Zuma's hotline

When Jacob Zuma was elected president, I must admit, I was mortified. I thought the country was going to go even further down the doldrums- and though it has to some extent worsened, the blame cannot be put on him. Given his very public and somewhat scandalous past rendezvous with family members I automatically accepted that he would completely 'stuff up' any task he was given command of. Presently my mind has been changed to some degree. The reason for this is that I have realised that one cannot grade someone's professionalism or capabilities on their personal life. Hence the word PERSONAL life.
His recent implementation of the presidential hotline was not to say ingenius on the part of his publicist but a show of good faith to the people of South Africa that he actually cares, even if it is a facade. I can say this much- at least the man is trying, at least he is in the country which is much more than I can say for our former president.

Caster Semenya

Kghotso Mokoena, South Africa's "Golden Boy"... Caster Semenya, "Golden Girl?" (or is it boy to?). It appalls me to think that the achievements of this women are now being shrouded by a cloud of question surrounding her gender. I wonder? Would the world have been in such uproar if she had not medalled? or are they just making it abundantly clear that they are jealous of this 800m prodigy...

The Crux of the Matter: "J-school- good old-fashioned honesty"

There is this misconception that a degree will guarantee you a job...Uh wrong. Very seldom has any kind of tertiary qualification guaranteed anyone a spot in the corporate (and by corporate I mean the hussle and bussle of working life) world, except of course in cases where you had a service contract. Journalism is no different. Going to J-school to get schooled in the art of writing, reporting and the like with the intent of leaving there and entering a white collar job is on the part of the graduate nothing less than a dream of being that flashy reporter on the evening news, whom they idolise. Nowadays, 'Webwork' is what defines journo's and if you think that writing is all your job will entail, I'd say becoming a novelist would be in your best interest because the fact is that journo's need to be able to get 'down and dirty' too get to the 'nitty gritty' of things.

Going to "Ivy league" schools means nothing for your career, entering "Top Programs" gets you nothing but a pat on the back. These so-called, "Top programs" are likely to be as old as my mothers 1980's hairdo. The fact is experience speaks volumes for your disposition. Employees of large, cosmopolitan companies do not have journalism degrees, they have the experience. The people that do attest to the success of these programs are biased in that they are graduates of the aforementioned. Your best bet will be to enter into programs that will teach you to build your own projects and become entrepreneurial and self sufficient.

What may prove to be the saving grace of those entering the world of journalism is their professors. Professors play a pivotal role in the movement of self that occurs within a student. They need to be dynamic and in tune with the world of social media so that they may teach you (the student) to do the same. Some great professors are Joy Rosen and Clay Shirky from NYU or Jeff Jarvis from CUNY- coincidently professors at two of the leading Universities in the journalistic game, according to King Kaufmann (Author).

While it is true that having a degree will assist in getting you into the job market, the truth is that J-school teaches you only the bare basics. Attaining a degree from grad school post undergrad, is a choice that needs to be assessed from an economic perspective i.e. is it worth the time and money? If you have the journalistic experience to go with it- Yes, if not then a program which hones the skills you already have will be your best bet.

J-school is not the only means to learn. In light of the fact that much of journalism is now centered around social media and the web, a viable option to network in and gain expertise is blogging sites or cheaper training options such as Poynter.Org's News U!

If your heart is really with journalism, skip grad school, writing's overrated and focus on your reporting because everyone knows a good journalist serves the 'audience and not themselves'.

Assignment 3

Question 1: Who is the blogger? Who does the site belong to? and Who is doing the writing?

