Beating around the Bosch

with

Dear Reader,

Over the past two weeks our newsroom has once again undergone the painful process of being stretched in directions we didn’t know existed – up, down and sideways all at once. One of the most challenging aspects of this degree is the wide range of challenges that one is repeatedly pelted with. It is not as straightforward as writing one academic essay after the next (in fact, we were just assigned one, and I have never heard people get so excited about a 3000-word rant about media theory).

Each assignment comes with an entire process of questioning yourself, mustering up the courage to start something you have no knowledge of, and becoming comfortable with producing something slightly sub-par just to get it in on time.

One week, we find ourselves behind the camera, and just as we get vaguely comfortable with that, we move in front of the camera (only to undergo the mortifying experience of hearing our own voices over and over again). The next week, we are tasked with creating a story with solely audio. This constant upheaval makes us crave the certainty of Google Scholar and Harvard referencing. 

The one benefit of our tight deadlines is that we don’t have the time to indulge our feelings of self-doubt. “Just do it” has become our motto of survival. We have just published another batch of broadcasting videos on our website. Go check them out and let us know if we have successfully conquered our imposter syndrome!

Nicola Amon, newsletter editor

Visual of the Week

📸Some BTS from SMF News’ Amy Lindstrom:

I drove out to Spier Wine Farm on three occasions to get visuals for my broadcast video. All three times I went, I was taken aback by the first artwork that made up Bongoy’s exhibition. The title of this specific piece is Infected, which I thought was so interesting. I was not able to get in contact with the artist himself, but I would have loved to talk to him about the process of titling his artworks. This is the first piece of the exhibition that greets you when you enter the Old Wine Cellar at Spier Wine Farm, a confrontational entry point into the exhibition. I wanted to capture an image that included one of Bongoy’s works but also the title of the exhibition and its accompanying poem.

Watch the story here

📚Good reads from SMF News this week📚

• Pniël society hosts 43rd annual chrysanthemum show

  Erinma Nedum visited the 43rd annual chrysanthemum show held by the Pniël Horticultural and Industrial Society. The purpose of the show was to promote local industries and display the community’s passion for gardening.

• Students protest for academic boycott of Israel

  Members of Student Action for Palestine gathered at Stellenbosch University’s Rooiplein to hand in a memorandum requesting an academic boycott of Israel. Duné van Jaarsveld covered the protest on 2 May for her broadcast video.

  

• Stellenbosch FC extend unbeaten run in DSTV Premiership

  Stellenbosch Football Club (FC) played out a goalless draw against AmaZulu Football Club at the Danie Craven Stadium on 8 May. Nic Gleeson spoke to Steve Barker, head coach of Stellenbosch FC, on the team’s 19 consecutive wins.

  

What the Frog with Maliza Adendorff

🎶What we’re listening to:

Word of the Week

Phantasmagoria [fan-taz-muh-GORE-ee-uh]

~a dreamlike, constantly changing series of visions

Once you have submitted to the chaos of a postgraduate degree, it becomes like a mystical phantasmagoria.