Archive
2004
Nov-Dec: Travelled
through Jnb to Amsterdam to attend a consultation with NiZA; later in November
went to Marrakech, on to Stockholm, and home via Bloemfontein. Presentations
along the way: Using newspaper adverts
in AIDS comms; state
of SA media, New Media in Africa and
2020, (as visiting prof at University of Stockholm's JMK school), and
the next decade of journalism teaching
(SA National Editors Forum seminar). Wrote chapters for books on subjects
of media and poverty, ethics as regards the Vusi Mona case, and ethics vs
law. They should appear in 2005.
May-Oct: Gave a paper
& powerpoint
titled "Ethics & Excuses: the scapegoating of Vusi Mona" at
Saccom Conference.
Spoke at Highway Africa conference
Award Ceremony; Taught media
policy to senior students; Speech at Mondi
Paper Newspaper Journalism Awards; Chapter for Iziko museum catalogue
on Ten Years
of Democracy in SA; scorecard
on media change in SA in Journal of Marketing; Answers to questions for Marketing
Mix magazine on same topic.
Wrote an assessment of World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS); Intermedia magazine (April,
2004, vol 32, no. 1, p8-13) republished my article from Rhodes Journalism
Review on the need to interrogate
the Information Society. Another article for Rhodes Journ Review on a
decade of new media, and where it is going.
Poem to student
media delivered at conference. Introduction
to a book of photojournalism by Paul Weinberg. Thanked SAB for sponsoring
a Chair of Media & Democracy.
Commemorated the death of Aggrey Klaaste in the Sowetan
and a departmental statement.
Article on Proudly South
African for Rhodes centenary magazine.
Wrote a swathe of articles
on telecoms from the Africa Telcom summit in Cairo.
Drafted SA National Editors Forum guidelines
on Confidential Briefings, drawing from a debate
I transcribed; Presented to Sanef council in Durban a paper on reportage
of poverty. Published articles in Race,
Gender, Class on media and racism; and in Critical Arts on media
density.
Presentation and
paper on "Media
and AIDS: how we can do better" in Kuala Lumpur, at MediaWorldAsia conference.
Review of SA media in
2003 for Media Institute of Southern Africa.
Feb-April: Time flees, not flies. I've been working on three research projects:
(a) ICT use in 10 African newsrooms,
(b) how journalists in six African countries report ICT policy stories,
(c) how media constructed meaning in the Hefer Commission of Enquiry. Meanwhile,
I'm pleased to report that our collaboration with UNC on www.tenyearson.org
won the Best Multi-media (Independent) award at the US's National Press Photographers
Association competition "The best of still photojournalism". I also
wrote a draft chapter for a journ
textbook being done by the HSRC, and I presented a paper
on why The Africa Declaration on Freedom of Expression is good news for African
journalists, but how it could be better on the issue of their right to keep
sources confidential. Submission to Dept of Communications on the Convergence
Bill.
January: Teaching postgrad students media
policy. Article on Ten Years of
Media in the SA Democracy. Proposals on how our newspaper, Grocott's Mail,
can help combat poverty. And tips
for SA journalists on "Confidential
Briefings".
-----------------
November: Updated my take on environmental
journalism for a conference in Cape Town, and adapted stuff for getting
to grips with the impact of journalism on AIDS
for a Reuters course in the same city. Lots of work for SA National Editors
forum, including setting up a debate on Confidential Briefings (transcription
on its way).
October: Presentations
on convergence, poverty,
elections coverage, policy
issues for media leaders.
September: Travelled Highway Africa
2003 en route to the Information Society of the future. Destination still
distant, but we have made a lot of progress. Look at the website, especially
the graphic of attendees
at the conference. Council meeting of SA Editors National Forum came to town
as well. And we launched the David Rabkin Unit for Experiential Journalism,
named after a brave journalist I spent time in prison with during the 1980s,
and who died in exile in Angola. I secured funding for the Rabkin Unit to
purchase local paper, Grocott's Mail. The aim? To serve the dual interests
of Grahamstown and training journalism students.
Aug: Judge in US/South Africa Health Journalism awards, speech
at ceremony. Interview for PR Newswire on digital
divide.
July: Made an associate of the World Technology
Network in recognition of work on Highway
Africa the past seven years. Started a fortnightly
column in the e-M&G. Made a presentation on media
and policy to a Reuters Foundation course at Rhodes. Completed an article
on coverage of poverty for Rhodes Journalism
Review.
Re-elected deputy chair of SA National Editors
Forum at their AGM in Durban. So, a busy 12 months ahead. Meanwhile, helped
fundraise and set up four Cue media
production projects involving some 130 students during the National Arts
Festival, plus fundraised for another multi-media collaboration with UNC -
and some 25 students - over the festival, building on our last
year's work.
