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.