Actually, What Is The Role Of Editors?

Considered to be the hard enforcers in the newsroom, Editors are known for their dominance and authority. They are the steering heads of their publications and if we had to describe them according to their stereotypes, there would be plenty to say. By definition, an Editor is: a person responsible for the editorial aspects of a publication - the person who determines the final content of a text.

The recent saga that has dominated the media is what prompted this article. Although some columnists have described it as hate speech, we shall not confine it to a definition - lest it leaves no room for a free and fair opinion. 

When Sowetan columnist Eric Miyeni decided to express his opinion by putting pen on paper and talk about matters that touched his heart, he was abruptly relieved of his duty. 

This begs a very tough question: can Editors be trusted? Do media houses and companies speak and act with one voice? Is it right that one of Avusa's publications put out a column one day, and the same company reprimanded the other?

Surely, Avusa, Sowetan editorial and Eric Miyeni himself understand the ethnical considerations that must be taken into account in reporting and social commentary. Along with a columnist’s right to freedom of expression, comes a responsibility to do no harm in what is said. There's little doubt that Miyeni's comments, including fantasizing about, necklacing Ferial Haffejee with a burning tyre, constitutes hate speech and incites violence.

The Editor of Sowetan, Len Maseko, has since resigned as Editor and has accepted full responsibility for the column being published (even though he was on leave at the time!) Was this owning up or merely strategic self-preservation? 

On the other hand, Ferial Haffejee has a dilemma on her hands. While she has been seeking legal advice on whether to take legal actions, we wonder whether this action will affect people's perceptions of her and the City Press, the national newspaper she edits. Will she be seen as trying to snuff a defiant voice if she sues Miyeni?

To further add to the confusion, below is a direct transcript of the terms and conditions that appear on the Sowetan website, alongside the comment thread. Take a look and see if the column was in line with any of these conditions at all:

We value your opinion, but please follow the guidelines below to ensure it remains a valuable and useful section for all readers.

When commenting, bear in mind:

• Your comments should be relevant to the article or the thread of conversation

• You should not make personal attacks

• You should not use vulgar, discriminatory, obscene or abusive language

For a publication that enforces such strict terms and conditions on their readers, the same should be inflicted upon the writers themselves, don’t you think? 

You have 1 Notification*.......

Instant messaging and instant notification is instant gratification that there is a recipient on the other end. The buzz and the beeps have become the sound tracks of our lives. You follow me and I follow you, but I wonder where are we all headed. 

Globalization! The chase for that little excitement, when you see that little icon on the top of your screen, which indicates that you have a message. It is an involuntary high, an anticipation of what lies between the digital codes that will determine your next reaction, a frown or a smile. 

Finding yourself not able to function when you have left your cell phone at home is a clear indication of how much we have become slaves to technology. While I am not complaining, I feel we have found ways to over-indulge on gadgets that are said to improve the standard of living - but which can also be self-destructive. 

When your natural instinct is no longer to give a genuine expression of mutual reflection, but to send an emoticon, you must know that you have been sucked into the cyber world that has taken over this generation, and which holds the whole world in the palm of its hands. 

My Space, your space - apparently we all have the space to create a persona that is in contrast to our real character. Is it because we are not happy with who we are or with our lives that we turn to an imaginative world to create the ideology that is contrary to our state of being? It will all remain a mystery in which I wish not to unravel because some anonymity is better left unsolved. 

I do concede however, that a sense of gratitude goes towards the platform that technology has created. There is more self-expression and opinionated views on daily global transitions. 

Needless to say, we have not all benefited in one-way or the other in this digital migration. I am therefore not ashamed to say that these are some of the gadgets that I cannot live without. Please share your thoughts and how technology contributes to your lifestyle and profession. 

BlackBerry

Mobile email access

Gate remote opener

THE GOOD, INTERNSHIP HABIT!

When I started this business 10 years ago, I often got calls and numerous visits from final-year university students wanting to do journalism internships with us. I would turn them away, proudly pronouncing that we do not take interns @ GENUINE!

How stupid was I?!

Fast-forward to 2010 – I was still getting similar calls and visits from students for internships. This time however, on the wise advice from one of my colleagues in the newspaper business, I decided to (finally) give them a try.

