I am a proud South African and a very loud political commentator- well, or so I fancy myself.
I have commented on any topic of political resemblance when it appeared possible to do so.
But I have never commented on Eskom- South Africa’s electricity provider- or otherwise its failures. And yet it has been many a month if not one year since its saga started. But then again, I could not blame myself for not saying anything on what I thought was just one blemished combination of management and government’s (positive) decision-making inability.
Wham!! It slapped me in the face and my supposed “citizenship” was gone. The desire to protect one’s country and, sometimes, pretend blindness even if such a country seemed to be getting wrong anything, well most things, it tried. It was all gone.
The excuses I once proudly bestowed on my friends for Eskom’s failure, whenever they tried to convince me that dear “Eishkom”- as some newspapers term Eskom- and the bureaucracy lost it from day one, were all in my face. And, for once in my life, I looked at myself in shame. Shame on myself, shame on my country, shame on Eskom and government… and … and the SABC.
Did I say the SABC? Yes. All this shame, all this “look at yourself” attitude, and all this… well I have run out of words. But it was very bad when I heard that the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) - too- was facing a financial crisis.
Everything in this country seem to be in a crisis of some sort: Eskom, SABC, Education, the motor industry retrenching more than 40 thousand, the mining sector also relieving thousands of their duties, the global economic crisis biting the country’s already itching tail … the list goes on.
Now more than ever- we as South Africans need to ask ourselves whether we, or those we trusted of running this country on our behalf, are really getting anywhere near profitability as far as our country is concerned. Are we going any where South Africa?
Well, only God knows!
Friday 06 March 2009
Thursday 12 February 2009
"Young" President Malema, the law is supreme
I am shocked by recent reported quotes of Julius Malema. The ANC Youth League president is reported to be saying that when Jacob Zuma goes back to court in August he would be the president of the country, and Malema suggests that prosecuting JZ during this time would be an embarrassment to the country. Malema further states that when they (the ANC) campaign for elections they would do so as if there were no charges against Msholozi.
Well, my advice to the youth league president are that if he or anyone in the African National Congress think it would be unfit for a president to be prosecuted and believe that it would embarrass the country then they should withdraw Jacob Zuma as their presidential candidate. By doing this they would be saving the country the embarrassment Malema is talking about.
Malema should also remember that no one in this country is above the law, even the president- or so it ought to be.
I believe the ANC will win the next elections- one does not need to be a political analyst to predict this. And because the ANC, as Malema says, will be going ahead with Jacob Zuma as their “face of elections” then Malema must anticipate the embarrassment he is talking about.
Friday 01 August 2008
Multiply Your Prospects of Getting That Journalism Job!
Many students in the journalism field relax during their studies thinking that getting a job in the this profession is as easy as picking-up manna that fell from heaven, only to find reality proving the contrary on completion of their degrees. It’s a fact!
Journalism is an art which requires theory, so having only a university degree gets you half-way through. It is very bad to start learning about the practicalities of the newsroom at the completion of your degree, or even worse, trying to get the grip on writing just but a simple report on a crime scene- during your internship (if you are lucky to get one).
It is not good to start your internship as a clueless graduate, who needs to be taught even the basics. I am not saying you should act all clued-up. You must bring something to the company, newspaper, or news channel and take something!
This is why institutions like the University of Limpopo (UL) give you some practice here and there (I’m not getting paid to say this, and I am sure many universities offer practice in their journalism courses too). But this kind of practice is not enough. Students need to work in newsrooms while at university so they don’t become a burden in the real thing. This is why here at the UL some students started their own publications to hone their skills and make sure that they are better equipped when they get out of here. Some started a newspaper (print) and others started an online publication. And I know of some students in Wits and Rhodes doing quite similar projects. But this is not why I am blogging right now!
As a journalism student you should try and get some “clips” before the completion of your degree- clips are pieces of your work, articles you have written, and so forth.
Getting clips is not easy ala A, B, C! You need to convince an editor to publish your work. And trust me, it takes hard work to do that. Try your community newspapers, and some local media to get your work published. By just getting a mere letter published in a newspaper is something. So get those letters going to the press.
On how to write read my article on writing below.
Journalism is an art which requires theory, so having only a university degree gets you half-way through. It is very bad to start learning about the practicalities of the newsroom at the completion of your degree, or even worse, trying to get the grip on writing just but a simple report on a crime scene- during your internship (if you are lucky to get one).
It is not good to start your internship as a clueless graduate, who needs to be taught even the basics. I am not saying you should act all clued-up. You must bring something to the company, newspaper, or news channel and take something!
