Coming accross an inspirational Rose

by Anorth Mabunda
As I step in to the Eden Grove hall I bump across a strong dark and afro-haired African woman in a red jacket, I could smell some professionalism in her; she seems to be always in her cell phone. I took a deep sight on her wondering if I sow or heard of her before. Finally my senses came back; she compeered during the opening of the Highway Africa conference on the topic, Truth is the first casualty of war.
As she drops the call, I walked straight in to her and introduce my self. She is a media veteran from Kenya, Rosemary Orkello-Orlale.
Rosemary has been in the field for two decades, she is currently the Director of African Woman and Child Feature Service, (a media NGO focussing on the development of communication in Africa situated in the capital Nairobi,Kenya). Fighting for the acknowledgement of women is something she says she has started very long time ago as a specialised reporter for Viva Magazine, a women magazine in Kenya.
This generous and down to earth African woman committed herself to empowering woman who have been stigmatised by the notion that they cannot do anything bigger than their men. She still plays a major role in creating awareness to women.
Rose worked as a government intern doing macro teaching in the 1980’s before joining the media industry. However, she still blames the Kenyan government for not doing enough to enrich the Kenyan women.”Kenya women’s voices are not heard, women are struggling since democracy”, she says.
“It is the time our government introduces the Affirmative Action because that is the only way gender issues can be addressed”.
Rose says that she believes that the African voices will be heard and that with the power of the mobile phones access is not really a problem “hence we now have the internet in the palms of our hands.”
Rose says she likes South Africa because it is one of the few countries in the world where feminine voices are heard.

Up close and personal with Chansa Tembo and Harlene Sokaloo

By Sindisiwe Mthembu

Photography is also part of journalism. I have never really liked using a camera to an extent that it takes me some time to put together assignments that have to do with making documentaries or photo essays and honestly enough I haven’t started doing any. But today I met Chansa Tembo. He has achieved a lot and he made this whole documentary making seem interesting that I am now prepared to change my attitude towards it. He gave us a task where we had to shoot a video about democracy and it was great to actually be part of something and to share ideas with other students who don’t study journalism. We wrote down what we think democracy is and took other group ideas and shot a video clip.

This was another way of bringing unity, and I learnt that it is important to respects other people’s views and that if people work together something good will always come out of it. Tembo won the Democracy challenge video of the year and he encouraged us to take part in such activities. I also met Harlene Sokaloo from UKZN, Pietermaritzburg. She is doing 3rd year in politics. She and other students are a part of their university newspaper. It was quite interesting to find out that not all of them do media studies but they came together and decided to start a newspaper. That made me realise how lazy I have been, and how I keep depending on other people to start doing things for me and then I follow them and how I have ignored my potential.

I believe today I learnt something new that if the person next to me can do it I can do it so can I. Hopefully when I go back I will be able to share some of the things I learnt here with other DUT Journalism students and we can start our own university newspaper because being a journalists doesn’t mean one have to wait until they have a diploma but it starts now, writing about anything and getting people to read your stories and that will better our writing skills.

funky KC from UKZN

by Maluisi Baphe Phukwana

This morning while we were attending the captivate workshop I was in a fortunate position being put in the same group with Kathleen Cerilean Freer, her friends call her “KC” those being her initials. KC was born in KwaZulu Natal at Empangeni, that’s where she did her primary and high school. After finishing metric in 2009 KC took a gap year, during that year KC did short courses just to keep her self busy, she studied: cookery, photography, marketing and public relations. Then in September she was finished with her short course and managed her father’s restaurant.

At the moment KC is doing her first year in Drama and Performance studies at the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN). She also works for the varsity paper called NUXs the paper was established in 1934, making the oldest varsity paper in South Africa. KC joined NUXs earlier this year, where she wrietes articles and also a photographer. She’s interested in film making, she would love to make music video for City Bowlmizer which is a rock band from Durban.

KC loves science fiction movies, portraiture photographs and making films. He also likes travelling and when she’s travelling she makes short films/videos. She likes hiking and gaming. She also has interest in SA politics.

KC is part of the captivative workshop, she arrived here in graham’s town on Sunday. There are about nine of them here from UKZN attending the conference, she came here through a friend. What she likes most about being here is meeting new people that are already in the field and other fellow students and get to know them, how they think and getting different perspective and angles in dealing with certain issues. “I enjoyed the captivative workshop, where we were showed what democracy documentary is. Making films and documentary is what I’m interested in” said KC.

Chilling with an American sister

by Poliswa Plaatjie

I used to say that I enjoy waking up in the morning but guess I was wrong because today I couldn’t get up; my alarm went on at 06:30 and I snoozed it then at 06:40 it went on again then I decided to switch it off.

Eventually I got up and went to take a shower and yeah prepared for the day, was feeling a bit down though I think it’s because my phone has a network problem when I’m in that room so I couldn’t even call my mum.

