Naspers: Offending Jazz Article

This article was thrown out by Naspers' People's Post because of Jansen's comments, his association with a "club of ill-repute" -- the West End in Rylands -- and the fact that it mentions Jimmy Dludlu, a black man, in a community paper targeted at "coloureds".

ROBBIE COMMENTS ON DLUDLU'S SAMA SUCCESS

by David Robert Lewis

JIMMY DLUDLU'S ability to arouse local audiences with his jazz guitar while tapping into our nation's "quest for Africanness" resulted in two SAMA awards this year. Dludlu's amazing 'nouveaux jazz' recording, Corners of My Soul, raked in the South African Music Awards trophies, for being the country's "best jazz album" -- giving the musician the additional honour of "best male artist". Being celebrated as a "jazz great" at the '12th Annual MTN-sponsored SA Music Awards' is no mean feet, and laying claim to any of these astonishing titles is obviously a boost for one's career -- one's ego as well as sales.

Dludlu however was in Mocambique and unavailable for comment, but he spoke to the press via his record label; "To me, winning the SA Music Awards means a lot. It means that my peers, the music industry and people in general are acknowledging that I am making a contribution to South African music and culture. I am very honoured to receive this acknowledgement, and to be making this contribution". Translation -- Dludlu was over the moon and still jolling to the tune of King Tokyo three weeks later.

Winning a SAMA is considered by some to be the ultimate accolade in the music industry (more than 800 entries were received for this year's awards and the competition was tougher than ever.)

However, speaking from his Cape home, local Goema king, Robbie Jansen, criticised the industry celebration: "To me the SAMA award reminds me of the Sarie awards of the Apartheid era --"Se Ma So" awards. I wish there was awards for nice players, thoughtful and conscientious play, people who play with feeling, for people with compassion, another type of award, not a popularity award." Jansen's criticism comes after years of being sidelined as a "Cape artist" whose national appeal is rather to jazz aficionados -- the educated few who are interested in his trademark alto saxophone and vertuoso flute playing -- not the mass consumption of larger audiences, drawn by the much younger Dludlu and his jazz guitar.

Although, Robbie's album, Nomad Jez was nominated for a SAMA, it didn't make it. No surprise, since sales have a lot to do with the award. Jansen travelled to Johannesburg specially for the blue chip, prize-giving ceremony, "I went up there, everybody is pretending to be somebody else, I didn't see any artists, just a whole lot of pretenders, a different tribe I guess, it's not 'who are you?', but 'what are you wearing'.
Musicians of Jansen's calibre are usually loathe to say anything about the music industry, but Jansen is an exception. After nearly suffering a fatal heart attack last year, he made a come-back and defied all the odds with an album that is by some accounts, one of his finest and most accomplished.

"It's unfortunate I didn't get the award, if I did I would have gotten it. Cheap words I guess. The prize money would have been welcome." After some encouragement, and despite warnings by his producer not to talk to the press, Jansen commented on Dludlu's prize feat: "We have a lot of George Bensons, I'm not saying Dludlu is George Benson, but you know what I mean." Our very own Jazz maestro, despite losing out to the competition, has a soft spot for the 'Man from Mocambique', and voiced sympathy for fellow nominees who, like him, didn't make it: "Dludlu plays a nice guitar, but the piano player, Andile Yanana, (who was nominated for his 2005 album Whose Got the Map along with Judith Sepuma's New Beginnings) is also a very good player, I would have thought the award would have gone to him. Sipho Hotstix Mabuse also thought so," he told the Post.

Be that as it may, Jansen is not sorry he went for this years SAMA. "I like making music, to get a nomination was good, but there's obviously a lot of politics, it's not just black-or-white, it's about record companies -- big companies who submit a lot of nominations get priority; music politics is awkward, it's very hard to see yourself clearly."

Jansen is obviously not taking his defeat lying down. Along with fellow musician Glen Robertson, he is busy developing new talent and young jazz artists and says "through People's Post, we can reach out to them." As for the perennial problem of defining the indefinable, the fearsome 'holy music', the gospel called jazz; Jansen let us all in on a family-business secret: "What is jazz?" he inquired, "it is improvised music. Jazz is music you investigate, you do things to it, you nurture it, you get some new flower, you create a new sound."

