This press release just in, following Carte Blanche's 22nd birthday edition, which was on last night (Sunday, 12 September) at 19h00:
"Carte Blanche celebrated its 22nd birthday last night with a special episode, written and compiled by viewers - a first for South African television.
Carte Blanche invited the show's loyal viewers to choose the lineup from a list of stories on their social networking pages on
Facebook and
Twitter; and also to write the links that host Derek Watts would read.
Viewers could choose four out of eight stories for the show's line-up by “liking” them on Facebook and Twitter.
Since Carte Blanche is broadcast live, viewers could influence the line-up, and the order that the stories were screened in, by clicking on their “likes” throughout the broadcast. Viewers also had to send their text for Derek’s links directly to the studio during the live broadcast.
The first story that was chosen was a report linking cannabis use to schizophrenia, and the first winning link was submitted by Gareth Daniel. He became one of four of the show's “scriptwriters” to win a trip for two to the Thornybush game lodge.
Managing Editor Jessica Pitchford announced the viewers’ second-most popular story: “Forensics”, a story about the huge delays in toxicology testing results from the Department of Health.
This link was sent in by Linda Meeker, a viewer who herself has been waiting for almost a year for toxicology results - her link won her a trip to a Thornybush camp of her choice.
Executive Producer George Mazarakis noted that viewers were choosing the more serious stories for broadcast. The third story they chose was a report on mercury poisoning. In another prize-winning link, viewer Johan van Niekerk noted that not all fish is created equal when it comes to health benefits.
Peter Griffiths, Carte Blanche’s Interactive Editor, announced the final insert: a story about a handful of photographers who have followed Nelson Mandela for over 30 years and who have captured some heartwarming and historic moments in the remarkable life of this iconic figure. This fourth and final link was submitted by Lisa Drew, who also won a Thornybush trip."
Caret Blanche is on M-Net on Sundays at 19h00.