I attended the Captivate Workshop which was conducted by Chansa Tembo, a video producer from Zambia. There were other students coming in late and there was this girl who had this beautiful hairstyle, I couldn’t tell whether they were braids or her natural hair so I decided to ask her and well they were braids.

Her name is Zahra Nealy 23 from Los Angeles and she is a Master’s Student in Strategic Public Relations at the University Of California. It turned out she has been in the country for nearly a month now and is doing an intern in Cape Town for Thulalre Monareng ; a fashion designer from Soweto.

I was so amazed when she said that she would love to move to Cape Town permanently and there I was wishing that I could to Los Angeles; she also visited Cape Town’s famous township Khayelitsha and well she was surprised to walk inside shacks and see big flat screen TVs and DSTVs and well that’s Cape Town for her.

I love Zahra's hairstyle; it's so unique at first glance you would swear she twisted her own hair because it looks so natural and there is something about her voice it's deep and I think that's sexy.

Young at Heart

By Sungeni Chithambo
Hillel Aron is a Journalism Masters student from the University of Southern California. He is from Los Angeles but is currently staying in Cape Town and is a news writer for The Cape Argus. I met him pretty randomly. I was just chilling in Zoo Minor waiting for the Captivate workshop to begin and I heard an American accent behind me. Americans are always interesting. So I thought I’d turn around and introduce myself. After asking if he was invited to the conference I asked “what are you”? “A person!” he answered. The whole class turned around and laughed.
Hillel is tall with dark hair. I’d rather not describe him as tall, dark and handsome. He has a youthful face and a very nice phone. Gold. I asked him if we could exchange but he said no. He was wearing jeans, a checked shirt and white and navy Nike sneakers. Laid back attire, just like his personality. I think Hillel looks a little like Ted Mosby from How I Met Your Mother. He loves soccer. He says he sucks at it though. He also enjoys reading and going to restaurants. His favourite one in Cape Town is Eastern Bizzare. He has a younger brother who is 25 years old. I got the shock of my life when he said that. Hillel doesn’t look a year over 21! I’m still struggling to believe that he’s 30. You’re 30 years old? “In Los Angeles everyone looks young,” he says amused.
Another thing I find interesting about him is his name. It sounds especially funky when pronounced with an American accent. He says he was named after a famous Hebrew priest. Now that sounds like the name of someone destined for great things. Even more cool – he has a friend called Shotgun!

Chansa Tembo

Junior Bester

The Highway Africa conference has given me the opportunity to meet many interesting and fascinating people. Speakers at the conference and the many workshops include accomplished scholars, distinguished members of society and qualified professionals.
I have personally met many fascinating people yet none seem more fascinating to me than Chansa Tembo, a Zambian film and video producer. I had the pleasure of speaking to Chansa after a workshop he hosted today. Chansa is an accomplished producer as he has produced an award winning video entitled “Democracy is like a Smoothie.” The video is only 46 seconds long yet it conveys his message of democracy perfectly. It also poses questions among the viewer and it allows them to gather their own interpretation. The short video was entered into an open competition in Zambia and after beating 12 fellow Zambians Chansa’s video made the finals where it would compete with winners from Southern African countries such as Namibia and South Africa. After beating the African countries Chansa’s video could proudly be called the best in Africa and as a result he is currently representing Africa in a group effort to produce a global video about democracy. The other members that will be working with Chansa are the winners of their respective continents. His video was on display at the 61st United Nations General Assembly, at The Directors Guild of America (DGA) and at the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
Chansa showed his passion for film at the young age of 12 and after travelling around the world to different countries such as Italy, Russia, Australia, Japan and the United States of America. His passion grew and grew and he ultimately gained an unimaginable amount of knowledge in terms of culture and history. Chansa uses this knowledge to produce videos and films for different types of people form all walks of life. He currently has a film production company called, “Frontline Exposures,” in Lusaka, Zambia.

FJP and HA are legendary via Twitter: An Alumni writes

I wrote a few weeks how bad i felt when I didn't see any new posts on the blog for the past few months and if you read it, you'd know how I felt. Anyway, thanks to Sim for being as active as ever, with one post a month! Atleast we are still getiing a lil bit of traffic.

Welcome to the new FJP's! I'm sure that you, like me, were excited when you got the call that told you that you're one of a few journalism students in the country who can boast of being part of the Future Journalists Programme. Well Done! Use this opportunity as well as you can and trust me, you'll be a success. I am.

Anyway I really wanted to be at Highway Africa this year,  I even enquired about the prices and everything, but alas, due to the World Cup (which I am so sick of... add Zakumi to the picture and I gag) I couldn't get leave, therefore I couldn't exactly come to G'Town for the conference. However not all is lost! Thanks to a little nifty thing called Twitter ( btw you can follow me- Buhlebonga) I can follow the whole conference! From who opened the conference, to who said what and what people wore to the Awards last night (thanks Lebo). :-)

So its great having people tweeting about the conference. It makes me feel like I'm there and hopefully I will get to learn something out of this year's HA. Oh btw, what is the theme this year? *hides*

PIC: 2008 FJP's at the 2008 Highway Africa Conference

One giant leap

Exhilarating, enthralling, somewhat overwhelming – just some of the adjectives I would use to describe my first day at the Highway Africa Conference. When I first found out that I would be attending this prestigious conference, I was excited, intrigued, and yes, a little scared – I knew what Highway Africa Conference was about, but I was not quite sure what to expect. So with wide-eyed curiosity, I went to the conference and what I experienced was beyond any expectations.