For site 1 the blogger is the Mail & Guardian, the site belongs to Thoughtleader and the works of various different writers can be found. Some of these are Micheal Trapido, Llewellyn Kriel and Sarah Britten to name a few.
Site 2: The blogger is The Times, the site beloongs to TimesOnline and the writer is Anjana Ahuja.
Site 3: The blogger is TheSportblog, the site belongs to Guardian (UK) and different writers are found on the site. These are among others Malcolm Heyhoe, Paul Doyle and Kevin McCarra.
Site 4: The blogger is Worldcupblog, I am unclear as to who the site belongs to although I think it belongs to South African world cup blog and once again various different writers are found on the blog e.g. Naeem, Andreas, Daryl etc.
Site 5: In the case of this site both the blogger and writer is Anthony Kaufman and the website belongs to IndieWIRE blog network.
Site 6: In the case of this site both the blogger and writer is Sujewa Ekanayake. The site belongs to Indie FIlm Blogger.

Question 2: Write a profile of one of the bloggers found on the given websites.

My profile of choice is Sujewa Ekanayake. His profile on the website is very short but from what is said inferences can be made about the type of person he is and these conclusions may very well be the reason for him being such a dedicated and popular blogger. Sujewa is a male hailing from Brooklyn New York, a fact which he seems to be very proud of. He is an Indian DIY film maker in New York and specialises in what he calls "ultra-indie/low-budget/ superdelicious" films. Sujewa's passion for film runs outside of the indie film market as he is a "fan of all quality and interesting cinema". In my opinion, his ability to write extensively on the things that interest him stems from his passion for what he does. Any person that experiences a heightened state of emotion for what may seem trivial to any other person, will make a valiant effort to educate those of us out there who are ignorant bystanders. This is what Sujewa does. His films are products of his love for the industry and serve as a medium through which he is able to reach the general public. One cannot help but be drawn in by his passion and dedication. His profile gives just enough information for the reader to know who he is but not enough to know what he is about? That is his trump card, that is how he gets you to go to his blog. His confidence in his works radiate through the string of words that confronts you when you first open his profile thus prompting the average reader to delve deeper into who he is. Sujewa states that his interests are verticals, horizontals, circles and dimensionsl portals. This answer, at first glance, undoubtedly comes off as cocky and sarcastic but when looking past the superficial words a love for life can be seen. His interest is three dimensional life and the richness of colour, texture, depth etc that comes with it. His music interests are evidence of this to as he likes Fugazi, Ian Svenanius and many others. This man is without a doubt a colourful and 'real' individual qualities that cause people to flock to him.

Blogging: An effective form of media?

Many different forms of media exist at present. This is due to the fact that the world and its technologies are evolving at a rate that leaves even the brightest of people lingering in the dust, without a clue as to what is supposed to happen next... A few decades ago if you wished to contact someone, the best form of doing so was by writing a letter and waiting days if not weeks for a reply. Although writing is still rife it is done so in a different and significantly faster form- electronically. The birth of the internet has made possible the ability to send mail at the click of a button. One form of media that has arisen from this communicative revolution is blogging. Now, nothing in this world has just positives or negatives. In order for yin and yang to live in harmony it is necessary for a balance to be struck between both the matters in life that are negative as well as positive. Blogging is no different. Let's start with the positive. Blogging is a fast and effective means of communicating on social networks(for those people whose eyes have shape shifted into a form resembling that of a computer screen) no matter the motivation for doing so. For some it is a platform to meet new people, for others it may serve as a place of relaxation where they can allow their fingers to say what they're mouths cannot or will not, while enjoying no censorship and total anonimity or it may even be a way in which to keep in touch with those loved and lost, thousands of kilometres away. The negatives? Stalkers! I'm joking (but it's feasible). Tecnological mishaps or shortcomings cause those of us with too little patience to lose faith in what is supposed to be a speedy form of communicating. Furthermore the accessibility of internet in this global world is not in the least as accesible to all people as one would think... The reasons for this vary. Therefore I am ambiguious in my feelings towards blogging as an effective form of media. My hope is that this uncertainty will have disappeared by the end of this course, no matter the conclusion I will have drawn.

I hope this works

This is officially my first blog... I was a virgin! LOL. Technology hates me so I hope I ace this course.