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION TO END PREJUDICE IN SA PUBLISHING

Naspers: This is not a Stunt!

SOME of you may think that the Media Hackers Ball is pulling a stunt with this protest action against Naspers. While the issues at stake are serious, we believe the best way to tackle them is by exposing the Media's naked prejudice with a bit of fun. In addition to a global petition against prejudice in SA publishing, we are calling for supporters to rag Naspers as much as possible.

Here are tips on How To Organize a Demonstration from Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, an organisation that recommends media activism as a tool against complacency.

Depending on how well it is organized, how many people participate in it, how convincing its message is and how much coverage other media outlets devote to it, a demonstration can be an effective tool of media activism.

When and where to demonstrate
Make sure you have a convincing case of media bias-- unfounded accusations serve only to delegitimize your cause as well as future attempts at media reform. Also ensure that all other avenues have been exhausted, i.e. phone calls, letters and meetings have not worked. The best place to demonstrate is in front of the media outlet itself. Choose a time that makes it convenient for as many activists as possible to attend, and when most employees at the media outlet can observe the demonstration (e.g. early morning, lunch time, late afternoon).

Publicity
Try to allow at least a week to publicize your demonstration. Advertise through flyers, local community forums, newspapers and radio stations, and other activist groups and newsletters. (Community radio stations like the Pacifica affiliates will often announce demonstrations.) Include a name and number for information about last-minute changes.

Placards and signs
Distill the gist of your case and recommendations into a few pithy phrases and slogans. Most passersby do not have the time or inclination to chat with demonstrators, so it is important that your placards catch their attention and convey the message. Once you have their attention, they are more likely to take your fact sheets and other information.

Press packets and information sheets
Make sure you call the press well in advance, so that your demonstration gets reported. Prepare a detailed documentation of your case (e.g. photocopies of articles, letters to the editor, and the editor's replies), along with some recommendations (e.g. an apology from the editor or director, an expanded and more diverse panel of experts). Also include a one-page cover sheet which briefly summarizes the main points of your case. Remember: Don't burden the press with excessive information, but make sure your allegations are backed up with sound evidence. Give copies of the one-page cover sheet to passersby as well.

Slogans and chanting
To draw attention to your demonstration, you may want to chant catchy slogans. Try not to sound belligerent—think about the impression you are making on the targets of your demo and on passersby. Make your point in mainstream language that gives the greatest number of people the opportunity to agree with you. You want to show that you are the reasonable and principled side. Keep in mind that you are not calling for media censorship, but constructive reform.

FAIR http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=120

NASPERS: The relativity of prejudice?

Would you spike a story about a jazz musician from Athlone, in a community paper serving the area, on the basis that he performed in a club of ill-repute? Nobody is going to accept the views of Naspers on this matter.

Would you inflame Muslim views simply because your consider Islamic art to be inferior to Christian art? Nobody is going to accept the views of Naspers on this matter ever again.

Would you sweep the history of slavery and apartheid under the carpet in the interests of national reconciliation? Naspers did, and now nobody is ever going to believe them, ever again.

I'm not going to stop until the company apologises for its complicity in apartheid and its policy towards different faiths, people of colour and freedom of speech.

The petition is global, and people are already starting to ask questions.

As for other media houses -- get your house in order, because there is more shit coming this way.

NASPERS: Prejudice as Policy?

THE Iranian-Australian artist, Farideh Zariv, bought her first Hand of Fatima in 1990. Her collection has grown to more than eighty pieces and has been collected from Iran, as well as from all over the Arabic-speaking world and India.

A selection of pieces from this collection are, curiously, on display at the Bo-Kaap IZIKO Museum in Cape Town. The exhibition is for some, literally a godsend, and surely evidence of "goddess worship" amongst the faithful? Zariv says: "...each hand has a message for humankind. The Hand of Fatima is a symbol of that message, carrying spiritual and mystical meanings. This hand could be a hand of light, showing humankind the way to brightness and peace. It could also be a hand, which directs human attention to inner spirituality. In my art I try to convey this message including the essence of the hand in the title of each work."

