The Craft
About this page
When we train journalists we give them the tools to understand this ‘axis of human striving’ and to understand their role in the creation of an ‘ethical society’.
Each month The Journalist will feature Mini Master Classes and articles in The Craft section. These online tutorials and opinion pieces are based on the experiences of renowned Journalists.
If you have ideas for topics you would like to see in The Craft section or need help with an area of Journalism, let us know. The Journalist has a team whose combined experiences cover digital media, print, broadcast and filmmaking. But ultimately we are seasoned Storytellers who would like to ensure that the next generation of media men and women do the South African story justice. Anything less is a human rights violation.
Power and loss in journalism in SA
“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.”
A tender-hearted combatant of love
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.
Dominant media reflects an elite bias
Voices of poor majority either ignored or made functional to dominant narrative
Leading Ladies in the Media
Growth in number of black women in leadership positions in the media industry
Community radio stations fight to stay on air
Tashreeq Truebody [intro]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.[/intro] 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...
Deepfake apps: Society’s new enemy
[intro]Is cyber-misogyny the new frontier for the embarrassment and humiliation of the disenfranchised?[/intro] 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...
PODCAST: Beware the small screen
[intro]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.[/intro]...
New online course continues the work of Jeanette Minnie
Legacy of African media freedom giant lives on
Pushing pause on gender-based violence
Does media reflect a violent society, or does it play a role in perpetuating violence?
Western media, Chinese media: where is African media?
Let’s hand the pen to ourselves
Fresh vigilance is needed to protect media freedom across Africa
[intro]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.”[/intro] The US isn’t unique in this respect. A study last year by the Reuters Institute and Oxford University...
Toxic masculinity and aspiring to be James Bond
Toxic Hypermasculinity and the portrayal of gendered roles in media
Ethiopia: New journalist arrests put press freedom gains at risk
Ethiopian journalists face censored press
Writing about rape
How should journalists report on this epidemic
Honouring the superheroes of democracy
Qaanitah Hunter wins Nat Nakasa award
The internet has no firewall for patriarchy
Cybermisogyny is on the rise, we need to protect our children
Hitting pause on piracy
R11 million worth of illegal DVDs destroyed in Cape Town and Durban
Parents be warned: Gaming is no child’s play
The portrayal of violence in our media bears a grim harvest and deserves to be treated accordingly
From business to terrorism, the double edged sword of digital communication
African regulators work together to harmonise the regulation of creative content
Striking the media gender balance
Huge strides have been made over the decades – but we’ve yet to cover enough distance.
Standing up for Khashoggi is standing up for safety of journalists globally
“Accountability for these crimes is non-negotiable”
Journalists listed in Agrizzi’s “little black book”
It is time we take seriously the call to clean up our own house and order of business
Going sober on cyber: Will VR leave a mark on our kids?
Protecting our children from harmful media experiences
Hugh Lewin – Bandiet, Activist, Author, and Journalist
3 December 1939 – 16 January 2019

About Us
The Journalist is a ground-breaking media project that provides history and context for key issues facing South African journalists. The Journalist is an independent, not for profit organisation working with the academic community and a range of credible online entities to make knowledge more accessible to the wider public. We don’t only tell you what happened. We help you understand why.
Our Sponsors
Republish Articles
We want our stories spread far and wide. Feel free to republish our articles, but please credit our writers and authors and credit The Journalist at the top or bottom of the article complete with a hyperlink back to the site.
Donate
The Journalist is a non-profit organisation and relies on public funding. Please consider donating to ensure more issues in the future.
Account name: The Journalist / Bank : Standard Bank
Branch Code: 026209 / Account number: 270320830