Zuma on the airwaves: The sound of nothing, the meaning of silence When the presidency acceded to an interview with Talk Radio 702, surely there was some strategic thinking about what President Jacob Zuma would be communicating. It was to be an hour-long live interview broadcast simultaneously on 702 and its sister station, 567 Cape Talk. Zuma doesn’t do media interviews very often, particularly live broadcasts, and therefore there would have had to be some tactical planning. There would be consideration given to the timing of the interview and the burning issues on the national agenda. As this was an independent radio station and the interviewer, Redi Tlhabi, was bound to focus on the running controversies, the president would have to be prepped with coherent responses and advised on how to handle the hot potatoes. He would also need to have some positive messaging on tap to counter the current negative publicity. Besides, it’s five months till he is up for re-election; s...