Just as Europe’s fashion fraternity converge upon Paris Fashion Week for the season’s latest trends, so too do African journalists converge at the Highway Africa Conference to discuss various issues and trends impacting on the African media. The conference is in its 14th year and it seeks to continually develop journalism and journalism education, as well as a vibrant network of African journalists.

This year’s theme for the conference is ‘African voices in the global media space’ and the conference features exhibitions, book launches, training programmes and discussions around this theme. I think that this is a timely theme with the growth of new media technologies and the resultant explosion of information and media content producers – how are African voices contributing to this new media environment? Is the African media still dominated by a western concept of what news is? What about the multitude of African journalists that are harassed, maimed and killed for expressing themselves, when the right to seek and impart information should be an inalienable right from the bustling streets of New York City, to war-torn neighbourhoods of Sudan?

These questions continued to linger in my mind as I sat through the rest of the discussions in the company of esteemed guests such as Mathatha Tsedu, chairperson of the African Editors Forum and Mr John Kufuor, former president of Ghana. As an aspirant African journalist, I have to be aware of the many burning issues facing the African media. I have already learnt a lot from my first day here at the Highway Africa Conference, and I believe that this knowledge is invaluable for my career.

We all know that as much as there are many journalism students in the country, however, only a few of these students end up being journalists, and of those journalists, only some achieve longevity in their careers. As such, I believe that attending this conference will expose me to influential people who can greatly aid me in my career and it will give me knowledge that will help me establish myself as a young journalist.

Attending the Highway Africa Conference is like drinking from a fountain of wisdom – only good things can come from it. In the same way Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk moon, saw his exploits as a "one giant leap for mankind", I see attending this conference as one giant leap for my career.

By: Zinhle Mncube

My first of highway Africa

by Baphe Malusi Phukwana

The first day of the conference was interesting; I met up with the other students that are in the FJP programme. They are all nice and friendly people. We attended two sessions, the first session was really interesting, they spoke about interesting issues such as, the impact of media in Africa, the effects of economic melt down and how the media covered it and the quality of news produced in Africa. The main issue was that, does Africa have journalists that will promote the continent and write good news stories rather than on focusing on stories that reflect a bad image about the continent. Also and how the world cup stories are being covered, the foreign media sensationalising and trying to put Africa on the bad light. They also stated that African media is still dominated by western view of what is news.

I can say Highway Africa is trying to establish and promote press and broadcast freedom in the African content, HWA is equipping and informing the new generation of journalists to be more interested into news that promote the good image of the continent. Also try to come up with our own methods of managing and controlling newsrooms and news content, meaning that media should take hold of its self so that through out the whole of Africa quality news are published. I believe with this programme good quality journalists will be produced and better news quality will be published.

This programme will also help me be a better journalist, be the type of journalist or watchdog that Africa expects me to be. It will also help to equip myself into writing what is news worthy and high light aspects in the African continent which in some way promote the image of the continent and how it operates. I will also get a chance to express myself. The highway Africa programme is offering many opportunities for me and the rest of the journalism students. I’m given a chance to network with people that are already in the field and they will help me in getting into the field of journalism. I’m also gaining knowledge from people that already have experience in the field.

This will help me to boost my confidence in socialising skill with people and also being given an opportunity into expressing my views about current political and social issues in the country and the rest of the continent. This programme will also help to broaden my knowledge about things that I may not know. It is my duty as a journalist in training to go back to my institution and my community to report and practise what I have and will learn from this conference. Let them know about issues that really matter and try and work with my community into publishing news that are off high quality and are uplifting. We as journalist we should not always focus on news that are negative and we should strive to get the news out to the public no matter what, using any form of communication, it may be a blog, radio station, your twitter page, etc.

Golden opportunity of being part of high way Africa 2010

by Phumlani Nkwanyana

The first day of the conference at Rhodes University for high way Africa, was like a dream come true in my life. The day kick started with wonderful weather, we woke up early and prepared for the big day which we waited to roll up. The Grahamstown’s weather was on our side, as the sun shone with clouds scattered giving us direct touch of sunrays. Some of us though were not use to that kind of weather as we originate from diverse provinces. The nutritious English break fast was served at Nelson Mandela hall, which gave us much energy to face the day’s journey. Things never worked as planned earlier in our first day; we were struggling with finding the venue for the conference opening ceremony. It kept us scratching our heads for a moment; we were gazing at those long and well designed buildings of Rhodes University in anticipation to find Eden grove Red, where the opening ceremony unfolded. Fortunately, we were escorted by one of high way Africa staff to Eden grove Red where the whole remarkable moment was in full swing.

