Soap Operas Lie, Journalists Aren’t Rich & Glamorous, But do an Important Job

Kgothatso Madisa
@kgmadisa

Ink that runs through one’s veins is a cliché often used when referring to journalists, but some don’t get into the profession because of the love for writing or because of the passion for chasing a story and the adrenaline that comes with being in conflict zones like Somalia, Mali and places like Marikana when it got heated in 2012. You would get those who get in it because they think there are massive salaries that come with seeing their names as newspaper by-lines, with hearing their voices on radio or seeing themselves on television.

University students often don’t do their research before enrolling into journalism programmes. Some think there is a glamour that comes with the job and that is often perpetuated by television dramas and soap operas that glamourise journalism. Some of the prominent programmes that have done this include Generations, Hard Copy, Isidingo and Scandal. There we see journalists that dress in fancy clothes and live in beautiful homes. They would go to high profile events from time to time and are, especially in the case of Generations, their story often ends up in newspapers too as they are socialites. Well none of that is true and the life of most journalists is a broke life. I started working as one recently and my eyes are slowly opening up.

Journalists Worrying About Their Names in Lights Kill Good Reporting

Boikhutso Ntsoko

@ThatDudeBeeKay

Has Journalism become about a writer's name/by-line or piece to cameras? And no longer about serving the original purpose of disseminating information.

I engaged in an article a few weeks ago about the decline, or "death" thereof rather, in traditional (newspapers, radio and television) journalism and the super incline, or hostile takeover, of the new super power, digital (online) journalism.

What they don’t teach you in journalism school

While in the process of completing your studies, you reach a stage where you need to start applying for apprenticeship, in-service or internship programmes that would help you get your foot into the door of the industry.

Depending on how good your curriculum vitae or resume looks or how easily you’re able to talk your way in interviews, finding a job after university can be daunting if not a walk in the park. For some it could take a month, while for others it could take months if not years just to get that work experience.

I Thought it was Writer's Block, Nah, Not Me!

Kgoshi Segagabi Nkgadima 
@segagabirudie

I have been going through journalism school thinking I can write anything that is thrown at me. After all I studied journalism because writing was always second nature, I never struggled with the craft as a kid. That was until recently as many of us have to produce good quality pieces in a short space of time in offices and newsrooms where we work as interns, junior reporters or junior public relations practitioners.

I realised how much of a writing novice I am when I was faced with a quagmire of a situation recently.  There I was facing a deadline and ideas just refused to come. I looked up at the ceiling, the computer, the ceiling, pieces of paper on my desk and then the computer again. The clock on the wall kept on tick-toking and tick-toking, reminding me that time was running out and I had to come up with something very quickly. I would scribble down what I would think is a brilliant idea, soon squash that piece of paper, I would start the process all over again. Soon I found myself drowning in a pool of paper on the floor. Time didn’t stop and hours passed.

40 Scholarships for Journalists to change the world

The next School of Authentic Journalism, April 17 to 27, 2013, in Mexico, will mark ten years since the first one in 2003. More than 300 journalists, independent media makers, community organizers and social movement leaders have passed through the doors since SAJ began. This will be the sixth session of the school but it also (or might not) be the last one for some time to come.

If you have ever thought about attending but never got around to actually applying: don't lose this opportunity. Completed applications are due November 18, 2012. For more info on #SAJ and how to get your hands on an application check out the Jobs, Internships and Fellowships page.

Media, Educators & Government Discuss the African Story

Sthembiso Sithole

@sitholeexpress

Nqakula told panelists that positive government stories need to be published.

The media is most people’s only window to places outside South Africa and through television screens, radio and newspaper reports people can be transported to countries across the African continent. But this picture of Africa depends on how the journalist and the news organisation they work for cover the rest of the continent. From their angle, people sitting in their homes across South Africa would then formulate their own picture of other regions in Africa.

Many would remember how the North African countries of Libya, Egypt and Tunisia dominated the news in 2011 as people were revolting against their governments. Libya’s was the most difficult as that country’s president Muammar Ghaddafi was refusing to step down until the rebels started hunting him down and eventually killed him. Nato also declared the airspace over Libya a no-fly zone and then started shelling the country. That is the story of North Africa from 2011 many would remember. The dictators who led those countries are no longer in power and as there are fewer protests, no shelling of the region and a bit of calm, the stories from there have also stopped. There is also a huge possibility that many who watched those conflicts would not know a North Africa without conflict as they’ve never seen it through their window.