Ruth First fellows deconstruct youth violence and rage
The annual Ruth First memorial lecture took place on Wednesday evening.
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Future of journalism in the spotlight at local conference
COVERING THE BIG NEWS: Business Day editor Songezo Zibi. Photo: Dinesh Balliah.
This year’s Menell Media Exchange conference played host to much needed debates and commentary about the future of the media industry.
The conference, which took place in Sandton, Johannesburg this Friday and Saturday, was not short on humour as delegates and speakers confronted the prickly issues of the future of the media industry and sustainability in the digital age. The second day kicked off with a comedy roast of South African media by the Late Night News (LNN) team of Loyiso Gola and Kagiso Lediga.
The duo took a stab at almost everyone in a media roast, including controversial media veteran Allister Sparks, to news organisations like the Sunday Times and the Mail&Guardian to radio host Redi Thlabi.
Seriously funny roast of the SA media by @KagisoLediga and @loyisogola at #MMX15 http://t.co/LT8meN96UJ
— Timothy Spira (@timspira) June 13, 2015
Kicking off #MMX15 are @loyisogola & @KagisoLediga who are hilarious. "media the only people in the country looking forward to corruption"
— Shaka Sisulu (@ShakaSisulu) June 13, 2015
Celebrated radio personality John Perlman of KayaFM joined media strategist Shaka Sisulu, commentator Palesa Morudu and Business Day editor Songezo Zibi on the first panel that focused on how South African media covered the big stories of the day. These included the coverage of xenophobic violence in South Africa along with Nkandla. Perlman offered advice to journalists struggling with coverage of big stories which can be chaotic: “We need to be comfortable with confusion and not being right,” he said.
Sisulu was critical of what he referred to as a predetermined narrative in the media and added that the South African story needs to be told in a more diversified way.
While Zibi received much applause for his contribution to the panel discussion.
#MMX15 @SongezoZibi asks an important question on xenophobia, What would the story have been if BEE included other African nationals?
— Peter Ndoro (@peterndoro) June 13, 2015
.@SongezoZibi: There's an unfair expectation that the media will be different from the society from which it comes. That's naive. #MMX15
— MenellMediaExchange (@mmx_za) June 13, 2015
Wits University had a strong presence on the second day of the conference. Wits Journalism’s Ashfaaq Carim and Dinesh Balliah formed part of the panel discussion on new ways of storytelling. TV lecturer Indra de Lanerolle presented a short talk on the 10 things you need to know about South Africa’s digital space.
Andrew Phelps from the New York Times highlighted the challenges when faced with breaking news in the digital world. “No one remembers who was right first but everyone remembers when you were first and wrong.” He said that journalists need to choose accuracy over speed when working with online stories.
The conference wrapped up on a positive and optimistic note although the uncertainty around the future of journalism and in particularly, sustainability, will linger long after.
Allister Sparks talks papers and politicians
Long time journalist and public commentator Allister Sparks (82) found himself at the centre of a social media storm when he declared Apartheid architect Hendrick Verwoerd was a ‘smart politician’. Wits Vuvuzela spoke to Sparks at the Menell Media Exchange conference in Sandton about the state of journalism in South Africa and the shifts in the political landscape.
VETERAN JOURNALIST: Allister Sparks remains vocal about dying newspapers, the ‘gimmicks’ of the EFF, and the ‘unbalanced’ Baleka Mbete. Photo: Dinesh Balliah
What stood out for you at this year’s conference and is there anything you expect to hear?
I was particularly taken by yesterday’s session by Catherine Kennedy (of the South African History Archive). I didn’t go to the branding, maybe I missed something there, I guess I feel it’s a bit too late for me to brand myself at my age (laughs). For me Catherine was the highlight. Particularly John Perlman and Songezo Zibi, I thought there were wise thoughts that came out of them.
On parliament in South Africa today …
Parliament has been a very refined and remote place, now it’s in the public eye and I think that’s good. [However] it will have to take a grip on itself, and it needs a better speaker than we have at the moment, because it can easily become a laughing stock, it can really damage its reputation.