Different journalism teachers, journalists, from Africa and around the world gathered in, for the official opening ceremony which commenced at 8h30. The whole august was formed by people of high and small positions, from high school newspaper journalists to the head of Africa editor’s forum Mathatha Tsedu. The inspiring and hope riving address in the media industry by different speakers including Advocate Pansy Tlakula who addressed the right to freedom of expression and excess to information was elevating to every one.

The High way Africa works hard in advancing journalism and new media in South Africa and around the continent of Africa. This organisation which strives to provide a frame of reference for all African media houses, educate and train journalists. It’s theme for 2010 conference was “The African voices in the global media space”. This conference intended to bring African voices into recognition in the whole global village; as different informative issues on new media around Africa were discussed. Training and shaping journalists and media owners to utilise truth or fact telling as the special tool in journalism was what the opening conference speakers focused on. Journalism which does not only serve as the source news, but also mobilise different people from all different walks of life, was tabled and further discussed in details during the opening ceremony.

This conference which widely opened my eyes and view of the journalism was packed with diverse issues and specialised means of advancing journalism and media in Africa in the information age. It made me realize that indeed there is light in the end of any tunnel. More over, I realized that Media in South Africa has a big role to play, which many fail to recognise and grab that golden opportunity. The former first black South African president Mr Nelson Mandela once said media is the pillar of any democratic society, meaning it one of the crucial parts of the society. Being part of this conference greater than before extended the passion and desire of being the eye of the community by reporting all events that unfold within our democratic society.

My first take of highway Africa

by baphe malusi phukwana

The first day of the conference was interesting; I met up with the other students that are in the FJP programme. They are all nice and friendly people. We attended two sessions, the first session was really interesting, they spoke about interesting issues such as, the impact of media in Africa, the effects of economic melt down and how the media covered it and the quality of news produced in Africa. The main issue was that, does Africa have journalists that will promote the continent and write good news stories rather than on focusing on stories that reflect a bad image about the continent. Also and how the world cup stories are being covered, the foreign media sensationalising and trying to put Africa on the bad light. They also stated that African media is still dominated by western view of what is news.

I can say Highway Africa is trying to establish and promote press and broadcast freedom in the African content, HWA is equipping and informing the new generation of journalists to be more interested into news that promote the good image of the continent. Also try to come up with our own methods of managing and controlling newsrooms and news content, meaning that media should take hold of its self so that through out the whole of Africa quality news are published. I believe with this programme good quality journalists will be produced and better news quality will be published.

This programme will also help me be a better journalist, be the type of journalist or watchdog that Africa expects me to be. It will also help to equip myself into writing what is news worthy and high light aspects in the African continent which in some way promote the image of the continent and how it operates. I will also get a chance to express myself. The highway Africa programme is offering many opportunities for me and the rest of the journalism students. I’m given a chance to network with people that are already in the field and they will help me in getting into the field of journalism. I’m also gaining knowledge from people that already have experience in the field.

This will help me to boost my confidence in socialising skill with people and also being given an opportunity into expressing my views about current political and social issues in the country and the rest of the continent. This programme will also help to broaden my knowledge about things that I may not know. It is my duty as a journalist in training to go back to my institution and my community to report and practise what I have and will learn from this conference. Let them know about issues that really matter and try and work with my community into publishing news that are off high quality and are uplifting. We as journalist we should not always focus on news that are negative and we should strive to get the news out to the public no matter what, using any form of communication, it may be a blog, radio station, your twitter page, etc.

First day in Gtown

by Poliswa Plaatjie

My first day started off on a very bad note, I was late for the opening ceremony because I had to register then have breakfast but I must say within the few minutes that I was inside the ceremony I was able to grasp a lot of information.

I’d say that the conference is trying to remind Journalists and future Journalists that the press is not a platform to spread rumours but rather a platform for Journalists to express themselves and become the voice of the voiceless.

They are also trying to emphasise the significance of objectivity for every writer because there are three sides to every story you come across and it’s the writer’s duty to give the reader/viewer all sides of the story.

I know it’s the first day of the conference but I’ve learnt so much already from the significance role the media has played politically and how the International Media has sent the wrong message across the globe about Africa.

Africa has a lot of potential and it’s the African Media’s job to tell that story, our people shouldn’t hear about our local news on CNN or BBC instead the African voices should give the public those news.

After listening to the speakers talk about the role the media has played in Africa and how it should start to focus on how the ordinary man interprets news, I felt like yeah I’m in the right conference for real because I also want to contribute to my continent.

This conference will help me learn more about being objective as a trainee in Journalism and also overcome fear and before attending the first day of the conference I used to feel like there are certain issues I can’t address because of fear but now I’m ready to take on what ever task is being given to me.

Objectivity is very important and I think that if I’m objective enough in any story then obviously I can be the best I can be, people are no interested on the writer’s personal views in a story they want facts so that they can decide for themselves which side to take.

