Media tour musings

Dear reader,

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for the hiatus in your inbox last week. I was reluctant to accept it at first, but the annual media tour in Johannesburg had the BAHons Journalism class booked and busy – it was not exactly the pre-vacation some of us had hoped for. There was not a second to spare to complete the newsletter! (Truthfully, there was, but in true rebellious spirits we decided to visit an arcade instead.) 

This week will serve as a recollection of the media tour, which was as exciting as it was informative. The tour started with a visit to Constitution Hill, which is the site of both apartheid-era prisons and the country’s Constitutional Court. The stark contrast between South Africa’s violent history and the court, founded by a democratic constitution, was difficult to fully comprehend. The prisons, which were known as the Old Fort, the Women’s Jail, and Number Four, have been transformed into a museum that allows a personal view into the living conditions of the prisoners, and a memorial for figures like Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, who both served time there. 

The next day we visited the Eskom National Control Centre, and the Lethabo Power Station in the Free State. Despite the common South African attitude towards Eskom (constant aggravation), we met with people who dutifully do their jobs to keep the country’s power grid running. It was made clear that without these people, the country would succumb to chaos rather quickly. Our visit to the SABC inspired a somewhat similar sentiment – there are people working passionately to maintain our public broadcaster, while receiving very little acknowledgement for the work that they do. 

The offices of CNBC Africa and Bloomberg were from a different world entirely – they had fully functional fish tanks in their newsrooms. The aquatic ambience must be a great source of inspiration for financial journalists. Personally, I would experience a fish tank in an office as a very expensive distraction, but I am nowhere near being a financial journalist. The stock exchange crash course that we received at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) made my brain short-circuit within five minutes. But it was still extremely informative! I cannot wait to have enough money to invest, which will be relatively soon because journalists are famously known for being wealthy. 

With our brains full of a week’s worth of information, our class dispersed for the winter holiday. In light of this, I am sending a precautionary warning of a possibly empty inbox for the next three weeks. Keep your fingers and toes crossed that the SMF News team will feel productive this holiday!

Anke Spies, newsletter editor.

My favourite moment of the media tour was reading in the kitchenette with my classmate Danielle Schaafsma! In the silence we were able to cultivate a deep friendship that we did not have prior to the tour. She is such a beautiful, gentle, and kind soul.

By Buhle Bam

And a special thank you to our course convenor, Anneli Groenewald, who doubled as the class photographer last week:

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