And so, for the first time ever, 2010 saw GENUINE take in 3 interns from June till December. And what a joy it was!

These energetic, young people have a mind of their own and come up with such unique and exciting ideas, I really wondered how I coped without their input before! The articles they write and the story angles they come up with, are simply amazing. And the best thing about it is that they are fearless… If it is challenging worth pursuing, they want to be a part of it!

Genuine Media Team 2010

If I had it my way, I would take in as many of them as possible because of the challenge they go through trying to gain access to newsrooms and gain the much-needed experiential learning. It is even heartbreaking knowing that most of them end up not graduating because they have not fulfilled that part of their learning process.

So I urge media entrepreneurs everywhere, to open up their newsrooms for interns…

Not only is this experience beneficial to them as students, but it is definitely a wise move on your part as an entrepreneur because you constantly inject fresh blood and have innovative, bright ideas at your disposal at all times.

(Un) Protecting A Public Person’s Privacy

"Although I am a public figure, I'm still a little shy. I don't think my own personality is important. I prefer to keep some small dosage of privacy."- Joshua Lederberg

I

 think the statement above holds true for most of us – whether we are in the public eye or not. At the end of each day, we all want to shut out the rest of the world and be ourselves in the comfort of our homes, among our friends and families.

It then becomes problematic when this small dosage of privacy is infringed upon and that which had been kept hidden from the rest of the world, suddenly comes out in the open for all to view, read and hear about. We have seen it all too often in South Africa and the rest of the world, where people in high-profile positions, have had their personal lives probed and their supposed-skeletons hung in the open by the media – with most of them left with pie on their faces, a-la-Rupert Murdoch!

It is even worse when such skeletons turn out be lies by those wanting to cause harm on certain individuals’ characters. Examples that come to mind are: the story of Deputy-President Kgalema Motlanthe and his alleged young pregnant girlfriend – which turned out to be lies perpetrated by the young woman. Another example is that of Bulelani Ngcuka’s issue that he was an apartheid spy – which also later turned out to be a pack of lies! There are many others to mention…

My question is, when journalists come with such allegations – and before the story can be published - are they asked to verify, check, confirm and check again with their sources? How ‘deep’ do they go in search of the facts? Judging by the retractions that we see daily in the media, it would seem neither the journalists nor the news editors, are doing a thorough job of it. My feeling is that, on articles that touch the lives of individuals directly, an effort should be made to at least, get the true facts first, before the story can see the light of day…

It is a different case altogether however, when such public personalities use their privileged positions to plunder public funds meant for the benefit of under-resourced communities. The media – especially community media - should play a role of exposing such behaviour and hold these high-profile officials to account for their actions.

Ultimately, the media has a dual role to play in our society: that of being gate-keeper and guardian, while at the same time having enough ubuntu to carry well-researched, thought-through information that is relevant and beneficial to society.

The question is, is that possible today in a world where profits surpass all else?

I wonder…!

‘If You Can Read This, Thank A Teacher…’

Michelle Obama and Nelson Mandela 

How true and appropriate this quotation by an anonymous teacher is… 

If you can read anything for that matter, thank your teacher because that is the person who taught you how to read!

I was fortunate to get an invitation from the Department of Arts & Culture to attend the launch of a Reading and Writing Club over the past weekend. Held at Umgababa on the south coast of Durban, I was mostly impressed by the interest shown by young school-going kids from the area, who came in numbers, to attend and show their support for this unique initiative. It also helped that world-renowned story-teller Gcina Mhlophe, was there to motivate the young and old about the value and importance of reading.

"Books are a legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind, which are delivered down from generation to generation as presents to the prosperity of those who are yet unborn." - Addison Joseph

Newspapers, magazines and books are a treasure that offer knowledge and serve as a great means of communication. I know a handful of people who came to this country from neighbouring African countries, not knowing one single word of English! What did they do? They bought newspapers, magazines and books and started ‘reading’! Today, they speak good English just like you and I. 

Ultimately, it rests with parents to also lead by example. If you have children, make sure that you buy at least one newspaper during the week and encourage your kids to read it after you are done. Buy fun books and give them to your kids as incentives for household chores done. Or, make time in the evenings to page-through magazines with your kids for them to get used to this reading culture and gain valuable insights and knowledge about the world around them. 