During the opening ceremony one of the speakers spoke about gays, lesbians and bisexuals and how they do not have a form of security in our continent and it’s true. For an example here in South Africa even though the gay and lesbian law was passed but they are still discriminated and the speaker went on to say that we should learn about different ways to tackle the gay and lesbian issues in a fair way.

I don’t want to lie before I didn’t see myself writing about any gay or lesbian related story and come to think of it how can I call myself a fearless journalists if I’ll be scared to report about the lack of security that gays and lesbians are faced with. Now really the first day of this conference has been an eye for me and I can’t wait for tomorrow.

Looking back on the day that was….

by Asanda Guwa

At 06:45, I opened my eyes but was surprised to find that it was still so dark; in actual fact it was pitch black! So at the expense of seeming totally paranoid, I waved my finger in front of my eyes and still I couldn’t see a thing. I gave a little chuckle as I thought of a story a good friend of mine always tells about Xhosa people and their neighbours, she says in the township, when things go wrong in your home, you can always blame ‘Umama wase next door’ (the woman next door) for example when you go to tertiary and the children next door are still trying to get past grade 9 for the 4th time, you can always blame the woman next door because obviously she is not happy about your success and wishes it for her own offspring. It turned out that I was not blind on my first day at the Conference but was suffering from an eye infection. As soon as I temporarily sorted the eye out, I was on my way.

I had no idea what to expect from the conference itself, all I knew was that the Head of my department had said that I deserved to be here. I was eligible. Oh and not forgetting what I had read online; that the theme for the conference was “African Voices in the global media space” My interpretation of this was that the conference was about the role of the African media in the Global Village. After listening to some of the talks I realised that in actual fact what the conference was trying to achieve is a healthy state of the media compared to other global media agencies. They want to put an emphasis on blogging, what is it about and how is it a key player in the global media space? Most importantly they want to put an emphasis on objective reporting. Throughout the day the issue of reporting facts and the truth was on everyone’s agenda.

After registering and attending the first plenary Reporting Development forum, I was blown away. I had no idea how big this conference was, I had no idea I was part of something of such grandeur. I was in the same room as the ‘Retired’ President of Ghana, CEO’s, International Donor’s, journalists and other future journalists like myself. What really touched me was that Dr Diane Senghor ‘s speech. She said that they use to go out and teach rural people what was happening in their country and why, she said the most important thing is to groom the future generation of journalists to be analytical and to know how to report and most importantly to me, She spoke about self censorship and fear.

As I reflect on the day and as I think about what this conference means for my career, it’s quite simple. I come from the University of Fort Hare, some people call it the University of Frustration and Hunger. My school does not have bursaries and scholarships for Journalism students. I want to get the relevant media training I need in order to be a good journalist, I want to be empowered, I want to have choices concerning who I want to work for, what aspect of journalism I want to pursue and I never thought I could get that and where I am sitting right now, I can literally see that all of this is possible. Given the platform, I would like to tell the relevant people that We, as the future journalists don’t want to fail our country and our continent, we want to get training, we want to learn, we want to be able to report the truth and be analytical but we cannot do it without help and assistance of those with budgets that can make such huge differences in the quality of journalists produced in tertiary institutions such as mine. What exactly am I saying then? I will make the best of my time here.

My first day at highway Africa conference

by Ntshinka Lusizo

Before I attended highway Africa conference I thought it was all about gathering people from different countries for dinner and social chats. However after attending conference for the first time my thoughts changed completely about Highway Africa conference, in fact Highway Africa conference is not what I thought it was. Highway Africa is trying to achieve issues that involve journalism and commerce. It has goals of assisting future journalists to understand the world of journalism, future businessmen/women to be broad minded about the business world as well as delegates to be aware about importance of their carriers. Highway Africa gathers people from different disciplines to share their skills and experiences so that students can benefit from those skills and experiences. Students get the opportunity to meet successful people from different organisations and countries who can help them to achieve their goals.

It focuses on struggles that media and journalism are facing and suggest the solutions. I used to think journalism is about only exposing stories to publics but today I learnt that it digs issues that not everyone can see. I learnt that journalists are facing many challenges, for instance most African countries do not give journalists direct access in continental courts and also government does not enhance media standards to mention the few. Highway Africa believes that education is fundamental in promoting human rights therefore universities must provide courses that promote human rights. Critical investigated press that express needs of the people is life blood of any democratic country.

African media are being dominated by western media therefore highway Africa is trying to close that gap by providing future journalists with enough knowledge, skills and experience that they will need to improve African media even better. I found out that western media are using their powers to help their governments on using African resources illegal. African leaders are seen as the causes of African media being underestimated by western media and by the people in general. African leaders prefer to personal talk to western media more than African media because they do not want to be exploited.