June: Aloe season here. Crowns of radiant reds in the bushveld. I was a nominee
for the prestigious World Technology Award in the Journalism and Media category
for work around the Highway Africa
conference (now in its 7th year).
Sweated to finish another paper
about poverty coverage. And a presentation
to East Cape journalists and government on the topic. Compiled department
submission on SABC's draft policies, and contributed to SA
National Editors Forum one as well.
May: Lots in the air, including me spending some days in Moldava attending
a workshop on how to measure the impact of short courses for journalists.
Gave a presentation, and wrote a paper.
Earlier, I wrote a piece for Sunday Times on SABC's
draft new policies.
April. Busy. Paper on "the journalism
of poverty and the poverty of journalism". Articles on the African
Union, Nepad and journalism. Summary
of key declarations for African media, done for Sanef. Comments on coverage
of The War. Paid tribute to a South African journalist - Mono
Badela, to whom Rhodes awarded a posthumous Honorary doctorate on 12 April.
A brief on mainstreaming
media into the ICT-development debate.
March 2003, and the time has been spent running an MA course on media policy and institutions, which culminated in trying to understand the Information Society. A draft concept document for this year's Highway Africa conference echoes these issues - in relation to the World Summit on the Information Society set for Geneva in December. I have continued to chase resources for the Africa Media Matrix facility we are trying to put together.
As convenor judge of the Mondi Paper Newspaper Journalism Awards, I led the panel that assessed the inspiring entries. Here's my speech at the award event. I've also been busy doing a Briefing Paper for the SA National Editors Forum that summarises strengths and weaknesses of key declarations for African media.
Publishing has included a report on Highway Africa 2002, and an article for Enterprise magazine in a debate on how media should cover Nepad.
During 2002,
I helped organise the 6th Highway
Africa conference in Jhb, at which I also gave presentations on beyond
shovelware, and the role of New Media
in the context of the New Partnership for African Development (Nepad).
The conference also drew up an African journalists' Charter
on the Digital Divide. Organising to take 40 students up to Jhb for Highway
Africa, and the subsequent World Summit on Sustainable Development was no
small job. I also arranged for some 20 journalists to cover
the Summit.
Then, it was attending a fascinating seminar in Bali in early September, organised
by the Aspen Institute. This prompted an article
in the Sunday press when Bali was bombed six weeks later.
In October I gave two papers at the International Institute for Communication
conference in Johannesburg - on environmental
journalism, and on southern
African websites. I earlier wrote an article for the IIC journal, plus
a longer version for the
Roundtable, the Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs. A
third take on the topic appeared in Free Press, journal of the Media Institute
of Southern Africa.
Over the period, I also worked with a student on a briefing
paper on newspaper circulation issues. I helped draft the SA
National Editors response the Broadcast Amendment Bill, and was part of
the resulting presentation to parliament.
A three-hour deep website, A
living
stage, is the result of a collaboration in June between Rhodes and University
of Chapel Hill North Carolina. This dynamic website resulted from a Fulbright
Alumni Initiatives Award that I secured for a project led by the multi-talented
Rich Beckman at UNC. We involved 32 students and colleagues from our two campuses
in visiting each other and producing this super set of online documentaries.
See the making of ...
In June, I was elected as deputy chair of the SA National Editors Forum, with
responsibility for developing activity in the organisation's regions.
June-July
entailed the following work:
* A Highway Africa thinktank in Durban that produced a website
commemorating the launch of the African Union.
* Book review: We shall not
weep.
* Article: Things come together:
government communication
* Article: Deepening media density
* Flash presentation to Gauteng legislature on media
liaison.
April saw me produce a paper about the dynamics in making
more media in southern Africa. I also did a quick think piece on new
media and development issues, ahead of our annual Highway
Africa conference in August. The Online Journalism Review enlisted me
in a panel discussion
on the future of news.
In March, lots of months of work came to fruition from my convening of
a panel of judges for a new newspaper competition. Here's my speech
at the Mondi awards. Earlier in the month, I did a submission
to the Parliamentary Committee on Communications about the Media Development
and Diversity Agency bill. I also drafted the
SA National Editors submission.
With the Zimbabwean elections on the agenda, the SA National Editors Forum
asked for a paper on the media
preconditions for an election to be free and fair.
During 2001,
I did an experimental
content analysis exercise with 250 first year students in October. For
media freedom day on Oct 19, I invited veteran photojournalist Peter Magubane
to give a public lecture.
During September, I convened a meeting of trainers
from Southern Africa, and also launched a booklet titled: "Configuring
Convergence: Southern African websites looking at American experience."
In May, I wrote a booklet
on training impact. In June, I joined a protest
against subpoenas for journalists. In July I worked with Rich Beckman
of UNC and six Rhodes students on a really exciting website: culture
in Grahamstown, using Flash technology.