This is why institutions like the University of Limpopo (UL) give you some practice here and there (I’m not getting paid to say this, and I am sure many universities offer practice in their journalism courses too). But this kind of practice is not enough. Students need to work in newsrooms while at university so they don’t become a burden in the real thing. This is why here at the UL some students started their own publications to hone their skills and make sure that they are better equipped when they get out of here. Some started a newspaper (print) and others started an online publication. And I know of some students in Wits and Rhodes doing quite similar projects. But this is not why I am blogging right now!
As a journalism student you should try and get some “clips” before the completion of your degree- clips are pieces of your work, articles you have written, and so forth.
Getting clips is not easy ala A, B, C! You need to convince an editor to publish your work. And trust me, it takes hard work to do that. Try your community newspapers, and some local media to get your work published. By just getting a mere letter published in a newspaper is something. So get those letters going to the press.
On how to write read my article on writing below.
Monday 28 July 2008
Writing A Publishable Column That Makes Sense
Many of you wish to write for newspapers- for different reasons of course.
Some want the fame, some wants to earn "clips", particularly those in the journalism field, so that they can be hired and most of all, many wants the money that is if you write a winning letter/ article.
But the problem that probably many of you face is that you send letters, emails or articles and they do not get published, and then you get angry with the editor and probably hate the newspaper.But the real problem lies with YOU, not the editor.You have to write a piece that will attract the eyes of the editor and make him/her wish to publish the piece.Well this might seem like making the rain fall, but trust me, it is not.
The following is a step-by-step method to follow in order to get published:
Before I give you the method I have to say that I have successfully used this method to get my work published in Local, Provincial and even National newspaper, and please note that I have written a lot of opinion letters/ articles for Daily Sun, Soccer Laduma, Podium e.t.c and I have also worked as a columnist for the Northern Media Group owned Polokwane Express, and to add a sparkle to all that I was, in 2007, the youngest columnist in a newspaper editorial staff ever in the history of print media in Limpopo Province, the country of South Africa and probably the entire world, at the age of 18.
I am not bragging but just want you to know that I am not going to give you a chancer's advise, rather an experienced media person's one.
It is simple:
*First, decide on a topic... remember that the topic has to be current, unless it is of public interest (affecting more people). For example, a political issue facing the country, the behaviour of somecelebrity, a view you think will be useful to the readers, e.t.c.
*Second, do your research, do not be lazy, unless you think you have handful information to impress the editor, make sure you support your opinion with valid facts and do not use vulgar language or baseless information because you might get both the newspaper and yourself in hot water. I am not saying you should be fearful, what I am saying is that whileyou express your opinion try to be factual.
*Third, get your ideas down to paper. In this way you will be able to correct yourself and polish the piece... Just a Tip: Editors hate trash, so edit your work and revise it at least twice to removespelling and grammar errors.
*Fourth, be to the point, do not beat around the bush, say your main opinion in the lead ( first paragraph) and afterwards do not introduce another topic- support the one you have started.
*Fifth and last, write your letter/ opinion article and send it.
REMEMBER: there are many people writing each day so do not get discouraged when your first try is not published. Keep in mind "You can't score if you don't miss"I used this method and I published 98.5 % out of 100% of my work.
This article also appears on seniorjournalism.wetpaint.com
Some want the fame, some wants to earn "clips", particularly those in the journalism field, so that they can be hired and most of all, many wants the money that is if you write a winning letter/ article.
But the problem that probably many of you face is that you send letters, emails or articles and they do not get published, and then you get angry with the editor and probably hate the newspaper.But the real problem lies with YOU, not the editor.You have to write a piece that will attract the eyes of the editor and make him/her wish to publish the piece.Well this might seem like making the rain fall, but trust me, it is not.
The following is a step-by-step method to follow in order to get published:
Before I give you the method I have to say that I have successfully used this method to get my work published in Local, Provincial and even National newspaper, and please note that I have written a lot of opinion letters/ articles for Daily Sun, Soccer Laduma, Podium e.t.c and I have also worked as a columnist for the Northern Media Group owned Polokwane Express, and to add a sparkle to all that I was, in 2007, the youngest columnist in a newspaper editorial staff ever in the history of print media in Limpopo Province, the country of South Africa and probably the entire world, at the age of 18.
I am not bragging but just want you to know that I am not going to give you a chancer's advise, rather an experienced media person's one.
It is simple:
*First, decide on a topic... remember that the topic has to be current, unless it is of public interest (affecting more people). For example, a political issue facing the country, the behaviour of somecelebrity, a view you think will be useful to the readers, e.t.c.