Highway Africa will significantly contribute to me as a future journalist. My main interests lie in fields of journalism and commerce therefore I see this conference as the route that can assist me to reach the goals that I have set for myself. As I already said that my interests lie in two fields I have got a life time opportunity of meeting business executives who are coming from different organisations and countries as well. They have provided me with information and knowledge that I needed to achieve my goals. I got a chance to choose from different internships around the continent. Journalists from different African countries taught me that journalism is the field that needs to be respected than being criticised. The are opportunities of getting scholarships and internships from different organisations therefore Highway Africa has will contribute a lot to me as student.

A deep insight into the media industry

by Sindisiwe Mthembu

Journalism is one of the most complicated yet interesting careers. The interesting part of it is that the media industry changes everyday due to the advanced technology introduced to access information unlike in the ancient days where reporters had to read books to get information but now there are social networks that allow people to share information and there are also sites that are easy to visit to get information.

Highway Africa conference was very informative. The issues or the topics discussed were an eye opener to me as a journalism student and as a young person fascinated by the media but who doesn’t really have any experience. It is different when you have a lecturer standing in front of you talking about objectivity in reporting stories, ethics, balance and accuracy but finally having heard the people who work in the media sharing their experiences, the difficulties that journalists come across when trying to get stories and the difficult situations where they have to report about conflicts. This has made me realise that it is not about writing and having the story making the front page of a newspaper but it is about using media to give the people a voice in everything happening in their country and making their views known. The media is known for being biased when it comes to reporting about issues regarding gender. Rosemary Okello-orlale spoke strongly about how journalists tend to shy away from other issues concerning males but only report about the poor women or a female that has suffered a particular form of abuse. Okello-orlale says the media must also tell stories about a man who has lost his job and give him the opportunity to express his feelings.

This again took me back to realising the importance of being able to report a balance and an unbiased story. On an issue of how people rely on international media for information or news Okello-orlale said journalists who work for giant international media industries such as the BBC and CNN are given enough time to do research when given a story unlike in Africa where a journalist is given a few days to research and work on a story trying to catch a deadline. She says most of these stories consist of inaccurate information and they are not award winning stories. I could personally relate to what she said because often times I read a story in a newspaper and at the end it says “the person could not be reached for comments”, this makes me wonder how that journalist managed to put together a story and have it published when there is only one side of the story and where she or he did not get some of the information from “the horses mouth” the person whose story is about.
Having attended the Highway Africa conference I now have an idea of what to expect when I get into the media industry and what other opportunities are available within the media industry.

The glory of Highway Africa

by Anorth Mabunda

My second day in Grahamstown ( 05 July 2010) has been marked by an opening of the biggest media gathering in Africa dubbed the Highway Africa, which aims to address the African media trends, developments and more challenging issues facing the African media in the realm of globalisation. This conference aims to abolish the centre-periphery situation whereby the flow of information and communications is dominated by the West/North and promoting African news by Africans
As a fledgling journalist and privileged to be part of the2010 Future Journalists Programme, this will definitely give me an exposure to these media trends and challenges and thus get me in touch with the vast global phenomenon,” Media”, as many of its professionals and experts come in hordes for a wonderful debate. This is a stepping stone to entrenching my knowledge, particularly writing skills and assimilating the new emerging media trends. It is funny how I blogged and tweeted for the first time since birth yesterday, thanks to Anele our FJP assistant for dimming my ignorance , I think this is a goodbye to my face book page.
Day one of the conference broadened my mind, I had some questions to ask and critical comments to add during the proceedings but I had a fear to stand up and voice my concerns,” I limited my own freedom of speech”.

Mathatha Tsedu gave what I sow as a bias presentation during the topic; Truth is the first casualty of war: journalism and media in times of conflict. He blamed African journalists for not doing enough in terms of coverage in times of war, omitting the fact the some African states have introduced draconian legislations against the freedom of expression, journalists are being victimised and censored during war times.

I like the theme of the conference, African Voices in the global media space; it is the concept I always wanted to see being shared on the table, concerning the negative effects caused by the 21st century epoch of globalisation which gives the West more power over the developing Africa.

African voices needs to be heard, we should speak for ourselves because no one knows Africa better than us. But the main focus in the conference seems to be on introducing Information and Communications Technologies such as the Internet which is a brilliant idea but what about the issue of access. If this “African Voice” is meant to speak to the elite then for me it is not a voice at all. Africa is characterised by a huge digital divide which is favouring the rich elite and living behind the vast poor communities. The majority of poor Africans hardly have access to the internet. I assume that new African channels by Africans will be introduced but where?: on DSTV where the majority doesn’t have access to, how about working closely with all so-called big independent media and telecommunications companies in Africa, like Telkom, MTN and Media 24 in order to introduce freely accessible 24 hour Africa news channels. My concern was also outlined during the discussion process by former Ghanaian president John Okufour. Mapule Mbalati also reached my point,” we are more focussed on entertainment rather the education and relevant news bulletins” but any way that’s a topic for another day.

