04 September, 2013
All roads led to intense discussion and debate at
the 17th annual Highway Africa Conference.
At a workshop held on Sunday 1 September, delegates
deliberated on the relationship between the media, researchers and civil society
organisations (CSOs).
This workshop featured a panel of representatives
from six African countries.
Ashley Green-Thompson, a former Director of the SA
Network of Trauma Service Providers, and a current consultant of the Southern
Africa Trust chaired the panel discussion.
The Southern Africa Trust which supported the
discussion, is an independent, non-profit agency that facilitates processes to
increase participation in policy dialogue with a regional impact on poverty.
The panellists included the Deputy Editor of New
Vision newspaper, Catherine Mwesigwa Kizza (Uganda), science writer and
journalist, Leoni Joubert (South Africa), the Chief Reporter of the Ghana News
Agency, Linda Asante-Ageyi and the Senior Investigative Journalist at National
Publications Limited (NPL), Wisdom Chimgwede (Malawi).
The panel discussion kicked off with Kizza discussing
the dependence of the media on CSOs because of their affiliation with
grassroots organisations.
Despite the perceived role of the media as a voice
for the voiceless, Kizza criticised the media for being accessible mostly to
the elite who manage and influence news.
Kizza then went on to discuss the goals of New
Vision newspaper who aim to work closely with CSOs to encourage innovation in
society.
Asante-Ageyi reflected on how the collaboration between
her media organisation and CSOs helped to publicize high traces of aflatoxins
in maize and cyanide in water.
She acknowledged however that there is a large gap
between researchers and the media because media practitioners often do not
understand scientific jargon.
She argued that this issue needed to be dealt with
because the media address the inner issues and are the voice of the voiceless.
Chimgwede stated that the media needed to maintain
its independence while in relationship with CSOs and stressed that the stories
presented by the media needed to suit the standards of the newsrooms without
“merging” agendas with the CSOs.
Joubert who has written on issues of sustainability and
poverty built on Kizza’s argument about the elite interests.
She stated that newsrooms only cater for the ideals
of their constituencies who are mostly urbanised and also highlighted the
expense for newsrooms to cater for stories in remote areas. Her view was that
the media needed to push for funding from the CSOs in order to have grassroots’
stories included on the agenda.
Interesting questions and comments bounced around
the room when the discussion was opened to the floor.
Most media practitioners were critical about the
relationship, and raised their concerns about ensuring that stories from rural
areas appealed to people from the urban areas.
Another delegate cautioned against “cognitive
capture” i.e. making the views of the CSO one’s own when reporting.
Green-Thompson probed the panellists for information
on the impact that their collaboration had on policy-change and all agreed that
the impact was minimal yet visible.
The floor and panellists spoke about how news
organisations could maintain their independence by using counter-narratives or
not publishing a story immediately until it was suitable for the agenda.
The panellists also remarked that the marginalised
people of rural areas could be a vital audience to cater to by engaging with
their issues, especially due to concerns that the audiences of print
publications are dwindling.
Media to make waves on BRICS
By
Loyiso Malgas
Russian journalism lecturer, spoke about the impact media
has on Russia saying censorship in his country is very important.
“Tradition can never be overcome instantly, and journalism’s
responsibility to Russian society looks rhetorical” he said.
BRICS was initially a concept of economic change within
the developing countries, the media is expected to play a huge role in making
sure that the government is accountable and that the media itself report to the
public.
Another speaker present was Professor Shakuntala Rao from
Plattburgh State University of New York.
She believes that the news focus has shifted from “truth
seeking, conferring and oppositional to sometimes complicit with ruling
ideology of the state.”
It was also shocking to learn that South Africa is the
protest capital of the world.
Statistics reveal that an average of sixteen protests take
place every four minutes in the country, and that South Africa is the most
unequal society in the world.
Dr Julie Reid who is an activist for media and press
freedom and also the Deputy President of the South African Communications
Association however believes that South Africa needs to focus more on public
service delivery.
“South Africa has a healthy regulatory environment that
does not much monitoring but still far behind as compared to the countries like
Brazil, Russia, India and China,” she said.
Krog se Kind
By Youlendree Appasamy
“She’s blonde and short and adorable looking.”
That is the first introduction to Annetjie van Wynegaard I
receive.
She is indeed blonde and short and adorable but those characteristics
fail to describe her vivacity and near manic pace of life.
Annetjie is currently the commissioning editor for Rhodes
Journalism Review, alongside being a research assistant in the department.