*Second, do your research, do not be lazy, unless you think you have handful information to impress the editor, make sure you support your opinion with valid facts and do not use vulgar language or baseless information because you might get both the newspaper and yourself in hot water. I am not saying you should be fearful, what I am saying is that whileyou express your opinion try to be factual.
*Third, get your ideas down to paper. In this way you will be able to correct yourself and polish the piece... Just a Tip: Editors hate trash, so edit your work and revise it at least twice to removespelling and grammar errors.
*Fourth, be to the point, do not beat around the bush, say your main opinion in the lead ( first paragraph) and afterwards do not introduce another topic- support the one you have started.
*Fifth and last, write your letter/ opinion article and send it.
REMEMBER: there are many people writing each day so do not get discouraged when your first try is not published. Keep in mind "You can't score if you don't miss"I used this method and I published 98.5 % out of 100% of my work.
This article also appears on seniorjournalism.wetpaint.com
Tuesday 17 June 2008
Should We or Should We Not Celebrate June 16?
For those of you who don't have an idea of what "Youth Day" or "Youth Month" is, here is why in South Africa we have June as Youth Month, while the 16th as Youth Day:
On June 16 1976, in this once not so beautiful country of ours high school kids took to the streets to match against what was called Bantu Education- a lower standard education system which was designed by the leaders of the then government, the Apartheid regime (a government policy for segregating people based on colour and race), under the National Party, these youth were also fighting the use of the Afrikaans language as a medium of instruction in schools. The match was, reportedly, a peaceful one- but all turned sour when the Apartheid police opened fire on the harmless school kids killing and terrebly injuring many.
16 June was declared a public holiday and is celebrated by some in this country, while others commemorate it.
One question I wish I could ask all of you is: should this day be commemorated or celebrated?
Not that I don't have an answer to this question, and also, not that I want any of you to answer me! What I want you( if you are South African) to do is ask yourself this question and provide yourself with the answer which I'd like you to support with valid reason while reflecting on what happened on this day. After doing this as yourself again: Should we, as South Africans who understand what happened on this day and why it happened, celebrate or commemorate June 16?
For those who first, before considering what happened on June 16 and why it happened, thought that we should CELEBRATE this very sore day in our history, is your answer still the same?
I bet not- unless you REALLY understand what went down in Soweto, and some parts of the country that day.
I, personally, think that June 16 should be COMMEMORATED rather than celebrated, on this day every year in South Africa there should be youth upliftment programmes and the money that is wasted on "commemoration concerts" should be spent on bursaries and internships for the disadvantaged youth in South Africa, as I said in Daily Sun on Wednesday, 4th June this year. And please may I not be misunderstood when I say "disadvantaged", by this I don't mean Black, White, or Indian; by this I mean those who are disadvantaged in a sense that they cannot afford paying their way through tertiary education and lacking the skills needed for their particular career paths.
And to the youth of South Africa I have the following paragraph for you:
Since souls such as Tsietsi Mashinini, Hector Pieterson, and others fought the battle of liberation and up-to-standard education, yours is a struggle against HIV/AIDS, Drug and Alcohol abuse, Teenage pregnancy, living a better life, being a role model, and last but not least, turning your country's economy in the directions of prosperity. Just like the June 16 struggle and all the the other struggles in our history, this is not going to be easy. But we all owe it to those who past away so we can be free from the red burning chains of Apartheid. It all starts with you!
Let's make South Africa better!
On June 16 1976, in this once not so beautiful country of ours high school kids took to the streets to match against what was called Bantu Education- a lower standard education system which was designed by the leaders of the then government, the Apartheid regime (a government policy for segregating people based on colour and race), under the National Party, these youth were also fighting the use of the Afrikaans language as a medium of instruction in schools. The match was, reportedly, a peaceful one- but all turned sour when the Apartheid police opened fire on the harmless school kids killing and terrebly injuring many.
16 June was declared a public holiday and is celebrated by some in this country, while others commemorate it.
One question I wish I could ask all of you is: should this day be commemorated or celebrated?
Not that I don't have an answer to this question, and also, not that I want any of you to answer me! What I want you( if you are South African) to do is ask yourself this question and provide yourself with the answer which I'd like you to support with valid reason while reflecting on what happened on this day. After doing this as yourself again: Should we, as South Africans who understand what happened on this day and why it happened, celebrate or commemorate June 16?
For those who first, before considering what happened on June 16 and why it happened, thought that we should CELEBRATE this very sore day in our history, is your answer still the same?
I bet not- unless you REALLY understand what went down in Soweto, and some parts of the country that day.
