A lesson learnt

“Strive for perfection in everything you do, take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it”. Sir Henry Royce


As the time draws closer to the end of my undergraduate degree one cannot forget the journey under the guidance of Mev. M.E Linstrom and Mev.W Marais. The journey under the two inspirational and phenomenal woman up until this very moment has been an exceptional journey even though there has been times where I wanted to change course because I wasn’t performing the way they expected me to perform academically. Journalism has taught me consistency, time management, accuracy about information, content curation as well as objective writing.

Journalism comes with working under pressure and good communication skills whether it be verbal or non-verbal they are the key basics of succeeding in this industry which is not for the faint hearted. I have managed to enhance these elements through hard work and attentiveness towards the lecturers, peers and most importantly national and international news.

People that have inspired me from the beginning of my career have been the likes of Fed Khumalo who I think is the best writer in the country, Victor Molefe (uncle) who has guided me through sport media within the SABC, Mev. Linstrom and Mev. Marais who have given me opportunities and a platform to grow as a young journalist. Through the past 3 years I believe that I’ve gained a fair amount of experience and self-confidence having to have worked for campus radio (Kovsiefm) as a news sub-editor and sports editor, Campus newspaper (IRAWA) as a sports reporter and editor.

Other exciting professional newsroom experience are shadowing Xolani Gwala at SAFM for a week during the 2010 soccer world cup and having to be part of the GagasiFm’s sports team covering the soccer world cup in Durban. The challenge I face now is to promote and sell my journalistic abilities to big companies nationally and abroad. Always have your ear on the ground and be the best you can be.

State owned media is a recipe for dictatorship

(Dan Calderwood, News24)

The South African Protection of State Information Bill, formerly named the Protection of Information Bill and commonly referred to as the Secrecy Bill, is a highly controversial piece of proposed legislation which aims to regulate the classification, protection and dissemination of state information, weighing state interests up against transparency and freedom of expression



As a journalist the information bill will be detrimental in carrying out the duties of media houses. The South African Constitution stipulates that media houses are there as a watch dog over our government and to deepen democracy.


State owned media is a recipe for dictatorship that has been witnessed in China, Zimbabwe and North Korea. State owned media can be used for propaganda by government, that we have witnessed in the world in countries like Venezuela, United State of America, Zimbabwe, North Korea etc. media house and media reporting should be free, out of the hands of government to fulfil its primary objective on behalf of all South Africans and be an objective voice to the voiceless.

(Dan Calderwood, News24)

Media Houses are the eyes of the South African Society, we as journalists choose what is the best news for the people of South Africa. There is no way that society can be informed about critical happenings of society except via news rooms. Such a role cannot be fulfilled with State officials threatening reporters for revealing information that is classified on grounds of public interest, there will be serious series of limited access of information.

Some studies saw Mali and Ghana as countries with more media freedom than South Africa. South African media should be self regulated; secrecy bill will infringe South African reporters to information accessibility. It is the journalists that know exactly what is in the public interest. Attention has been drawn to the severe penalties included in the bill for leaking documents, which entail jail terms of up to 25 years.


Senior state incumbents represent the people of South Africa therefore should enforce public beliefs. There are s many organizations forming part of the South African society opposing secrecy bill, that should be valued by government. The Right2Know campaign (a coalition of nearly 400 civil society organisations and community groups), Congress of the South African Trade Union, opposition political parties in South Africa, SANEF (South Africa National Editors’ Forum); the Nelson Mandela Foundation, as well as international advocacy organisations such as Committee for the Protection of Journalists and Human Rights Watch. The Senate of the University of the Witwatersrand issued a statement identifying how the bill would pose "deep threats to fundamental principles" enshrined in the constitution, impacting democracy in South Africa by undermining access to information and freedom of speech.

Social Media a fundamental tool for Journalism

The media is an important source of information about the world at large and a powerful mean of shaping our attitudes and beliefs. Because the media is a principle source of our understanding of the world, it is therefore important for us as upcoming journalists to utilise all means of media to inform the general public. New media (social media and blogs) are having an impact on many aspects of reporting, particularly the speed and availability of news. Reporting has always in some ways been a collaborative process between journalists and their sources. But increasingly, there’s a merger between the source and the content producer.

 As a result, more journalism will happen through collaborative reporting, where the witness of the news becomes the reporter. A journalist’s future beat of coverage and Rolodex of contacts will, and in many cases already does, include the social web. It’s becoming the center of where readers are pointed to news and perhaps more notably where the community shares or creates their own news. Social networks such as twitter can be a great place to find breaking news that ranges from the most global of issues (i.e. tsunami in Japan 2011) to more hyper local (such as UFS students striking against the reitz video).

