My year as an FJP

By Wendy N Ngcobo

I remember walking shivering with anxiety as I didn’t remember doing anything that would get me to be called in to go to the office.

“You have been chosen to be on the FJP programme “these were words by my lecturer Mrs. Sobbend when she delivered the good news to me.

Her lips carried on moving but in my mind I was thinking “after months of regretting having taken long to enter this industry, could the wait been worth it “.I was smiling but my eyes were filled with tears that because she saw me smile she was unable to see .I blew my nose not because I had a problem but because I didn’t want her to see that I was actually hiding my tears from being seen.

I was excited and nervous, at the prospect of such an opportunity, that I Wendy Nolwazi Ngcobo was about to embark on this journey, I was going to Rhodes University. I was nervous and excited at the same time I didn’t know which emotion to deal with first. I was going to Rhodes University and will be meeting new other students from  around South Africa who had the same passion as me .I was excited about my journey to autumn school that I packed a week in advance.

Mobile Phones as tools for journalism  is what  our workshop was  based on and there was nothing as heartwarming when on our last day we sat and watched a movie that I had made on YouTube .I’ve continually received positive feet back  on the story I did in the community of  Joza.

I had the amazing opportunity of being involved in the Durban International Film Festival which was an amazing networking platform form for me as an up and coming journalist. This opportunity came after one of our alumni’s Sihle Mthembu motivated us to ‘remove the mentality of being students”,” you are professionals from day one “, he said.

From that point on I have been so confident in introducing myself as ‘a journalist from Highway Africa’ that the poise I have possessed and the mentality of professionalism  has seen me  surrounded by influential people in the media ,in entertainment and in government.

Wendy ,Elethu and Akhona

Words cannot describe how I feel about the programme about the amazing initiatives it continuously   provides for young and upcoming journalist as the lessons we learn at our tertiary institutions, those alone are not enough to prepare one for the task we have at hand as advocate for people.

So to the future, FJP I wish them all of the best  they should take hold of this amazing, once in a life time opportunity.

FJP Alumni motivating 2011 FJP

By Wendy Ngcobo

Sihle Siyabonga Mthembu took some time to motivate the 2011’s FJP’s (Future Journalist Programme).

He described his experience at FJP as one that was very interesting as it became a unique networking platform and learning experience. The workshops that were offered during his FJP year took his writing to another level. Initially, Sihle disliked writing hard news but he told FJP’s to pay attention to their writing workshops. He acknowledged the fact that the writing workshops made him more comfortable in writing especially feature stories.

Currently, Sihle is at the National Arts Festival, doing reviews for BBC. He is also doing an internship at the prestigious Media 24. These are valuable contacts which he made during the Highway Africa Conference, through the exposure offered by FJP. He advised FJPs to use this opportunity as a stepping stone to bigger things. “I met MathataTsedu at Highway, who told me about the cadet school  at Media 24,” he said. Ironically, Mathata has since taken Sihle under his wing.

He credited the programme for his success and the opportunities since derived from it. Sihle encouraged the FJP’s to take full use of this opportunity not only to build networks in the industry, but also amongst themselves.”The colleagues you have now will help you should you need to interview someone in Johannesburg and you are in Durban”.

He emphasised on professionalism as he believes it is what brought him to where he is now.” Remove the mentality of being a student”, he said. “That way you don’t leave room for mistakes.”

Sihle Mthembu checking shows that he will be reviewing

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Sihle encouraged the FJPs to spread out and think beyond politics, stressing the industry’s dire shortage of quality journalists, particularly in the field of arts, environment and business.

In the midst of story-chasing and meeting deadlines, Sihle motivated FJPs to always be prepared, take initiatives but also enjoy themselves and have fun.”This is a great opportunity” he said. 

For now Sihle’s he’s busy working on his first documentary called The Uprising. Asked on what    lies for the future, cinema was no doubt the next invasion space!

Girls, Ladies, Women, Mothers.

By Bongiwe Tutu




Caption: A collage with my Mother(left and bottom centre with my brother) and Noeleen (right)

Women have always been inspirational leaders in my life, leaders and groundbreakers who aspired for greatness. Strong and determined women who always attain on doing more than what is expected of them, making history, making a difference and assisting in establishing a better tomorrow. That is the kind of woman I look up to. That is the kind of woman my mother is, that is the kind of woman she has groomed me to become.

That is how I’ve grown to look up to leading women in my future profession, where I’ve seen women such as Noeleen Maholwana Sangqu who are expanding and sustaining the role of women in the country, extending the premise of women empowerment in the world at large. I hold these women close to my heart because they are very driven and push me to attain my goal of being a TV journalist in the near future. Noeleen is a South African woman in Media, Entertainment, Art, born in Umtata in the Eastern Cape, on the 14th August 1967. My mother, Thembela Tutu was also born on the same year, on women’s month, on the 10th day of August 1967. This is the day after South Africa’s celebrations of as National Women’s Day, a day in which great women in our history and our future are acknowledged for their contribution to society.



Noeleen has been the Presenter for 3 Talk in Johannesburg since 2003, she has been the News Reader for Radio Transkei since 1988, this phenomenal woman is also the chair for Tomorrow Trust. She has been amongst other forms of media such as the SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) as a presenter in the year 2004, a Talk Show Host for Talk Radio 702 for a year from the year 2002. Above all this, Noeleen has received awards for the Best Global Radio Programme by the Global Population Institute in Cuba, the Chrystal Award from the People Magazine in Johannesburg, the Duku Duku Award by the SABC in Johannesburg, the Mzansi Star TV Presenter by the Mzansi Awards also in Johannesburg. Noeleen, the queen of Talk TV, “SA Oprah Winfrey”, professional speaker, loving, fun, energetic MC, is also a wife and a mother of two daughters and a son. She holds very strong values and inspires me further in my future platforms.


My mother is above all the strongest creature this earth has offered me and I am more than thankful as I’m truly blessed to have her in my life. Her drive is beyond what one can ever imagine. She is ever so hopeful and faithful. I hold her close to my heart, together with her wisdom and courage, her strength and values. She is always assisting me in accomplishing my goals and she is the ultimate hero, by my side every step of the way. I worship her very being and everything I do, I do it with her in my mind.

What makes a great journalist?

"Just because someone attends a top journalism school ... does not mean they will be taught to be great."

Read the article by Moagisi Letlhaku (FJP Coordinator) on The Media Online: http://www.themediaonline.co.za/themedia/view/themedia/en/page255?oid=40499&sn=Detail