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Nadine Mather and Chloë Loubser
Winners of ITWeb journ bursaries
Guy Martin and Kathryn McConnachie, third-year journalism students at the Rhodes School of Journalism and Media Studies, are the winners of the ITWeb Journalism Bursary for 2010. They will intern at ITWeb during their final-year vacation. Upon completion of their fourth year of studies, they'll both start a one-year employment contract at the company as new media journalists.
The business technology media company launched the bursary programme in 2009 to enable talented journalism students to gain experience and training in the online media environment, along with fully paid-up fourth year tuition fees.
Ranka Jovanovic, its editorial director, says, "The media environment is at a crossroads - while the traditional media players are experimenting with charging for online content to stop the erosion of subscribers, professional online-only media players face competition from bloggers and other new entrants into the Web and mobile media space. As most newsrooms are shrinking, the company believes in investing in fresh new talent that combines excellent journalism skills with clear understanding of new media trends."
Working live
"Our first bursary programme has already proven successful in practice as both our last years' winners are already fully functional journalists in what can be a daunting B2B tech environment. We are pleased that we have identified a new crop of talent, skill and interest in Guy and Kathryn. It's exciting to be in a position to finance their new media specialisation year of studies," adds Jovanovic
Last year's winners have worked full-time for ITWeb since January 2010 - Tallulah Habib in the team's social media site, My Digital Life, while Farzana Rasool is a news journalist for its main news portal.
Breaking technology news
The company, which posts technology news as it breaks and provides in-depth tech trends analysis and commentary, needs journalists with a keen interest in technology - both as the subject matter and as the means of dissemination of information.
"Media companies in transition lament the paucity of new research, storytelling, social media and development skills," says Jude Mathurine, head of Rhodes University's New Media Lab. "However, few actively upskill current staff or invest in the next generation of journalists to transform analogue newsrooms to digital, integrated communication agencies. ITWeb sees its journalism bursary as an investment and part of a relationship with journalism education that itself needs assistance to keep pace and develop learners to lead the changes sweeping our industry.