 Another helpful elements of social networks for journalists is that one has 140 char text limit which forces you to get straight to the point and also helps one to practise writing heads + sells. New media also allows one to be able to professionally and responsibly curate events in real time in context and even commentary in a way that helps the audience understand what is happening. Most importantly, these social tools are inspiring readers to become citizen journalists by enabling them to easily publish and share information on a greater scale. As  future journalist we will be more embedded with the community than ever.

An indepth perspective and analysis of the DASO Poster...

Firstly the issue that one must keep in mind and understand is that Democratic Alliance (DA) is a political Party therefore its motives will forever be politically motivated and inspired. The picture is deceptive, a lie and fully politically motivated of the true reflection of DA, in my own view. The picture is erected via the structures of the youth wing by the mother body. It is obviously known that the primary objective of every youth with Structures is to promote the objectives of the mother body DA. The mother body is in a project of winning membership in the black communities, especially poor blacks and middle class in Eastern Cape. Illiterate blacks or the working class from the youth sphere and adult sphere are obviously the majority in this country, meaning that’s where the majority votes can be found to win upcoming elections profoundly.

Therefore DA will do what ever it takes to unseat the African National Congress from the position of ruling this country (South Africa). Whites are the minority in South Africa therefore there is only one way for DA to unseat the ANC, win black membership therefore the picture is not whole heartedly motivated,it does not portray the true intentions of the heart, it is politically motivated via the youth structure DASO with an organisational mandate.


If this is what the DA wants to see in the future of this country, we must see leadership change in its structures in which people follow leadership. There must be 50%/50% black and white leadership representation, nationally, provincially and regionally.

DA is currently having nine leaders nationally, only two are black, Lindiwe Mazibuko a parliamentary leader and Mmusi Maimane the nations spoke person. Out of 9 provincial leaders only one is Black Sizwe Wiseman Mchunu.



ANC National Spokesperson, Jackson Mthembu, said on March 21,2012:"We have always maintained that the DA views blacks as useful voters to win elections and nothing else. We call on all black DA members to see the DA for what it is, a white racist party. We also call on all those blacks who are in leadership structures of the DA for window dressing purposes to resign from the DA and not be used unduly. Such utterances must not be tolerated as they generate a negative feeling in those who suffered under colonial and apartheid rule". http://www.news24.com/MyNews24/Is-the-DA-the-Party-of-the-people-20120323

On the other hand,one must known and bear it in mind as the World Mayor of the Year in 2008 from a field of 820 other mayoral candidates, it’s hard to comprehend that a woman that has done so much in her lifetime in fighting crime, racism, drug abuse and unemployment in Cape Town, would be classed as a shameless bigot with ulterior motives. This was a difficult province for the ANC to govern; we should never take Helen for granted, she employs and deploys on merit.

The picture depicts the true sense of the future the D.A peruses for the society of South Africa, it is possible if we remain optimistic as South Africans. If you read the South African constitution Act 108, this is what it fosters to see in the future. Where black and white will be equal, non rascist, above all where they can cross the tribal, colour and cultural bridge to the level of intimacy. This means building homes together as different races. What else do we want to see except what is in this picture? Is this not a future we all want in actual fact? We should erect such type of picture because what we behold is what we become. We behold segregation we will become segregated, we behold pictures as these reflecting our future so it will be.

DASO on the move for change

(photo: inourfuture.co.za)

At first I didn't understand what was going on here when I saw this poster which then made me reanalyze the poster and its text and quite frankly the only people who would understand the poster and what it means are the target audience in this case being students where they are more exposed to DASO than the man in the street. To the man in the street, the poster conveys a different message that quite frankly is uncalled for, no matter how "tasteful" or "tasteless" its creation is.

I think they could have done just as good a poster if the couple were clothed. I have nothing against the content of the poster, in fact it has been very tastefully 'put together' and we all have our personal preferences but then again I feel that it is just too early for South Africans to grasp this scenario in this current political climate. “You wouldn't look twice" meaning that a non-racial future is what the DA envisages where blacks and whites can love a partner based on the person that partner is, and no one gawps at them because of their skin colour differences.

 The poster also shows that we can live as a unified south Africa looking past colour race or creed which is what our country has been striving for in the past 18 years but we are so caught up in the past that some of us no longer see the potential of us living as a rainbow nation and we tend to forget no matter how we look at one another we are all living under one brand which is South Africans. In closing this poster will immediately if you are honest about what you feel draw your prejudices to the fore be that you are black, white, coloured or anything else for that matte. try to analyse the origin of that emotion.

 If the poster evokes a negative reaction because one of the people depicted is not of your race and you hate that race, you have the starting point from which to work to improve yourself, and as a result, the whole of South Africa. have another look at this poster. If you have really advanced in your thinking, the only thing you will see is two people embracing the fruits of our nations freedom and equality.

The University Of Freestates Open Day 2010