On the EFF and their disruption in Parliament, and Baleka Mbete …
I do think the EFF (Economic Freedom Fighters), has brought something, but it’s got to be very carefully monitored by a much better speaker than we’ve got. I think Max Sisulu would have managed it, Max was a very good speaker and Frene Ginwala likewise, not a partisan speaker who’s the chairman of a party, and her lack of balance shows so glaringly, nobody takes her seriously.
I think the red garments [of the EFF] was a gimmick, I guess once you’ve got them it’s very hard to get rid of them, I don’t think it has any impact anymore, it had an impact in the beginning. The gimmicks need to be limited, but they can only be limited by the speaker, and that’s got to be by persuasion, not by bringing in the police. She (Mbete) needs to call in the whips and say ‘How do we deal with this?’
I think a lot of it [parliament] is archaic language and it’s a bit absurd; it’s meant to preserve a tradition, but at the same time its got to give way to the modern world and the modern South Africa where not everybody shares the British tradition. There has to be some kind of control in the transformation of parliament and only a really wise, strong, and influential speaker can do that.
On Business Day editor Songezo Zibi …
I think he’s a very thoughtful young man and I think he has some very important insights … he’s a real asset to the media. He’s a young man and he’s a very important addition to our galaxies of editors, he’s thoughtful and cares about the media. John Perlman has been around for a long time, but this is a newcomer really [Zibi] out of a different profession, and he has a great career ahead of him.
On newspapers in the new digital age …
I think two kinds of newspapers papers are going to survive in the new digital age: One is the local paper, the small town paper and the other is the serious paper. I think the popular press is going to die, and we have an awful lot of popular press here and its days are numbered.
There’s got to be one black newspaper that’s going to emerge as a serious one, [maybe] it is the Sowetan, City Press is getting there but it’s only a Sunday paper.
Media gathering takes off in Johannesburg
NEW TOOLS: Laura Grant of the Mail&Guardian demonstrated some new applications for producing digital journalism. PHOTO: Katleho Sekhotho.
The 2015 Menell Media Exchange conference started today at Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg.
Some of South Africa’s most respected journalists, media practitioners, educators and students joined international visitors and guests for the second Menell Media Exchange conference.
Peter Ndoro, Lester Kiewet and Jeremy Maggs were some of the prominent speakers and guests on the first day of the conference in Sandton, Johannesburg, which focused primarily on training and workshops.
Themed as “innovation, brand and sustainability”, the opening panels focused on brand building by individuals and journalists in particular. Veteran journalist Gus Silber provided key insights into the use of social media for journalism and as a tool for journalists to increase their visibility.
Fascinating workshop at @mmx_za by @gussilber about journos branding their bylines on social media. Your Twitter bio IS your brand. #MMX15
— Andrea van Wyk (@AndyvanWyk) June 12, 2015
The Mail & Guardian’s Laura Grant and SABC’s Tegan Bedser, demonstrated various apps that can be used in digital storytelling.
Free storytelling tools! You know you want them. Here is the link to @LauraJGrant and my presentation at #MMX15 today:http://t.co/z9ldDghDu3 — Tegan Bedser (@TeganBedser) June 12, 2015
Jeremy Maggs joined eNCA’s Patrick Conroy on a panel that explored the difficult subject of funding journalism in ways that does not impede it.
Andrew Phelps, senior product manager for the New York Times, gave the afternoon keynote address and stressed the importance of innovation in newsrooms.
NYT’s @andrewphelps says it’s important for news orgs to take one new risk each year not directly linked to profit. #MMX15
— Alastair Otter (@alastairotter) June 12, 2015
New York Times had an app ready for the launch of Apple iWatch. That’s innovation at the centre of the company culture. #MMX15
— Patrick Conroy (@PatrickConroySA) June 12, 2015
The conference continues tomorrow.