She
also handles all of the Rhodes Journalism Department’s social media. Being a Rhodes graduate herself, she was
thrilled at the chance of coming back to Grahamstown and a job.
“My job with social media right now is to
make the Rhodes journalism brand visible on social media platforms,” she says.
Annetjie graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010,
with writing and radio as her specialisations.
However, Annetjie’s main focus
when younger was to become a writer. “I thought doing a Bjourn would be the
best way to get me to where I wanted to be with writing,” she says.
“As a
journalist I would be getting the information to write about interesting life
experiences,” she continues.
China Mieville and Lauren Beukes are her favourite authors
at the time of interviewing her, “but they change a lot, because I read a lot,”
she says and laughs.
Science Fiction, True Crime and Fantasy are amongst her
favourite genres, but again, with a bookworm this varies greatly.
Poetry is
also one of Annetjie’s interests, citing Antjie Krog as one of her favourite
poets. This social media maven has a
blog called annetjiesepoems.wordpress.com, where one can read more of her own
poetry.
From being a “top-redenaar” when she was in Grade 8, to
working towards a Masters degree, Annetjie is determined and extremely
hardworking.
“I came from a very poor family – my dad was a street sweeper and
my mom was unemployed,” she says.
When being awarded as the “top-redenaar” (or best speech) by
the Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurvereniging (ATKV)
Annetjie could not afford the blazer, yet received honours in her high school
for her achievement.
“I didn’t know what to do, but when I walked into my hotel
room after the speech I found a blazer lying there – my teacher had bought it
for me, so I could wear my honours colours,” she says excitedly.
Annetjie is one of those people for whom hard-work and
dedication is an inherent part of their being.
Opportunities are seized
wholeheartedly by her and as Jade Smith, one of her friends say, “She is the
bubbliest person, who will smile even when she’s really angry – she’s the only
person I know who does that!”
You can follow Annetjie on Twitter here: @annetjievwb
Data 101: lessons with Anina Mumm
By
Noko Pela and Odwa Mkentane
This is the world according to Anina Mumm, the
coordinater Data Clinic - an African Media Initiative, at the Highway Africa conference.
Mumm, together with University of
Witwatersrand Journalism lecturer Dinesh Balliah conducted a rather successful
workshop which aimed at equipping journalists with the right techniques of data
processing.
The pair believes that processing data
ultimately results in information for the reader. The data was presented and
interpreted using the spreadsheet Microsoft Excel 2010.
The workshop focused on calculating data,
sorting it according to its different categories, filtering, and how to
transform the data into different shapes and graphs mouths.
According to Dinesh Balliah, the
significance and purpose of this workshop is to introduce data journalism to
journalists and she believes that using excel will be a basic start to data
journalism.
She further adds that data journalism
involves manipulating, interrogating and asking about information data sets.
Tshegofatso Bafana, second year Media
studies and Communication management at Tshwane University of Technology
student says, “Data Clinic was an insightful, informative and cultivating
workshop.
“I didn’t know that numbers are important
in journalism; I always thought that it’s something for BCom students. Anina
and Dinesh have given me a new prospective on journalism, and that is data
journalism,” she said.
Balliah says that data journalism is used
in most cases when a politician makes claims prior to the elections that they
have increased jobs or decreased the crime rate.
In
these cases journalist are able to challenge or check the information before
incorrect information is published.
By Mbali Mzinyane
A panel of speakers from
four different countries gathered during the Highway Africa conference panel
session yesterday to discuss the media’s role as a partner to effect government
policy change.
The workshop reflected the
media’s role of six countries namely, South Africa, Tanzania, Malawi, Ghana,
Uganda, and Kenya.
On the panel was Catherine Mwesigwa
Kizza, deputy editor of New Vision
newspaper in Uganda, South African science writer Leonie Joubert, Ghanaian
chief reporter for Ghana News Agency,
Linda Asante-Agyei and Wisdom Chimgwede, senior investigative journalist of
Malawi’s National Publications Limited.
The revelatory discussion
was based around suggestive ideas of bringing about better governmental policies
that reflect society’s needs through the collaboration of the media and civil
society organisations (CSO’s).
The panellists discussed how
the media within their respective countries was working with civil society to
address issues that are often marginalised and bring to attention the
day-to-day problems that have risen due to other changes such as urban-rural
divide within society.
“There is a big gap between
the policy makers and the voiceless, and that is where the role of the media
comes in”, Asante-Agyei said during her discussion of how Ghana News Agency is working with CSO’s to address societal issues
in order to influence policy makers.
However, the question of the
media retaining its independence whilst being involved with CSOs was
highlighted during commentary made by delegates attending the panel session.
