Criticism of second Podcast.

In this podcast i did the light hearted fluff piece, these are very different to what we have usually been taught in "hard news". The fact that i had more room to be creative was both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because i am very fond of creative writing, however it is not as easy as it looks. I stuck to the agenda and interviewed Deidre Allcock who participated in the race. I feel i could have researched the topic more and gont to Andrew mayoke School to see what they would say about the implementation of the water tank. This could be a future potential story.

reflection on the first podcast : Frontier News

According to our Agency document we predominantly look at developmental issues . This is seen by the water shortages story, and the afrikaans stroy. We are aiming at the everyday local Grahamstownian therefore crime is a good story pitch because it affects almost each and every one of us. Our first story is relevant as we are currently in the middle of voting for our new president, this affects our entire population as we are determining who rules over us. The fact that it specifically looks at youth is relevant to Grahamstown as there are many students that live there.

I feel the stories were structured well as they were different to eachother, it did not sound as if the anchor predominantly spoke. The input of various quotes from the locals involved in some of the stories reflected our agency document. This shows the "person on the ground" instead of constantly listening to politicians or other high status individuals.

In the second podcast I could find more sources who are affected by the story instead of those telling the story. For example, in my story about crime in grahamstown I used a comment by the communications officer Mrs Coetzer, instead I could have used maybe a victim of one of the assaults or a concerned local. The story was also too short and needed to be elaborated.

My first Interview in IsiXhosa

To start off, I have never appreciated the fact that my mother tongue is the main medium of the media in the world we live in today. The look on Vuyokazi's face when we told her we were going to interview her in her mother tongue was amazing, one I will never forget. Despite that, the translated version from IsiXhosa to English is very different to the way English is usually spoken. I had difficulty coming to terms with this aspect, and that it is O.K to broadcast the English version spoken in such a way. The simple English, ironically seemed harder to say as it was not 'the norm' to speak like that in English, however it has worked out well. As long as you have a translator I have noticed it is surprisingly easy to broadcast a story in English that has been spoken in IsiXhosa, it also paints the picture of the story better in ones mind.

My Personel Philosophy

1) What is the nature of the community within which you will be operating as an online journalist?

One thing I have noticed about this tiny town, is that demographically it is not that small. There is a whole series of communities concentrated in one area. On the Grahamstown tour we were shown the racial divide within each suburb. Not only in race but in class, stereotypically you have the middle-to upper class students living on Rhodes Campus, the middle classed families in close proximity to Rhodes, where schools such as St Andrews and Graeme College can be found. And then there is the lower class, poverty stricken location on the complete opposite side of campus. In the industry of journalism one must realise these differing areas have differing interests, and trying to satisfy all these interests at once is an almost impossible tasks. Therefore the stories presented this year may be specific to one demographic society, and one needs to carefully watch how these stories are worded as any group could find them in any way offensive- this is the last thing one wants to do as a journalist.

2) What is your position on objectivity as an audio journalist operating in the small town of Grahamstown?

In light of what I have said above, I feel that, especially in a place like Grahamstown objectivity should be attempted. Due to the fact that there are so many detached minorities, there will be many stories that have 'two sides" as the saying goes. We need to report on both sides and leave it up to the listener to decide which one to take. This is easier said than done however. Yes there are times where we should voice our own opinion, or maybe lean to the subjective side, but this could be done in stories that are representing one's view, and is emphasized that it is doing just this. As can be seen by the Municipal Demarcation Board there are more unemployed than employed people within Grahamstown, therefore there will be a lot of stories written due to the effects of poverty. These stories could be one sided where they are seen through the eyes of the actor, instead of the narrator;the journalist.

3) What kinds of stories do you think should be told in this town, how would you treat these stories and why would you say it would be important to report on them in this way?

As mentioned before this town has many differing interests, however, the stories that need to be told are those that will affect the majority, whether its politically, economically or even those stories that will touch the heart. Humans are very selfish creatures and will only listen to what directly effects them. This is a very difficult task to do because Grahamstown is segmented. Those stories that will touch the heart need to be very subjective, to the point that it is told through the eyes of the survivor or victim. This is because the passion and emotion needs to be generated through these stories. Those that affect the majority should be told in an objective light so that all can relate to it.

The contraversial topic of objectivity in the media.

Many say it is an unspoken rule that all journalists need to be objective- we cannot just look at one side of the story, both are meant to be told. I feel that the listener has a choice with the content he/she hears - they can either accept the information they are told, or completely disregard it. Therefore no matter how a story is portrayed it is the reader that chooses what to do with it. A good comment was made in class which I completely agree with; all stories vary on objectivity. Your hard news story such as "Twelve dead in plane crash" has an objective light, it 'tells the story how it is'. Then there is your features story that shows ONE person's view, such as the day in the life of a beggar who opposes the municapality he lives in. This is clearly a one sided feature, and needs to be reported as such. It is up to the reader to acknowledge the side (or sides) the journalist is portraying. The journalist needs to portray the story in such a way that the reader can acknowledge whther the story is objective or subjective.

Why I want to be a journalist.

In this day of age, the most critical part of the story is the unspoken truth. It lies behind all of the "two sides to the story" explanations. Not only in South Africa, but around the world there is hushed corruption, inequality, and at times complete violations of human rights. As a journalist you are put out in the field for one reason; to voice the truth, or portray the story. We are servants to the public and should give them the findings we accumulate. This is what I hope to achieve in the future. On the contreversial topic on objectivity I feel we should "call a rock, a rock". In other words, document all the actions or emotions of a story, we must paint the whole picture of the issue. Yes there are times where we may be subjective in our findings, but if that subjectivity is the case, we must represent it so. For example, The Rwandian genocide was labeled as such, however nobody spoke to the persecutors and asked them what they would have called it. Yes many people died and yes it was a horrific incident, however "both sides" of the story was not seen, only the victims' side. This enforces my point that at times one would have to be subjective if the story's facts point in this direction.

Why I want to be a journalist.

Journalism is needed to speak for the people.