Campaign for return of journalism program at UP
An online petition to reinstate the journalism program at the University of Pretoria has gathered just over 100 signatures after being launched this week (at time of publication, for link click here).
Signing of the petition:
Staff and pupils, past and present, have signed the petition that was created on an online website and shared on social media by BA Languages student, Quintus Potgieter. Former head of department Pippa Green and full-time lecturer Marenet Jordaan were among those that signed the petition.
“Journalism is an essential tool in a democracy and is a viable employment opportunity for students.”
Green said: “I thought it was a pity that the university decided to close it. We were always a practically/professionally orientated program rather than a more academic one, but we focused a lot on rigour in research/reporting and in writing.”
The suspension of the program left many students who had studied a general BA degree unable to take the honours program. Students commented on the petition that they faced problems such as not having an alternative course to study, financial issues involved in relocating to another university and concerns about the impact it will have on the media in the country.
UP responds:
When asked about the petition and the reason for the suspension of the program, the university’s media liaison officer Sanku Tsunke said: “The university had placed the journalism programme in abeyance until the end of this year (2015), whereafter a decision will be made about the programme’s future.”
Potgieter, a presenter on a community radio station who was planning to study with the program said: “Even if you are involved in community radio or local newspapers, how are you supposed to feel adequately equipped without a qualification.”
“Even if you are involved in community radio or local newspapers, how are you supposed to feel adequately equipped without a qualification.”
However there were comments on the petition that suggested the program should be improved if reintroduced such as upgrading the curriculum and modules.
The petition:
The online petition states: “Journalism is an essential tool in a democracy and is a viable employment opportunity for students … If we remove journalism from our society, it ensures that stories of corruption and stories that inspire this country to be better are forever hidden.”
The program was initially downsized from an undergraduate and honours course to only the honours degree in journalism. Thereafter the BA Honours program in journalism was also suspended as from 2015.
Potgieter plans to take the petition to individual classes in the humanities faculty and reach 200 signatures that he will present to UP in the hope it will reinstate the journalism program at postgraduate level or a four-year undergraduate and honours course.
STORIFY: Powerful ending to African investigative journalism conference
If this storify does not load automatically, please click here.
https://storify.com/WitsVuvuzela/powerful-ending-to-african-investigative-conferenc
Guardian editor describes SA media as ‘free and inquiring’
Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of The Guardian, spoke at Wits University earlier today. Photo: Dinesh Balliah.
His newspaper is one of the top most-read online publications worldwide and this afternoon Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of The Guardian, described the South African media landscape as robust, diverse and “pretty free and inquiring.”
Rusbridger, who has been at the helm of the British publication for nearly twenty years, was speaking to a gathering of editors, senior journalists, media academics and students at Wits University about the Edward Snowden story. The Guardian broke the story of whistleblower Snowden, who is credited with exposing the extent of international surveillance, in 2013.
Rusbridger told the audience that the decision to publish the Snowden story was “a question of public interest”, even when the British government argued against the publication on the grounds of “national security.”
In facing some of the backlash against the paper’s decision to publish the Snowden story, Rusbridger said the support of the journalism community helped his organisation. “It is important as a community of journalism to stick together.”
Rusbridger explained that while there is obvious anxiety in South Africa regarding media freedom, especially in light of the secrecy bill (the protection of state information bill), if the media responds by cutting back on the news that sells papers then it is giving consumers an excuse not to buy the paper.
Mondli Makhanya, former editor-in-chief of The Sunday Times, asked Rusbridger about how to react to a government that is mobilising people against the media.
Rusbridger’s response was that “journalism lives in a different place from government … media has a new role to fight [which is] explaining ‘why’ they are publishing a story.” Ultimately that defence should be able to rest on a foundation of the public interest.
Former Witsie raises ten thousand rands in less than half a day for study at Columbia
HEADING TO THE USA: Former Witsie Shandukani Mulaudzi is hoping to head to Columbia University next year. Photo: Dinesh Balliah.
A former Wits Vuvuzela journalist raised R10 000 on Facebook in less than 12 hours for her enrollment fee to Columbia University.