“The question to ask
ourselves is if media is part of civil society and if media can work with CSO’s
and the answer to both these questions is ‘yes’. However, media and CSOs should
not be friends”, said Chimgwede. Chimgwede, along with the other panellists
emphasised how media should remain true to their identity and retain their
independence whilst fulfilling their role as reporters.
Girl Media power goes Global
By: Global Girl Media
GlobalGirl Media, is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to empowering high school age girls from under-served communities from around the world.
Through media training they are taught to have a voice in the global media universe and their own futures.
GlobalGirl Media invests in girls to become their own agents of change in bridging the gender digital divide, providing concrete skills with which to improve their personal situations.
We firmly believe that working with young women around the world to find and share their authentic voice is an investment in our
GlobalGirl Media grew out of a coalition of women broadcasters and journalists from around the world who recognized that much mainstream reporting focuses on flash points of violence, celebrity or disaster.
The everyday experience and voice of the invisible majority, particularly young women, passes silently under the radar.
With the explosion of social media networking and user-generated content on the web, the fact remains that this media is only open to those who have access to these technologies, leaving many youth, especially young girls behind.
GlobalGirl Media seeks to address this disparity by supplying the equipment, education and support necessary to help young women become digital and blog journalists, bringing their own unique perspective on their lives, their communities and world events to the global web and social media community.
Video Introduction at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHdNsESWQgM&list=PLCECAFEEA73E391DF
Networking: Building relationships with potential bosses
By:
Nompilo Mncube
Networking
can be quite an intimidating thing to do, especially in a room full of the best
of the media industry.
The Highway Africa conference is one event that has
student journalists on their toes, trying to sell themselves to big media
champs in the span of a minute.
While
networking is a convenient way of getting your name out there and building
relationships with potential employers, it takes courage and an overdose of
confidence to pull it off.
Student
journalists of the Highway Africa Future Journalist Programme (FJP) shared
their thoughts and experiences on devising small talk with the biggest names in
the media industry.
Khethukuthula
Lembethe of Durban University of Technology felt intimidated when it came to
approaching well-known delegates at the conference.
“I
can’t just walk up to someone and approach them,” she said. “I’m just waiting
for the right opportunity.”
However,
interviewing delegates is a different story for Lembethe. She finds that
delegates are open and often have a lot to say about what they represent.
Being
amongst the top names of the media industry from all corners of the world is a
privilege and an inspiration for Siyabonga Myeni, student
journalist of the University of Zululand.
Myeni
is held back by his shyness and believes that people of this importance deserve
to be approached in an honourable and respectable way.
“I
haven’t spoken to anyone of the delegates yet, but I would like to particularly
speak to delegates from outside South Africa,” Myeni said.
University
of Limpopo student, Alfred Makhubela took the bull by it horns and made his
long lived dream come true when he spoke to Power FM presenter, Thabiso Tema.
“When
he was speaking at the Barclays Africa Dinner, I thought he was an easy-going
guy and decided to walk up to his table,” he said.
Being
amongst big names made Makhubela feel as if he was also big and by networking
he helps establish and grow himself.
Simwogerere
Kyazze, Rhodes University lecturer and FJP trainer, explains how great of a
platform the Highway Africa conference is for training journalists to make
themselves known.
“These
young journalists meet people from the top of the food chain in the media
industry – people who are hard to meet,” Kyazze said. “The industry is looking
for youthful exuberance and therefore young journalists should show potential
and a promise of what is possible to these delegates.”
By Matthew Alexander
The burning question around media regulation is: who
watches the watchdogs?
The main issue is not whether or not self-regulatory
bodies work or if statutory bodies work.
The issue resides in who will be in charge of the
regulatory body. It is seen as unethical if a media representative were to be
in charge because it is assumed that all ethical barriers will be broken.
If it were a governmental figure heading the body,
it’s assumed that all news would be in favour for a political party.
It’s easy to create assumptions; the real truth is to
simply experience both scenarios. Certain aspects that were taken into account
were: the type of content being produced, whether or not the content being
produced would be effective, the content will be enjoyable and that the media’s
objectivity would not be in question.
But not all media is ethically correct. There have
been many instances where the media has overstepped its mark.
The only thing stopping our nation from becoming a
totalitarian state is our right to free press and freedom of speech.
It’s alarming to think about having a governmental
figure being a head of a media organisation regulatory body, especially with
the emergence of the state of information bill.
But even so, in only a small group of countries has
self-regulatory bodies succeeded. So is our only option to break even and to
have a small body consisting of governmental and media representatives.
