[2012 trends] What's up in media for 2012?

[Marion Scher] Ever since I read Faith Popcorn's Clicking in 1998 (and I can't believe you haven't read it - really?) I've been hooked on trends and how important it is not only to pay attention to what's affecting people right now but what could happen around the corner. Because you need to be around that corner, armed with what you need to reach your market. 17 Jan 2012 13:43

Education needed for citizen journalists

[Chris Moerdyk: @chrismoerdyk] There is no doubt that television news channels the world over are making increasing use of on-the-spot video footage sent in by citizen journalists using their cellphones. 10 May 2011 12:25

Grahamstown media project connects people with power

[Gill Moodie: @grubstreetSA] The powers that be would have us believe that South Africa's newspapers do not adequately reflect the lives of all South Africans - especially, as our president put it recently, that of "a person from ku-Qumbu in the Transkei". Newspapers are only in it to sell papers, claim the ANC and the SACP, and to make money. 20 Oct 2010 12:13

Powerful journalism is easy peasy (and here's how to do it)

[Gill Moodie: @grubstreetSA] There something very interesting going on in the Eastern Cape: it won't win awards but it's a totally new kind of journalism for South Africa that has the potential to really make a difference for ordinary people and improve the running of our cities and towns. It also takes the wind out of the sails of those parts of the ANC and SACP that wish to curtail media freedom and acts as a bridge builder between the media and the authorities. 29 Sep 2010 09:19

BP fiasco lessons: surviving an online reputation crisis

[Tim Shier & Alex Rees] In mid-April 2010, a massive oil spill covered not only the entire Gulf of Mexico, but also BP's online reputation, in an inky black cloud. A decade ago, a crisis such as this would doubtless have caused a few waves, but the opinion of the average citizen would not have caused too much concern for the brand - the spread of information was slower and consumers had little choice but to look to corporate voices for news. Today, the rise of citizen journalism and social media conversation has revolutionised the media landscape. 7 Jul 2010 13:03

Citizen journalism in Alexandra, Khayelitsha

As part of the Siyakhona project, Hillside Digital - a South African public benefit media development organisation - has created two community production units for citizen journalism in Alexandra and Khayelitsha. 4 May 2010 11:34

[2010 trends] Media, social media more intertwined than ever

[Marion Scher] When I was asked to compile this column, I thought I had to be particularly careful not to overlap with other forecasters by talking about the interaction between social networking and media - but it's impossible. Social networking has impacted onto every form of communication, especially media. With just a cellphone you can be aware of what's happening anywhere in the world - virtually as it's happening... 20 Jan 2010 12:05

Raising Africa's digital dialects

The following article, "Raising Africa's digital dialects" is taken from Open Source - a daily paper produced during the Highway Africa Conference reporting on the various projects presented and the issues discussed during the panels at the event. Highway Africa concluded yesterday, 8 September, 2009 in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa. 8 Sep 2009 09:11

Citizen journalism: hidden agenda or media revolution?

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] The post-elections violence in Iran that led to journalists being banned from reporting on the ground, and prompted news agencies, TV news channels and print outlets to rely on ‘news reports' captured through new technologies by protestors and eye witnesses, has reopened a heated debate on the power of citizen journalism. 8 Jul 2009 08:09

Gillmor on citizen media's effects on business, culture

[Sindy Peters] Fresh from presenting at the 12th Highway Africa conference last week, Dan Gillmor, director of the Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship (Arizona State University, US), gave a lunch talk at the UCT Graduate School of Business on Friday, 12 September 2008. Gillmor's discussion focused on how the media landscape has evolved over the last decade or so and how media and business industries have been affected by social media tools. 15 Sep 2008 09:37

Bridging the gap between new, ‘old' media

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] Currently, there is a conflict going on in many parts of the world between traditional media (trained journalists) and what Pierre Haski, a former Agence France Presse correspondent in Johannesburg, calls a crowd of consumers who, empowered by new technologies, have decided that traditional media is no longer relevant in today's society. But Haski said that instead of arguing who is the best, there is a need to bridge the gap between the two camps for the maximisation of information. 9 Sep 2008 16:31

Citizen journalism: some things will never change!

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] Despite the surge of technological innovations and its sexy gadgets doing wonders in the current media environment, spoiling us for choice, one thing that has not changed is the way we practice journalism, said Jovial Rantao, chairperson of the South African National Editors' Forum (SANEF) during his thought-provoking intervention yesterday, Monday, 8 September 2008, at Highway Africa 2008, currently taking place in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape. 9 Sep 2008 10:20

‘Citizen journalism turns consumers into creators'

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] Citizen journalism turns consumers into creators and takes media from lecture to conversation - something traditional media has not been able to do for a long time, Dan Gillmor, of Arizona State University, told over 700 media practitioners gathered in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, on Monday, 9 September 2008, for the 12th edition of Highway Africa. 8 Sep 2008 12:50