ZaNews, the satirical programme featuring life-size puppet charicatures of South African politicians is now showing on the Internet. Created by French executive producer, Thierry Cassuto, and controversial South African cartoonist, Jonathan Shapiro (Zapiro) the programme was orginally commissioned by SABC; but they shelved it - in horror - when they viewed the pilot which poked fun at powerful figures such as Jacob Zuma. Shapiro and Cassuto then took their pilot to the Mail&Guardian who posted it on their website. Bizarrely, SABC then tried to lay charges against M&G for theft: theft of a programme that they didn’t have the courage to broadcast. Meanwhile, as the legal shenanigans continue in the background, Shapiro and Cassuto, with sponsorship from the budget airline, Kululu.com and M&G have moved their show onto the Internet. As they keep reminding their viewers, the Internet is a place "where you can". With daily clips during the week and a longer recap on Saturdays, let’s hope that they go from strength to strength, shining the sharp light of satire on the antics of local politicians. (Watch it at www.zanews.co.za)