Shandukani Mulaudzi, had been offered a place in the Master in Science in Journalism program at Columbia but could not afford the enrollment fee.
She told Wits Vuvuzela that she started an event on the popular social media platform asking her friends to help raise funds for her fees after she was denied an application for a bank loan.
She said her page was shared on various platforms by her friends and journalist Nechama Brodie, who then helped by reaching out to potential sponsors.
“I had pretty much tried everything and had no other option,” Mulaudzi said. “In less than a couple of hours I started getting money in my account.”
She said although she was sceptical about posting her banking details online she took a leap of faith as she was given 24 hours to pay her enrollment fee.
Mulaudzi has now opened up a group to serve “as a platform to share links to scholarships and potential donors” for her and her friend, Nokuthula Manyathi (also a former Wits Vuvuzela journalist).
“After the first drive to help me raise funds for my registration I realised that reaching out via social media can be very helpful,” she wrote on her Facebookpage.
OPINION: A slice of Passover – The holiday of exodus
SYMBOLIC: The “Seder” plate with the different signs representing the festival of Passover. Photo: Ilanit Chernick.
Passover or Pesach is an annual festival celebrated by the Jewish community over 7 days in April. Wits Vuvuzela journalist Ilanit Chernick shares the experience of the festival as it happens in her home.
[hr]As the candles sparkle on the mantelpiece we gather around and admire their beauty.
The table is set, our best cutlery and crockery laid out in order of each course, each with an accompanying Hagada (the religious text) on top. An abundance of desert wine with a seemingly equal number of glasses stand in readiness for the traditional four helpings of this sweet alcoholic treat. Each helping signifies the different levels of redemption.
Some say, “It’s the perfect opportunity to get a little drunk”. But in actual fact this is a time for family and friends to come together, to learn, reflect and grow.
We renew our spirituality, our freedom and our remembrance of trying times.
It is Passover – a festival which celebrates the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt. A tradition passed down for thousands of generations from father to son since that fateful period when the Jews were saved “by the hand of G-d (God)”.
Yet many people still question the strange and inspiring rituals the Jewish people uphold during the first two nights of this holiday period. We read from a book that talks of our history (the Hagada), churn what seems like hills of greens and horseradish in our mouths which are hard to the touch – never mind the tongue. We mix apples, nuts and wine to make a sweet paste which is spread on to the cardboard-looking thing called matzah (unleavened bread).
The seder (Hebrew word describing the order of events over the first two nights of Passover) is held as a way to teach generation after generation – young and old – of the miracles beseeched on the Jewish people during their time in slavery. It is a time to encourage the younger generation to ask questions about the historical significance of this night. The youngest at the table sings a tune in Hebrew asking “why this night is different from all other nights?” or “why on this night do we eat bitter herbs and matzah?”
[pullquote]”These words slip off our tongues like water on a hot day as we recall the story of our ancestors slavery.” [/pullquote]Throughout this evening we examine the fascinating plate of insignia’s, talk of “the four sons”, deliberately spill our glasses of wine as we listen to the 10 plagues and sing songs of freedom in Aramaic. These words slip off our tongues like water on a hot day as we recall the story of our ancestors’ slavery. We long for these words to come true – for the return of a time of comfort and redemption.
As the adults eat a meal filled with chicken soup and kneidelach (matza-balls), rich meats and cooling desserts, there are squeals of delight as the children search for the Afikoman (a small piece of matzah hidden to continue the process of ‘asking’). Prizes of lush chocolates or packets of coloured sweets are handed to the children for solving this little mystery. A process of bargaining, swapping and sharing treats takes place as we proceed to eat the Afikoman.
One after the other, the children fall by the wayside on the couch or on pillows scattered on the floor as we end this night of extraordinary events with humourous songs. They prompt us to count or take us back to a time of old school plays we performed during this period of the year. We smile as we let the wine settle and sing-along to “Had Gad Ya”, a parable similar to that of the nursery rhyme “there was an old lady who swallowed a spider”. In our dazed state we make the sounds pertaining to each character and tease when anyone misses their cue.
