His masters voice - a phrase that once upon a time was used frequently when referring to the South African Broadcasting Corporation SABC. The reference meaning, that the SABC Board - and inevitably the newsroom - pandered to the government of the day.
And this was not limited to the pre-1994 era. It took former employees, Parliament, and civil society to intervene to turn the ship around and to change the sentiment.
In recent history, the operations of the SABC Board have been open to more scrutiny and transparency.
Some argue that controversy often follows where there is an SABC Board. The organ responsible for making sure that the public broadcaster doesnt stray from its mandate has had some challenges after 2012.
SABC 75 The SABCs journey from State mouthpiece to public broadcaster