economic etc.). This leads into a discussion around what the forthcoming big stories are likely to be.
The programme incorporates an interactive element via viewer contributions in the form of views, opinions and analysis of media stories, which are solicited on the main issue of the day through SMS, faxes and emails.
The media is essential to the functioning of an effective democracy, yet very little information is delivered in terms of the way in which they operate – such as the selection of stories, the way in which stories are constructed and the constraints under which they operate.
In the Public Interest attempts to inform the public on these issues.