Sooner than we’d hoped, the plague of darkness begins to settle upon the house as each of the lights go out one by one. A reminder that 1am has come and it is time for bed. As we walk our guests out we look up at the stars with awe – a blood moon has appeared – the same phenomenon which took place thousands of years ago on the night of our redemption.
FAMILY TIME: The Chernick family gather together on Passover to recall our history. Photo: Ilanit Chernick
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Conference an African powerhouse
POWER WELCOME: (from left) Mzilikazi wa Afrika, Anton Harber and Alex Kotlowitz speak at the opening session of Power Reporting. Photo: Caro Malherbe
Delegates at this year’s Power Reporting conference have labelled it the best investigative journalism platform on the continent.
Idris Akinbajo, editor of Premium Times in Nigeria, was not able to attend last year’s conference but was pleased to be able to share skills with fellow journalists this time around. “This conference is surely among the best if not the best,” he said.
Power Reporting programme director Margaret Renn was introduced to the conference nine years ago when she was invited to be a guest speaker. She said this year’s conference was “by far the biggest” with over 300 delegates in attendance. “It’s managed to establish itself as a place where African journalists hear stories, share skills and share their own experience,” Renn said.
She has noticed a large number of journalists arriving from South Africa’s major media houses. Some of these included the SABC, eNews Channel Africa, Media24 and Times Media Group. All final-year journalism students from the University of Limpopo and seven staff members were also some of the guests at this year’s conference. Renn said she was pleased that the conference had become an important aspect of skills development for students.[pullquote]It’s managed to establish itself as a place where African journalists hear stories, share skills and share their own experience.[/pullquote]
Renn said she hoped Power Reporting was considered one of the best investigative journalism conferences on the continent. She said the aim was to build a “co-operative ethos” among journalists and to build a community for them to feel a part of.
Hopes for the future
She said the conference is modeled after the Centre for Investigative Journalism’s Annual Summer School in the United Kingdom, which Renn has also run. “Many of us have been to similar conferences in the [United States] as well and it’s the same model in that you get a bunch of journalists together and you share your skills,” she said.
Rosaveld Parks, a feature specialist and blogger from Johannesburg, was impressed by the session on the use of social media in news: “This conference is about the way forward. We use these tools but don’t understand their power, so these skills are useful.”
Yang Meng is a freelance reporter from China. She and her partner were working on a story about Chinese gold mining in Ghana and attended the conference to learn more about the continent as a whole. She was especially happy with the exchange of ideas and difference in perspectives. “We heard views from Kenya and Namibia and to us it came as a surprise. On the ground there’s a really different view from what we see in China,” she said.
A step back in media freedom for Pukke paper
The journalists at Wapad, the student paper of North West University’s Potchefstroom campus, said a decision to ban their publication is part of a plan to control media distributed on campus.
On Monday, Pukke’s marketing and communication department told Wapad editor Kevin du Plessis that the paper would not be published due to uncollected advertising fees of almost R80 000.
[pullquote]Banning, part of a plan to control the newspaper’s content to ensure it upholds the university’s reputation.[/pullquote] The university said neither a printed edition nor an online edition will be allowed to be published for the rest of the year until the money is collected.
Controlling media
However, du Plessis said the banning was part of a plan to control the newspaper’s content to ensure it upholds the university’s reputation.
“This would mean that the newspaper will be managed by the marketing department and that everything will have to be checked by them before being published. The new chief editor they are going to appoint will also be an employee of the marketing department,” du Plessis said.
Wapad takes the fall for outstanding money
Pukke spokesman Johan van Zyl, in an article published on the M&G Online, denied du Plessis’ accusation and said Wapad could be published after the debt was settled.
“We stand for media freedom and actually promote it. It’s up to them to put the funds as soon as possible,” van Zyl told the website.