It’s all speculation at this point. The only thing
everyone seems to agree on is that media needs to be regulated for the correct
reasons and not for personal gain.
After all, a nation is only as informed as its
journalist’s. Stifling their ability to report on a sensitive and vital manner
would only hinder our nation.
But it’s also the responsibility of a journalist to
be fair, to write carefully on a delicate matter and to ultimately uphold the
ethical code of a journalist.
Jornalists speaking truth to power
By Alice Paulse
.JPG)
Delegates
arriving, press passes flashed around. Volunteers wait hand and foot to assist
where possible. This is the scene at the
17th Highway Africa Conference, the largest gathering of African journalists in the world. The topic of this year's conference was, "Speaking truth to power?"Media,Politics &Accountability.
The Highway Africa
Conference reminds journalists that in order to speak truth to power, we as
journalists need to speak truth to ourselves.
02 September, 2013
THE FUTURE OF JOURNALISM-HOPEFULLY
By
Sarin Drew
For journalists, unemployment and unpaid
internships have become a rite of passage into journalism.
Highway Africa’s Future Journalists Programme (FJP)
seeks to provide a unique training and networking opportunity for journalism
students from different South African tertiary institutions.
We believe our undergraduate degrees hold us in
good stead for the future, but this is far from the truth.
Journalism students will grovel, slave and make coffee
after our graduation parties. FJP serves as a gateway into the media world.
We have had training schools throughout the year to
equip us for our engagement with media during the Highway Africa conference.
“We are here to share our opinions about the
current state of the media and engage with people involved in media. As an
aspiring journalist this has been an eye opening experience.” said
Khethukuthula Lembethe (20), a journalism student from the Durban University of
Technology (DUT).
For FJPs the opportunity to network at this
conference is equivalent to receiving the confirmation for a breaking story.
Unathi Nkumi (22) from the University of Fort Hare
is maximising this opportunity. “Although it is very intimidating to speak to
heavyweights in media, I just want to network as much as possible so that I can
take a step closer to achieving my goals.”
The seminars and discussions about accountability,
transparency and the emerging social media have been particularly enlightening.
It helps us realise that our generation of journalists have a lot of challenges
to face.
Michelle Atagana, Managing Editor of Burn Media said that the changing format
of journalism doesn’t mean a decline in the standard or credibility of the
journalistic profession.
For the FJPs, we have taken heed of the many
messages that have been sent to us by our future peers. It is our belief that
the future of the media lies squarely on the shoulders of aspiring journalists.
As FJPs we promise to make the programme proud.
The future of journslism—hopefully
By
Sarin Drew
The Highway Africa Future Journalism Programme was created
to bridge the gap between industry and journalism training, especially for
universities that are not very well equipped.
For any journalist, unemployment, unpaid internships
and work experience have become a rite of passage into the journalistic world. Although, we are made to believe that our undergraduate degrees hold us in good
stead for the future, we all know this is far from the truth.
The truth for any
journalism student is that grovelling, slave work and coffee making await us
after our glorified graduation parties. However, it is opportunities like the
Highway Africa Future Journalist Programme (FJP) that are a direct gateway into
the media world.
The FJP runs Schools throughout the year and culminate
at Highway Africa every year. It is here that we begin to see the fruits of our
labour as we converse with journalists from the world about issues that plague
the media. We have had training schools throughout the year to equip us for our
engagement with media during the conference.
“We are here to share our opinions about the current
state of the media and engage with people involved in media. As an aspiring
journalist this has been an eye opening experience.” said Khethukuthula
Lembethe (20), a journalism student from the Durban University of Technology (DUT).
However, for FJPs the opportunity to network at this
conference is equivalent to a receiving the confirmation for a breaking story.
Unathi Nkumi (22), from the University of Fort Hare
is exploiting this opportunity. “Although it is very intimidating to speak to
heavyweights in media, I just want to network as much as possible so that I can
take a step closer to achieving my goals.”
The seminars and discussions about accountability,
transparency and the emerging social media have been particularly enlightening.
It helps us to realise that our generation of journalists have a lot of
challenges to face. One key idea has been repeated throughout the conference.
Michelle Atagana, Managing Editor of Burn
Media articulated the idea that the changing format of journalism doesn’t
mean a decline in the standard or credibility of the journalistic profession.
For the FJPs, we have taken heed of the many
messages that have been sent to us by our future peers. It is our belief that the
future of the media lies squarely on the shoulders of aspiring journalists. As
FJPs we promise not to disappoint.
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