Changing journalism in a changing world
By Stephen Wrottesley Posted Jan 1 2003
Twenty-five years ago this month, a cartoon by Tony Grogan appeared in the Cape Times, the morning paper in Cape Town. The image showed two extra terrestrials peering down at Mother Earth. The caption read: “How’s that for kragdadigheid (power). Jimmy Kruger’s banned The World.”
The Jimmy Kruger referred to was a hard-line securocrat minister in John Vorster’s apartheid cabinet in South Africa. He was immortalized, if that is the right word, by saying about the death in police detention of black consciousness leader Steve Biko: “(His death) leaves me cold.”
The World Grogan referred to was the biggest selling black-read newspaper in South Africa. The banning, on October 19, 1977, heralded a clampdown on journalists that left some, and mostly black, journalists detained and others banned.
I had nine months experience as a journalist and was working as bureau chief for the Rand Daily Mail in Vereniging – an industrial town 60 kilometers, or 37 miles, south of Johannesburg – when the banning happened. The office had a complement of two – a receptionist and myself – and covered an area of about 3600 square kilometers.
Down the road from my office, The Star, the afternoon newspaper in the area, had shared with staffers from The World.
Those two staffers were Joshua Raboroko and Ernest Nkbinde. With the banning of The World, Joshua joined The Star, which had a black edition called Star Africa. Ernest came to work for The Mail, which also had a black edition.
Together, Ernest and I covered the Vaal Triangle, including Sharpeville, where that infamous massacre of protesters had occurred more than a decade before. This, you must remember, was a year after the Soweto uprising.
The point of all this is that, in my view, some of the roots of the skills that are lacking in South African journalism can be found in the events of Oct. 19, 1977.
For example, how many future editors and newsroom leaders were warned off joining the profession? How many working journalists left the profession? How many others left the country to continue working elsewhere?
And at a more personal level, how could I, a sprog reporter who had studied engineering before moving into journalism, be put in charge of a veteran journalist years my senior? How could I understand the reality of his life and that of the majority of the residents in that region when it was illegal for me to visit him at his home? It must have been disillusioning for Ernest, too.
And how could I feel the pain that Joshua felt when we were asked to leave the bar of a newly-opened local “international” hotel because the license had not yet arrived (in those days, “international” hotels were the only places where people of all colors could socialize together)?
Of course, October 19 isn’t the only reason for the skills shortages. There are numerous others.
Immediately after World War II, when a shortage of skills was identified, media houses tended to recruit in Europe. But these “experts” did not pass on their skills. The opposite of “those who can’t, teach” is very true.
Then there is the question of technology. Media houses in South Africa were among the first outside the United States to embrace the first wave of computerized newsrooms. When other countries followed suit in the late 1980s, many editorial production experts were lured away to form the core of those changing departments.
And after 1990, when South Africa and aparteid became the flavor of the month, some star journalists left to pursue hard currency.
Also, while the country has certainly transformed in many respects, the legacy of apartheid education still lingers on.
Finally, prior to 1994, journalism was seen in some circles as a respectable profession full of struggle. It was an arena where you could have a voice while millions of your fellow South Africans were disenfranchised.
But now, eight years after the first democratic election in South Africa, journalism is no longer seen as “sexy”. Many who would have gone into the media now seek the greater rewards of other professions or in top government posts.
It is accepted that these reasons, and probably a plethora of other ones, have led to serious skills shortages for South African journalism.
The skills shortages were accepted by Sanef in 2000 and this acceptance was reinforced at a meeting between the organization and President Thabo Mbeki and members of his cabinet last year. Sanef, or the South African National Editors’ Forum, is the highly regarded professional organization of the nation’s media leaders.
At that meeting, Sanef’s chairperson Mathatha Tsedu said: “We concede there’s too much shallowness, superficiality and unprofessionalism in the South African media, deficiencies which are a discredit to our profession – but deficiencies that much of our program of action is focused on remedying.”
Sanef knew there were problems, but not to what extent. To establish this, the organization commissioned an audit of the skills of journalists with between two and five years of experience. The report, released earlier this year, was damning. It can be found on the Sanef web site. (www.sanef.org.za)
The report found eleven areas where critical interventions were needed and Sanef decided to host an indaba to plot a way forward.”Indaba” is an African word for a highly important and serious confererence or meeting. Held in September, it was attended by more that 100 editors, media executives, senior journalism trainers and educators, and senior journalists
In opening that meeting, Mathatha, the editor of the Sunday Times, sketched the problems being faced: “Let me take our own publication, the Sunday Times — It has been described as an island of excellence. The finished product is, but how many people know that 80 percent of the news writing in the Sunday Times is a result of rewrite by a core group of overstretched and overextended news executives?
“(What about) John Dludlu (editor of The Sowetan, who) carries a milestone of a correction that says, “This is a lie,” and then goes on to say that the mistake was proof that Bantu (apartheid) education was still with us?
“(What about) Moegsien Williams (editor of The Star, who) has to retract virtually half a story whose publication had seen the withdrawal from the race of one candidate touted to become the new Public Protector?
“(What about) Pippa Green (head of SABC’s radio news), who is expected to deliver in all (11 official) languages current affairs program through a staff whose numbers do not allow for the same and whose skills are way, way below par?”
In a statement at the end of the indaba, Sanef said media executives had agreed the event had been a great beginning in putting in place a process to correct the problems. They committed themselves to more coordinated training within media houses, more cooperation between media houses on the provision of journalism training, and to increased interaction with training institutions, such as universities and technicians.
Among the action plans agreed to by editors, senior journalists and educators were:
— To have trained coaches in newsrooms to work with reporters. Training institutions will develop and run courses to train coaches.
— To put punitive measures in place in newsrooms and training institutions to combat inaccuracy in reporting.
— To train journalism subject experts in media houses as content assessors and to ensure media houses take part in the consultation process on journalism unit standards (part of South Africa’s outcomes based education) – both measures to establish the levels of expertise expected of journalists.
— To develop a closer relationship between tertiary and other training institutions and the media throughout the country, including holding regional and national meetings. A body will also be formed of those interested in achieving the highest journalism standards.
The group will put in place methods to improve the historical, contextual and legal knowledge of journalists and to promote a reading culture.
The indaba was not a talk shop. It was intended that all role players came to it with practical solutions to the problems that had been identified. Sanef believes that part of that objective was achieved.
Far more critical was the acceptance by all sectors that there were problems – for without acceptance, there can be no cure. For the sake of a vibrant media in South Africa and a respected profession, there is a need for pride and trust. Journalists need to be able to have pride in what they do and trust in their skills and competencies to do it.
The people of South Africa need to have pride in their media – and be able to trust it.