Promoting critical thinking
Du Plessis said this year has been a “culture shock” for the paper in terms of content. Wapad journalists have tried to write about prominent issues that promote critical thinking and expose injustices within the university including issues of sex, race, discrimination and abuse.[pullquote align=”right”]The blowback to Wapad’s articles have included physical violence.[/pullquote]
Earlier this year, Wapad published an article on a lecturer who made discriminatory and homophobic remarks. The lecturer allegedly said homosexuals are unnatural and should not exist.
Wapad also reveal the harsh treatment of first years by student leaders in Veritas residence. They published images of male students, bent over with their bottoms exposed, badly beaten and bruised to the point of having large, open sores.
Violent repercussions
The blowback to Wapad’s articles have included physical violence. Last Saturday, du Plessis was assaulted by a student from Veritas men’s residence.[pullquote]”The university only cares about their reputation and tradition”[/pullquote]
The student allegedly hit du Plessis in the face for publishing an article which he claimed was disloyal to Veritas res.
Du Plessis said the university does little to provide the newspaper with feedback on what actions will be taken when the paper reveals misbehaviour.
“The university will never give us a formal press release to tell us what they are going to do about it. They only care about their reputation and tradition,” he said. [pullquote align=”right”]“I will keep fighting this fight because I want the person who takes over from me to be able to continue with what we have achieved and be able to write independently.”[/pullquote]
Boycotting Wapad
Du Plessis said leaders in residences have boycotted the paper in the past by telling students not to read it and not allowing it to be delivered.
“I will keep fighting this fight because I want the person who takes over from me to be able to continue with what we have achieved and be able to write independently,” said Du Plessis, who is leaving the paper at the end of the year.
In Wapad’s May edition professor Johannes Froneman announced that he will step down from his position of media regulator at the paper. He said he was disappointed with the lack of independence the paper has from the university and that this infringed on their right to freedom of speech.
A long way to go for Wits Rugby
By Jay Caboz
FNB Wits have been left a mountain to climb after falling to bottom place with a 63-24 loss to FNB University of Johannesburg after squaring off in their first Varsity Cup match.
“The match obviously didn’t pan out the way we would have wanted but we have to take the positives out of it. We started the game too slow and after UJ got a few early tries we were playing catch up, which is never an easy thing to do,” said Wits Captain Devin Montgomery.
UJ ran in an overwhelming 9 tries to Wits’ three. Wits also fell short of a needed bonus point by a single try in their last two games. The points would have narrowed the broadening gap between Ikeys and Shimlas who are now four and six points ahead of Wits.
Luckily, Wits’ position in the Varsity Cup is secured for the 2013 season. Montgomery explained that there was no relegation zone this year guaranteeing that Wits will have two years in the competition.
“This is to ensure that we are given a fair chance to learn and adapt to this high level of rugby,” he said, “We know that every game in this competition is going to be tough and each week it’s never going to get any easier.”
“We have defended a lot this season and there has been a big gap between the number of tackles we have had to make compared to our opponents in every game.”
Wits are gaining a reputation of a never-say-die attitude on the field. During their match against UJ, Wits showed brief moments of brilliance when going forward. One of the key members to watch is Number 8 Carel Greeff who has proven to be an influential player in the squad having added another two tries to his five for the season in four matches.
“Carel is a great player and is playing great rugby at the moment. We have a couple of go-to ball carriers in the team, one of which is Carel,” said the captain.
The No. 8 has become well known for his crashing runs through opposing lines and he is a tenacious tackler that has made him an important element in the squad.
Montgomery said the “this Varsity Cup campaign is about learning and gaining experience playing at this top level of rugby for us.”
The team’s goals were to work hard in training and aim to perform for the full 80 minutes with making as little mistakes as possible.
“Wits will earn the reputation of being a difficult fixture I have no doubt about that. The team has a special bond and because we spend so much time together there is a family sense amongst the team,” he said.
For more Varsity Cup action follow the link
FNB WIts vs FNB NWU-PUKKE
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