I attended one of the workshops on Islamic Art, accompanying the exhibition. Nasser Palangi, guided us through Islamic print-making and pattern-making -- both two extremely profound and ancient crafts, which have a resonance in Cape Town's beleagured textile industry. The small, group of "artists" sitting in the Bo-Kaap museum were enthralled by Palangi's talk of "harmony, movement and contrast", and I couldn't help think that we could all do with some spiritual harmony in the Cape.

Unfortunately, there always has to be something or somebody breaking the feminine spell, to thrust upon the world, a more masculine image of the feminine, and readers of Naspers' People's Post will probably not be reading about this kind of thing, since the editor, one Annelien Dean, chucked out the Hand of Fatima story brief, subbed by myself, along with a piece on a Memory of Slavery exhibition, also at Iziko, this is in addition to robbing readers of an interview with Cape Jazz Legend, Robbie Jansen, also conducted by myself.

There is no accounting for peoples tastes and prejudices, but when it comes to the goddess I feel strongly, and so I have lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission regarding this matter including the company's policy towards Orthodox Jews. How can I fight for some rights and not those of my own people?

The HRC is in the process of investigating a complaint about Naspers and its treatment of religious sensitivities and issues of colour at a community level.

In fact after considerable abuse meting out by Naspers managment, I was left with no other option but to refuse to tender my labour -- not only did the company expect me to work on the Jewish Sabbath without overtime -- a period considered holy by some, but it seemed to believe that I, as a "Boere-Jew", would agree to participate in the suppression of what many people consider, not only holy, but a valuable and often maligned movement in the wider world of arts and culture.

How can we forget the history of slavery at the Cape, our own apartheid memory and the struggle for human rights? Simple -- as Naspers Management will no doubt tell you -- "all of that stuff is negative &*^%$#@ and we don't want any of it here, in our company."


To view some of the images of the Fatima, click on this link: http://www.artzone.co.za/template_level2.asp?parentseq=673

PETITION AGAINST PREJUDICE IN PUBLISHING

We the undersigned, demand that South Africa's publishing industry, in particular, Naspers/Media24 and its affiliates such as "Die Burger" put an end to prejudice in publishing and that media companies stop discriminating against employees, clients and the public on the basis of faith, class, colour and creed.

Furthermore we demand that Naspers/Media24 and its affiliates, such as Via Afrika, Paarl Media & Educor carry a "Racism, Sexism and Prejudice-Free" sticker on products until such time as all discrimination is done away with.

In addition, the group's community newspapers such as Metroburger and People's Post, should reflect the views of the community and not the racist ideology and apartheid editorials of the past.

PUT AN END TO PREJUDICE IN PUBLISHING

STOP MEDIA APARTHEID

NO TO RACIST AND SEXIST BAASKAP IN THE WORKPLACE

SIGN THIS PETITION

BOYCOTT PREJUDICE IN THE SA PUBLISHING INDUSTRY

JA BAAS!
Some people just don’t get it, the apartheid system built upon ignorance, greed and prejudice is long gone. Unfortunately, some Naspers & Media24 employees want to perpetuate a form of racial domination that ignores the rights of people of different faiths, beliefs and opinions.

Recently the company expanded its community newspapers in the areas of Grassy Park, Athlone, Lansdowne and Retreat. The People’s Post claims to “tell it as it is” but the truth is, it won’t be covering the Jazz from Manenburg, or the History of Slavery at the Cape. In fact, it won’t even cover poets who live in “historically disadvantaged” areas.

Why? Because Naspers & Media24 is a racist and prejudiced company, here only for a quick buck. It has paid lip-service to diversity and equality in the workplace and continues to discriminate.

Please boycott Naspers & Media24 and its affiliates, such as Via Afrika, Paarl Media & Educor and demand that their products carry a “Racism, Sexism and Prejudice-Free” sticker in the future.

BOYCOTT PREJUDICE IN THE BOOK TRADE