The first day of the Media Reporting Conference at Wits’ Education Campus saw heavyweights in the media industry coming together to critique one another’s work. It was also a platform for delegates to develop innovative ways in the quest for “good journalism”.
Delivering a presentation on The Secret World of Fifa, Andrew Jennings, who produced a film on alleged corruption in the international football body, told delegates that good sports reporting “goes beyond who scored the goal”. Jennings said there was a serious dearth of good sports journalists in Africa.
Lashias Ncube, one of the panelists on Sports Journalism, lambasted media houses for treating sports like “ugly step daughters of journalism”.
“The problem is that newspapers don’t really appreciate sports journalists,” Ncube said.
His sentiments were echoed by Sunday Times sports journalist, David Isaacson. Isaacson told the delegates that commercial media, in particular, was to blame for bad sports journalism.
“I think the attitude towards sports journalism in terms of print media stems from the fact that sports does not generate much revenue for newspapers,” he said.
The session on Telling compelling Stories by IpsaAfrica’s Paula Fray was equally compelling. Fray encouraged journalists to develop innovative ways of story-telling. She said any news medium must know its target-market.
“You must always know who you are writing for. Some papers make a mistake of trying to please everyone, and in the process they end up not pleasing anyone,” she said.
The Mail&Guardian’s investigative journalists who won Taco Kuiper Award this year were also in attendance. Sam Sole, Stefaans Brummer and Adriaan Basson showcased their in-depth investigative work into South Africa’s controversial Arms Deal.
Asked whether they ever feared for their lives after their shocking revelations of role players in the Arms Deal, Sole (on behalf of the team) said, “South Africa does not have a tradition of killing jourlinalists.”
The role of the media in holding the powerful to account cannot be overemphasized. Obviously, my research will impact on the lives of Setswetla Section in Alexandra township. I will positively use the knowledge I have acquired in the Power Reporting conference in a more compelling way.
Through my research, government officials and organs of civil society will be compelled to act on the appalling living conditions under which residents of Setswetla live. Does the government not care about their plight or is it because their situation has thus far never been told in a compelling manner? Honestly, I do not know the answer. But let’s wait for my compelling findings.
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Hi Ntshilo
ReplyDeleteI am interested in the state of Gauteng's rivers. I was shocked to read about the state of the Jukskei in your blog. I am currently doing some very small scale cleaning up of a river in Midrand (the Riet River, near Olifantsfontein Rd turnoff). It seems that this river can be rescued - the pollution is from industry via a clearly visible drain and the litter is limited. I would like to hook up with like minded people and was interested to read about the Soul Foundation, whom I will be contacting! I need to find ways of tackling this in a non-confrontational way. Well done on your blog. Don't slack off in what you are doing. It gets people like me interested!
Cheers
Evan Nurcombe-Thorne (Edenvale)