My first priorities of the day were met in seconds. I wanted to meet some of my favourite role players in the African media, Joe Thloloe, the SA press ombudsman and head of the media-24, Mathatha Tsedu. I approached them professionally and so they didn’t hesitate or seem to doubt giving me their business cards.
I am looking forward to learning more and meeting more media professionals during this conference. I am no longer going to sit back and form part of the passive audience, I am going to ask more questions and write more on this blog, na khensa.

The Hitchhikers guide to Highway Africa

By Siphesihle “RAZ” Mthembu

As a veteran of the Highway Africa and future journalists programme (I use the word veteran with the powers vested in me by the unofficial non-existent Sihle Mthembu Life guide, which defines a veteran as someone who has done something at least ONCE). I have decided that after day one of the running around trying to find this that or the other and a mixture of easy conversation and vigorous debate, it would be worth while for me to give the Journalist/Hitchhikers guide as to how to survive the FJP and HA programme.
Tip # 1: what do drivers? Actors and academics have in common? (No it’s not the fact that they would rather not pay their taxes), but it’s the fact that they are simply allergic to asking for directions. Right after you finish shinning your shoes and air punch thinking to yourself man “I’ve arrived”. You will be well advised to locate yourself. By all accounts Rhodes is a big university (especially to those of us that like to limit our Horizons of infinite abilities to the 140 characters on our Twitter updates). So it will take more than a few clicks before you know the blocks. The most commonly used venues are (Nelson Mandela Dining Hall-where you shall never go hungry-but only during meal times) (Eden grove this venue has two large lecture theatres one called Eden Grove red (because the seats are red) and another called Eden Grove Blue (because yes you guessed it the seats are blue). The last Major event venues is the African Media Matrix (is modern beautifully painted building which for its Broadway style light surprisingly uses the colour red instead of the traditional matrix colour green (I guess the only feasible excuse for this is the fact that this is an African take on it). Amongst the other locations one must locate are the toilets because contrary to popular belief the rest room is one of the most desirable places to be. All locations are outlined in a map that you will get. When you have completed Tip# 2
Tip# 2: the second thing one must do when visiting someone’s house is let the landlord know that you have arrived. So at Eden Grove first floor right next to the Blogging lab, you will find a registration venue (you don’t know what I’m talking about? Then you didn’t read Tip# 1- and if you still don’t know what I’m talking about don’t worry just smile and nod, you’re an academic you’ll figure this out). Hopefully you won’t have to wait for long for registration as the computers tend to freeze up when they know the hold the information and names of important delegates such as Retired Ghanaian President John Kufuor and Advocate Pansy Tlakula. Please also remember to bring the correct spelling of your name with you. The last thing you need is the added stress of wondering why (after reading your tag) people keep calling you Dludla instead of Dladla.
Tip#3: Now that you know where you are and you know who you are, its time to dot he most important thing to do is Tip 3. Know who everybody else is. So forget the serious mandate that you were given with you ticket and act like a typical African. Put on your newsroom tendencies and mix, mingle and make merry with everyone at the event. You never know who might me standing next to you, Highway Africa is a place for us to make friends and meet colleagues. Collect as many business cards as possible and remember as many names as you can.

Wow, what a kick off!!

Lebogang Mgiba

Well, where do is start? After the 20 hours trauma in bus, toddler screaming her lungs out when I was trying to get some sleep. I was close to speaking French and tell her to shut her lil mouth but that would have been so rude of me. We arrived in Grahamstown in the morning and I just fell in love with the environment (I’m not sucking up, truth be told). Anele did a little tour with us to the Department of Journalism. Wow I felt ripped off at the University of Johannesburg because we are not as advanced as Rhodes University. Yeah I’m jealous, who wouldn’t? After the whole tour we went to Eden grove to try and register but the system was down but finally managed to register at the end.

I had that opportunity to meet different people from different backgrounds, cultures and I even realised that there were high school students participating in this initiative. Oh and how can I forget the goody bag, Of course I like free stuff-I’m black after all. Again, it also proved a point that journalists don’t know how to dress, just because they journalists doesn’t necessarily mean they should just dress the way they feel it’s appropriate. They also have reputations to protect, and no one wants to be called the “untidy journalist”. I’m not saying they should wear designer clothes, but just to be presentable.

I must admit, it’s a privilege for me to be chosen as one of the Future Journalist Programme participants, as I believe it’s the beginning of my journalism career. The High Way Africa conference is trying to give students a platform to get to meet professionals in the industry and to network with them and who knows, you might just meet your future employer. It’s a bit nerve wrecking to approach these top notch people and ask for business cards, but hey it’s do or die. It is my future that will be on the line after all.

Journalism is a broad word, and there’s a lot you can do with a journalism degree/diploma. The beat that I want to venture into is Entertainment journalism, that’s where I want to see myself. I would like to know everything within journalism but entertainment is what I would like to excel in and with Highway Africa, I will be able to meet professional journalists on my field and getting advice that I need and not forgetting to ask that business card.

