Violence, Zimbabwe and the Freestate Four
Posted: 19 May 2008 | Newsletter | Categories:
In this newsletter:
- Coverage of the free state four, to name and shame or not to name and shame?
- Violence in the media, download one of our radio conferences for pertinent listening;
- Great opportunities to take your studies further, and
- Reclaiming our SABC - a civil society response to the recent crises at the SABC.
Violence in the media
Many may be wondering about violence, considering the events in Alexandra recently, listen to our radio conference on the violence in the media to understand the effect of violence in our society and violence in the media.
IF IT BLEEDS IT LEADS!
Has violence become the lowest common denominator of mainstream media?
Listen to this programme as our panel of local and international experts debate the impact of the print and programming we are regularly exposed to.
Guests included:
- Amanda Dissel, Centre for Studyies of violence and Reconsiliation;
- Prof Gillian Eagle, Violence Expert at Wits University School of Human and Community Development - Psychology; and
- Charmeela Bhagowat, Director of Training at Paul Fray & Associates (former crime reporter at The Star).
Naming and shaming the Freestate Four
Media reports about the abuse of cleaning staff by students at the University of the Free State got horrified responses from various quarters. In this climate of public outrage, the print media had the choice of whether to make the identities of the offenders and victims public, or not. Most media seemed to have decided to publish the identities of the perpetrators, some media even added to the initial infringement on the victims’ dignity by revealing their identities. This article explores the ethics and reasons around this decision.
Wits Journalism Mid year and second semester training
Hone your skills and improve your income capacity with these training courses from Wits Journalism:
- Online Journalism (26 May - 6 June Fulltime plus assignment time)
- Photojournalism (26 May - 6 June Fulltime plus assignment time)
- Mojo-TV Course (June 17- July 7 plus one afternoon a week of second semester)
- Radio Journalism (May 26 – June 6 Fulltime plus assignment time)
- Newspaper Design (June 16-25 Fulltime)
- Editorial Management (July 28 – Aug 8 plus assignment time)
- Reporting Refugees (June 16 – June 30)
SECOND SEMESTER OPTIONS
Media Law and Ethics
Weekly evening seminars July-Oct
A course every journalist should do to get on top of the law and ethics which guide their work. Through readings and discussions, journalists will update themselves on the dynamic legal situation as well as the ethical codes and processes and how we use them .
Reporting Children
Weekly evening seminars July-Oct
Run in conjunction with the Media Monitoring Project, this course will challenge the way children and their issues are represented in the media and equip one to cover the subject. This course not only interrogates the present representation of children’s issues but also explores how these rights could be presented differently, in an improved manner that advances children’s rights. The course is geared towards Journalists, Photographers and Editors who want to ensure that their upholds the values enshrined in our Constitution.
Areas covered include children and the law; ethics; developing and designing media for children; imaging children; child-friendly newsrooms; and issues that affect children such as abuse, HIV/AIDS and forced migration.
Financial Journalism
Weekly evening seminars July-Oct
This is a course for journalists wanting to specialise, or just those who want to improve their journalism with greater financial literacy. At the end of the course, journalists should understand basic principles/techniques of how to cover the economy – with a focus on fiscal and monetary policy, companies, the equities and commodities markets. They should have mastered writing on technical subjects with clarity and devoid of jargon. They should have a particular understanding of reporting the Reserve Bank and the National Treasury. They should also have basic skills about covering markets and general business.
Reclaiming our SABC
The SABC’s mandate requires it to act in the public interest, but the public service broadcaster’s mandate and the Act that covers it does not formally require the SABC to directly engage with citizens nor keep them fully informed of major decisions that could affect service delivery. In light of the recent controversies surrounding the SABC Board, and suspension of both its Group Chief Executive and Head of News, MMP together with civil society partners, including MISA South Africa, is developing a Memorandum of Demands and Expectations that will be presented to the SABC Board and Parliament. We will be asking for contributions from all of you shortly. Please keep an eye on the M&G Online for further details!
The MMP will be asking for contributions from civil society for a memorandum of expectations for the SABC.
Sincerely,
—The Team at MMP