The Craft

“Sadly, some units of investigative journalism appear to have become involved in political factions, which enabled the loss of credibility for journalism as a whole.”

Zubeida told me she was working on an important story and I knew from that moment that I wanted to carry that amount of dedication and commitment to journalism and to shaping the conversations needed in order to transform society.

In October, Zubeida Jaffer received the prestigious 2020 Allan Kirkland Soga Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her sustained and extraordinary contribution to journalism, including her impeccable ethics and craft excellence.

Voices of poor majority either ignored or made functional to dominant narrative

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to expose a range of acute inequalities across and within societies around the world. Nowhere is this clearer than in the disproportionately negative impact on the lives of the marginalised and poor. Public health systems are under heavy strain, unemployment is rising, access to online education alternatives for all scholars is unrealised, and opportunities to eke out even a meagre income in the informal sector are declining.

Growth in number of black women in leadership positions in the media industry

Kiki Ntuli and Nwabisa Makunga join a legacy of trailblazing women in leading South African media.There has been a marked increase of black women in top positions in South Africa’s media industry but many still experience discrimination.This was revealed in the 2018 Glass Ceilings in South African Media study conducted by the South African National Editors Forum (SANEF) and Gender Links, with support from the Media Diversity and Development Agency (MDDA).

Tashreeq Truebody Icasa needs to be stopped from interdicting radio stations. We will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that government does well on its promises made to the community media sector. South Africa’s communications regulatory body is on a drive to close down several community radio stations. It claims to be driven by efforts to ensure compliance in the sector and the affected stations are guilty of operating without the required licenses. From the onset, it should be clear that...

Is cyber-misogyny the new frontier for the embarrassment and humiliation of the disenfranchised? Have you ever thought about the possibility of appearing in pornographic films? Or posing as an online model for Internet users to undress you? What about receiving a video clip or photo on your social media profile and realising that the person in the clip is you? Perhaps you should. It’s more than possible. The reality of ‘deepfakes’ infiltrating every facet of your life has arrived. Deepfakes is...

According to the Global Digital Yearbook of 2019, South Africans spent an average of eight hours a day connected online. That is the same amount of time we spend on a nine-to-five job. On average, we are awake for 16 hours a day and we choose to be glued to our screens for half of the time we are awake. Why is that? Digital media analysts from around the world help us delve into the consequences of our digital media habits....

Legacy of African media freedom giant lives on

What better way to honour an African media freedom giant than to launch an online course on media freedom and freedom of expression in Africa? This is precisely what has happened to honour the memory of Jeanette Minnie, who passed away in 2016 after an illness.

Does media reflect a violent society, or does it play a role in perpetuating violence?

As parents we raise our children with the belief and hope that they will always be safe no matter where they go. But it appears that the predators are often closer than expected. Games and films filled with violence are in our homes, on the Internet and on our smartphones.

Let’s hand the pen to ourselves

African communication professionals have started a movement to rebrand the continent. Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda at the first-ever Global Africa Forum on Communications (GAFCOMM) on 21 – 23 August 2019, they affirmed their intention to build a platform for thought leadership, growth ideas, and sharing of the best success stories.

One of the least enviable tasks of journalists in the US must be reporting on how the public trusts their work less and less. A 2018 study found that only about four in ten Americans had at least a “fair” amount of trust in the media. Also, in a June 2019 survey, a full third of respondents agreed with President Donald Trump that the news media are “the enemy of the people.” The US isn’t unique in this respect. A study last year by the Reuters Institute and Oxford University found that, across...

Toxic Hypermasculinity and the portrayal of gendered roles in media

In a society such as ours, with high levels of gender-based violence and public performances of misogyny, it is important to reflect on the impact that representations of hyper-masculinity in the media has on society, as it has the power to shape values, norms and perceptions.

Ethiopian journalists face censored press

On 8 July 2019 Ethiopia’s Ministry of Defence announced plans to charge journalists and media houses for “publishing defamatory information about the Ethiopia National Defence Force.” According to Amnesty International, the Ethiopian government risks rolling back the great progress it made on media freedom last year.

How should journalists report on this epidemic

The Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust recently held a writing workshop about the importance of writing about rape in a way that is not harmful to rape survivors, also empowering those who have undergone this traumatic event.Sexual violence in South Africa is rife. According to Statistics South Africa, the rape of South African women is among the highest in the world, and a total of 250 out of every 100 000 women…

Qaanitah Hunter wins Nat Nakasa award

The Nat Nakasa awards truly showcase the best of journalism in South Africa today and reminds us about the need for journalists that report without fear or favour, who do not shy away from either the political or financial story, and who make stories accessible to a broader audience.South Africa is better off thanks to courageous journalists…

Cybermisogyny is on the rise, we need to protect our children

As we celebrate Youth Month, in remembrance of the historic uprising in Soweto and Langa townships this month 43 years ago, we reflect on the challenges young people face today. No doubt the past few years have been the toughest since our democracy.

R11 million worth of illegal DVDs destroyed in Cape Town and Durban

On 19 March 2019 the Film and Publications Board destroyed over 100,000 illegal DVD’s in Cape Town and Durban, amounting to over a whopping R11 million. The illegal distribution of films and games not only impacts on the revenue of content creators, it similarly places children at risk of exposure to potentially harmful, unclassified material.

The portrayal of violence in our media bears a grim harvest and deserves to be treated accordingly

South African parents ought to turn their attention urgently to their children playing and constructing social rules outside the influence and guidance of adults. Violent media content, simulated and or real, is so pervasive and so viral it calls for an urgent rescue mission and a call to action.

African regulators work together to harmonise the regulation of creative content

In the age of digital disruptions, with all its possibilities and failures, it is important for us as Africans to protect the African Child, and work together to harmonise our approach to communication of the future.The Film and Publication Board (FPB), and its African counterparts, similar industry regulators across the African continent…

Huge strides have been made over the decades – but we’ve yet to cover enough distance.

This month the world celebrated International Women’s Day and this year’s theme is #BalanceforBetter with the hope of moving towards a more gender-balanced world.International Women’s Day (IWD) looks to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women across the globe and marks a call to action for accelerating gender equality.

“Accountability for these crimes is non-negotiable”

Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi wasn’t the only journalist killed in 2018. Worldwide, UNESCO recorded the horrific total of 96 other murders for last year. That is: ninety-six lives that are no more, simply because the people involved were doing journalism.Yet, in this death list, the Khashoggi killing was one of the most brazen.

It is time we take seriously the call to clean up our own house and order of business

The allegations made by disgraced former Bosasa executive Angelo Agrizzi talk to bribes of as much as R30,000 being paid to individual journalists in return for favourable stories. Allegations also surfaced about intimidation and harassment of journalists deemed too critical of Bosasa.

Protecting our children from harmful media experiences

The use of virtual reality and augmented reality particularly in the games and entertainment space is rising rapidly in South Africa. The Film and Publication Board, mandated to regulate media content for purposes of protecting children from premature exposure to potentially harmful content in South Africa…

3 December 1939 – 16 January 2019

Activist, author and journalist Hugh Lewin died aged at the age of 79 on January 16, 2019. Lewin is remembered for a life spent fighting apartheid. He was jailed for seven years in 1964 on the account of sabotage for his role in the anti-apartheid African Resistance Movement.After his release from prison in 1971 Lewin left South Africa for London on a one-way exit permit.