As Benjamin Franklin appropriately said, ‘an investment in knowledge pays the best interest.’ So let us start investing early in knowledge acquisition for our children. Let us encourage them to pick up a newspaper, magazine or a book…and read!

TRIVIA

• Barbara Cartland is the world's top-selling author with over 500 million copies sold.
• GENUINE’s journalist, Khulekani Magubane is a celebrated author who, by the time he was 22 years of age, had written 17 published books.
• Dr. Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham after his editor dared him to write a book using fewer than 50 different words.

Death By Ink!

I am sure for a lot of people, the news of the folding of one of Britain’s notorious tabloid newspaper, News Of The World, came as a great to them. Personally, I had always understood it that publications fold mostly due to financial reasons. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that such a ‘successful’ newspaper – with a weekly circulation of over 2.7 million readers – could ever stop press as a result of its bad reputation.

The untimely end of News Of The World then got me thinking of the South African media landscape. In the 70s and 80s, we had publications such as for example, Weekly Mail, South and Grassroots, all which were known as alternative press (or protest publications). These alternative newspapers opposed the views of major newspapers that mostly favoured the apartheid government at the time.

Drum Magazine 

The most notable magazines that I can recall (and which I knew) during that era were Drum and Pace. Unlike the Drum of today, which is filled with glamourous lifestyle pages of our local celebrities, yester-year Drum was a magazine that spewed revolutionary messages that drove the ambitions of black people wanting an escape from everyday-apartheid. Pace magazine walked a similar path – containing interesting feature articles and investigative stories that fanned the flames of black consciousness and pride.

I cannot help but feel envious of journalists and writers in that era because no doubt, they stayed true to their publications and their readers. They were passionate about what they were doing and were never intimidated by any threats. To them, writing about controversial issues got their blood flowing. They were never fearful to expose the truth – no matter how life-threatening the consequences.

Pace Magazine

So, when Pace folded exactly 8 years ago this month, I was extremely sad because I rated it as one of the best, quality publications we had in the country. Granted, the content and ownership might have changed over time, but to me, it will always remain the best black magazine we ever had. The difference between News Of The World and Pace is obvious – one thrived on fickle, sensational news, while the other strived to be informative and to uplift the lives of black people of this country.

So, if I could be given a choice to revive one of the two from its deathbed one day, of course I would choose Pace any day…

News of the World last edition

Success starts @ the bottom!

Oprah Winfrey 

While I may have quite a number of people that I admire, there are two people who really stand out as my ultimate favorites. Oprah Winfrey is one of them…

Whether you like her or not, much has been spoken and written about her. Even the University of Illinois in the US started a history course on her in 2001, titled: History 298: Oprah Winfrey The Tycoon! It just goes to show how influential and powerful she is... Personally, I admire her undying spirit and her consistent rise and success over the past three decades. As things stand, I cannot think of any female who will ever match the diverse roles she has successfully played, whether as an entrepreneur, publisher, motivator or leader.

Sir Richard Brandson 

The other person is Sir Richard Branson. As the owner of Virgin, the road he has traveled is similar to what all of us have gone through. At the age of 16 years, he started a magazine called Student with his friends. When he ventured into music recording industry and started Virgin Records in the 70s, his true entrepreneurial skills shone and his leadership was visible. 

From Virgin Records came a number of ventures, the most notable one being Virgin Atlantic Airways, one of the most successful private airline companies in the world.

Today, Sir Richard is an undoubted multi-billionaire – and a humble one at that!

But, what is the secret to their success?

• I think their immeasurable success lies in a combination of a number of very important factors. They are winners because:
• They are in touch with their businesses.
• They are great communicators – who listen and talk to people.
• They are selfless givers.
• They are humble and down-to-earth.
• They aren’t afraid to lead by example.
• They have a positive outlook to life.
• Above all, they are great, respectable leaders who are not scared to take that leap of faith.

To me, the above list is a great combination of must-have qualities if – like me – you aspire to be a successful entrepreneur. In my small, humble world, I also want to achieve greatness – not for myself, but for the GENUINE brand. And to get to that level, I believe I must incorporate all these factors in my everyday life.

Is it possible master and muster this combination? Yes it is - if you start with the smallest of things and build your way up from there.