Reflection: the sessions that I attended today were very interesting. They spoke about how social media (twitter, blogs) changing the definition of news. Mapule, former SABC member also emphasised the fact that TV and radio focus more on entrainment than education, of which I strongly agree, tabloid journalism has taken over. Issues were raised by the panellists about reporting on African stories and delegates were given opportunities to have a say on what they spoke about.

One of the best things was to meet Professor Guy Berger, who’s the head of the school of journalism and communication at Rhodes University as some of our journalism readings at UJ are based on his work.

My first impression of the Highway Africa conference

by Jenny Mathebula

I attended the first day of the Highway Africa conference today and I have to say it was quite a day. Today definitely ranks as one of the best experiences in my life. It was such an honour to be in the same room as with people such as the retired president of Ghana his Excellency Mr John Kufuor. Attending this conference was not something that I thought would happen this early in my journalism career.
The Highway Africa conference is taking place in conjunction with the 2nd World Journalism Education congress this year and this tires in perfectly with what highway is trying to archive with such as the FJP and the numerous others that it has.
The first day of conference has been an incredibly pleasant experience. It made me realise just how much I still have to learn about the media landscape in Africa. It has also reinforced most of what I learnt as a first journalism student at TUT.
Most of the sessions that I attended today centred on Media freedom or the lack of that still exists in many African countries and developing of the media industry in Africa. What resonated with me the most during all of the discussions was the danger that many African journalists still find themselves in their quest for the truth. The fact that the are journalists getting killed and arrested for doing the jobs in 2010 is shocking and disturbing to me.
Another discussion that interested me was based on the perception of Africa in the rest of the world, whether the world cup is going to change the way in which people currently our continent and what we can do as the media to change the perception that people of Africa. Although the international media is largely responsible for the distorted image that many people especially in the west hold of Africa believe that sometimes the African media itself to blame for this. Let’s take the South African media for instance. Instead of reporting about the many good things that are happening in South Africa , thing that actually affect the people of our Country they would rather concentrate whether the one of the president’s wives had and affair or not.
I have learnt so much already and it’s just the first day of conference. I really can’t wait to attend the rest of the week’s sessions because I am positive it will only help me become a better journalist. The most important thing that I have realised while attending the conference today is that I want to become a stronger advocate for human in our continent. There are so many atrocious violations of human rights that are going untold which results in people not getting the help that they need because no one who actually cares knows about it.
It might only be the first day but I tell that this conference will help me in my academic work because it elaborates on everything that I have learnt over the past year and a half. It will help me to horn my skills as an aspiring journalist and this is perfect place to network. I have been so inspired since I arrived. Hearing Advocate Pansy Tlakula’s CV made me realise that I still have a long way to go. I hope one day in the not so distant future I will return to Highway Africa conference as a speaker and have a CV even half that impressive. I love seeing strong and successful woman. I am done for the day and need to get some rest. Talk to you guys tomorrow.

It's the African way or the Highway

By Sungeni Chithambo
I can already see that the Highway Africa Conference is going to be an experience of a lifetime. Not only is it the first conference I have ever attended but it is one which epitomizes the goals and ideas of my future journalism career. This prestigious conference is trying to achieve some sense of African unity. By bringing together a diverse multitude of delegates not only from around Africa but from the rest of the world, African media and its role in our ever-changing society can be defined and redefined using interpretations from various backgrounds. This is the unique flavour of Highway Africa, the only conference of its kind. Highway Africa is trying to bring people together and the attention it draws clearly shows us that the journey African journalism is embarking on, is one to be taken seriously. This is what I gather from the talks and discussions I have been to so far. This conference gives people a voice. Who knew I’d ever be in the same room as the retired president of Ghana and watch him avidly discuss issues of African development with people from all around the continent?
I am already overwhelmed at the number and calibre of guests at this conference and even more overwhelmed at the notion of networking with them. But I have to get over this irrational fear of crowds because it would not do well with my career at all. What journalist lurks in corners waiting for stories to come floating down from the sky? So I think it’s about time I give myself some advice; get some spine girl! I am yet to attend the Absa Africa Night and if this does not prove to be the networking opportunity of a lifetime then I don’t know what will. Highway Africa and the delegates taking part have much to contribute to my future career as a media worker. Their experience, background and advice will shape the choices I make regarding exactly which path I want to take in the future. My plans might change and I believe it is up to the media professionals attending this conference to mould my ideas of journalism and help me grow. Rubbing shoulders with some of Africa’s finest media professionals will hopefully lead to me drawing on their ideas and incorporating them into my own view of journalism in this flourishing continent.
There is so much people have to share. Highway Africa is an event well worth talking about, tweeting about, blogging about and making Facebook status updates about. Everything that happens throughout this conference needs to be documented so that others not part of the Highway African experience can gain insight into things like developmental issues in Africa and the problems African media is facing.
I am enjoying the experience so far. My fellow future journalists are awesome, my FJP coordinator is awesome, the long walk up the hill, not so awesome, but hey, we can’t have everything. After this conference is over, I want to know exactly what I want to do with my journalism career and where it is going to head. I need to be prepared.