I, personally, think that June 16 should be COMMEMORATED rather than celebrated, on this day every year in South Africa there should be youth upliftment programmes and the money that is wasted on "commemoration concerts" should be spent on bursaries and internships for the disadvantaged youth in South Africa, as I said in Daily Sun on Wednesday, 4th June this year. And please may I not be misunderstood when I say "disadvantaged", by this I don't mean Black, White, or Indian; by this I mean those who are disadvantaged in a sense that they cannot afford paying their way through tertiary education and lacking the skills needed for their particular career paths.
And to the youth of South Africa I have the following paragraph for you:
Since souls such as Tsietsi Mashinini, Hector Pieterson, and others fought the battle of liberation and up-to-standard education, yours is a struggle against HIV/AIDS, Drug and Alcohol abuse, Teenage pregnancy, living a better life, being a role model, and last but not least, turning your country's economy in the directions of prosperity. Just like the June 16 struggle and all the the other struggles in our history, this is not going to be easy. But we all owe it to those who past away so we can be free from the red burning chains of Apartheid. It all starts with you!
Let's make South Africa better!
Saturday 15 March 2008
Entries open for the third annual AiM Awards
Filmmakers in South Africa and Africa as a whole are called-on to submit entries for this year’s AiM Awards.
The awards, which first emerged in 2006, will be handed over during the third annual African in Motion film festivals in October this year in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Filmmakers are urged to enter films which are no more than 30 minutes in length and were completed in 2005 or after. The filmmakers who enter must have NOT completed a feature-length film previously; this is “in order to target the competition specifically towards young and emerging African film talent” said the organisation.
Films submitted could be fiction, animation, experimental or documentary and shot in any format and must be in English or have English subtitles.
All interested individual should submit their entries before the end of much this year, and the shortlisted entries will be announced in July this year. There is no fee charged to enter the awards.
The awards have been endorsed by the First Minister of Scotland (2001-07) Rt Hon Jack McConnell. "The Africa in Motion film festival is a brilliant addition to Edinburgh's annual programme of festivals. Too often the common perception of Africa is a continent plagued by poverty and disease. It does face many, many, challenges, but it also has wonderfully rich and diverse cultures, and I'm particularly pleased that Scotland provides this great showcase for African filmmakers,” said McConnell as quoted from the AiM Awards website.
To get more information and download application forms go to:
http://www.africa-in-motion.org.uk/call.html
The awards, which first emerged in 2006, will be handed over during the third annual African in Motion film festivals in October this year in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Filmmakers are urged to enter films which are no more than 30 minutes in length and were completed in 2005 or after. The filmmakers who enter must have NOT completed a feature-length film previously; this is “in order to target the competition specifically towards young and emerging African film talent” said the organisation.
Films submitted could be fiction, animation, experimental or documentary and shot in any format and must be in English or have English subtitles.
All interested individual should submit their entries before the end of much this year, and the shortlisted entries will be announced in July this year. There is no fee charged to enter the awards.
The awards have been endorsed by the First Minister of Scotland (2001-07) Rt Hon Jack McConnell. "The Africa in Motion film festival is a brilliant addition to Edinburgh's annual programme of festivals. Too often the common perception of Africa is a continent plagued by poverty and disease. It does face many, many, challenges, but it also has wonderfully rich and diverse cultures, and I'm particularly pleased that Scotland provides this great showcase for African filmmakers,” said McConnell as quoted from the AiM Awards website.
To get more information and download application forms go to:
http://www.africa-in-motion.org.uk/call.html
Monday 11 February 2008
Community Media Taken For Granted
The South African Community Media (community radio stations, and community newspapers) are taken for granted.
I say this not because I am trying to attack anyone, or not maybe because of I have got nothing to say, but because it is a fact.
How many community radio station programmme managers, or even worse, managers that you know have formal journalistic training- very few.
How many community newspaper journalists are in possession of journalistic or media qualifications- still very few, I say.
So then how do we expect community media to function at the best possible levels? How can we expect a programme manager having only a matric certificate to understand radio programming?
What is happening in many community media is discusting and a stop should be put to it or else many community media will remain more like spaza( a small stall) shops.
I say this not because I am trying to attack anyone, or not maybe because of I have got nothing to say, but because it is a fact.
How many community radio station programmme managers, or even worse, managers that you know have formal journalistic training- very few.
How many community newspaper journalists are in possession of journalistic or media qualifications- still very few, I say.
So then how do we expect community media to function at the best possible levels? How can we expect a programme manager having only a matric certificate to understand radio programming?
What is happening in many community media is discusting and a stop should be put to it or else many community media will remain more like spaza( a small stall) shops.
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