Journalism

Rhodes University and Tshwane University of technology are considered the “Pinnacle” or best journalism offering universities in the country. I always thought journalism is just a “bunch of organised and well-thought out gossip” and it is my lack of knowledge about this field that made me go have a conversation with the 2 gentlemen I am going to talk about. They know I am going to be talking about them so it not gossip, let’s call it “journalism”.  Our guest today are 2 most inspiring and eloquent journalist who are busy assembling a mark in this industry, Ndaedzo Neville Nethonzhe and Talifhani Munzhedzi

One‘s ears could do with a good voice once in a while, so I decisively had to chart to Ndaedzo Nethonzhe who is a Journalist and a news reporter at Kaya FM. Ndaedzo formerly worked for other broadcast stations such as Talk radio 702 and Jacaranda FM. After the conversation I had with him, I now fully understand the importance of hard work, commitment and maximising on what one possesses to climbing one’s career ladder. When I asked which high school he went to, I got myself a list “Every high school grade had its own school” “he said , and in those list was schools such as, Liivha, Meridian, Tshikevha Christian school , and Pragmatic  “talk about Nomadic tendencies,”. Ndaedzo is originally from Vuwani in Limpopo and hold a National Diploma in Journalism from the Tshwane University of Technology, the 2^nd best university that offers journalism in the country after Rhodes University. “I didn’t grow up wanting to become a journalist per se, but when I was young I was vividly in love with watching news, current affairs, reading news papers. I then attended a multiracial school and that helped me build and enhance my good command of English. I therefore felt the need to go into a career that goes in line with what I love and what I am good at”.

“This however does not mean if you do not have a good command in English you cannot become a journalist, it all depends on where you want to locate yourself”, for example I can’t go work for a media house that requires a good Tshivenda background, as I did English as my first language, but someone who has a good background of Tshivenda can do so.

Ndaedzo also stated that “In journalism you must be multilingual and know your history very well, for an example if you want to be a writer for a Venda newspaper you obviously need to know your Venda exceptionally well. A good command in different languages is an advantage, a media broadcast like SA FM will require you to know and be good in English, and if that’s not the case, your chances of working for such stations are either dull, dead or simply just don’t exist.

“My day starts at 5am and once I have my journalist suit on, I make sure it stays on until am done with what I need done that day “As a journalist I don’t have a fixed schedule, it all depends on current affairs and what needs to get done at that particular moment in time.  “I may wake up today and have to go interview the president of the country, or go speak to a mother of a 4 year old who has been raped or speak to a street kid somewhere in the streets of Jozi.  It all depends but Flexibility in this job is key”. Uttered Ndaedzo

According to him one other aspect that plays a role in taking journalism as a career is to know yourself and your character as that can enhance or hinder your success in this industry. “Being versatile” he said, is most required, this means being multitalented, resourceful and being flexible to adapt to the different situations that you may find yourself in. For example “the approach you use when interviewing an artist who just won a SAMA will be totally different from when interviewing a mother who just lost her baby in a tragic fire”. You need to understand people, go to the individual’s level in order to be able to reach out to them.

Our other guest is Talifhani Munzhedzi, who is a producer at SAfm and currently doing his Masters degree in Journalism at the University of Johannesburg. He completed his matric at Mphalaleni Secondary School with a distinction in history then graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism degree (with Honors) in Journalism & Media Studies at Rhodes University.

His job entails Brainstorming story ideas to be discuss on air; Liaising with P.R agents, Government departments, NGOs and the private sector; Organising and coordinating radio interviews, in studio or telephone; Writing and editing radio scripts and interview briefs for the presenter; Research on stories and issues to be broadcast; He is also responsible for conducting research and analyzing media trends, Formulating media related discussion and sourcing of guests for radio programs. He also previously worked for SABC 3 (Business News@10) as a Bulletin Writer. His responsibilities there, included Writing news scripts for Business@10; Editing and proof reading news scripts from field journalists; Compiling & Updating Local & International Markets; Sourcing Visuals from archives for stories, in line with the bulletin’s requirements; Voicing scripts when necessary; Analyzing latest trends in the global business & markets news to be matched with local trends. He also worked for SABC 2 as a researcher for the Kwela express, SABC 2 (Dzuguda Productions).

This gave me an idea of the different field that one can go into with journalism. I wanted to find out how he managed to end up working for such a reputable media house (SA fm) and this was his response “know your goals and work on them every day, when I was at university, I was involved in several projects to make sure I lay a good foundation for my career, this included working as a presenter and later as a technical manager for the Rhodes University Music Radio (RMR)”. As I was busy talking to Talifhani one of the attributes I admire about him was his passion for volunteer work, “My first volunteering work was when I was still in high school, we started a student publication were we engaged and interacted with student and provided info they required, In Media you need to be a public person” I also gathered that Volunteering is also one form of gaining experience and making one recognisable and marketable in the working environment.

The funny part about employers is that when you graduate they expect you to have experience and I am not talking about experience of going to lectures, attending tutorials and sitting in the cafeteria and drinking coffee with your Journ 101 friend who just bunked a lecture, but real work experience. As a student you need to volunteer to gain experience while you are still at school to increase your chances of getting employed after you graduate. “I also Volunteered to train radio Grahamstown presenters with their presenting skills in Grahamstown” says Tali

Before I ended the interviews I just had to ask about the Rands (salaries and stuff) involved, and even though both of them told me “it’s not about the money but the love and the fulfilments you get while doing your job, Ndaedzo gave me a rough figure “Journalists get paid between 3 thousand and 60 thousand, depending on the position you hold, and the media house you work for. What a range!!

Lastly I would like to extend our heartfelt thank you to both Ndaedzo and Talifhani for making time for us, in the midst of their busy schedules. Now let me go mind my own business, but at least “NOW I KNOW”.

Journalism bursaries for 2012:

·         SABC EDUCATION BUSARY SCHEME IN PATNERSHIP WITH NEMISA: CLOSES: 31 OCTOBER 2011

Electronic, TV and radio production, info@nemisa.co.za

www.sabceduaction.co.za, www.nemisa.co.za

·         GRAHAMSTOWN FOUNDATION BUSARIES AND SCHOLASHIPS GERALD WRIGHT SCHOLARSHIP: CLOSES 31 OCT 2011

 The Scholarship & Bursary Officer: Grahamstown Foundation
P O Box 304, GRAHAMSTOWN, 6140

·         BABETTE TAUTE SCHOLASHIP: Babette Taute Trust: Sanlam Trust : CLOSES 30 SEPTEMBER

P O Box 1260, SANLAMHOF

Fax: 0219476356, Bursaries enquiries: 0219476364

·         BILL VENTER/FAK MUSIC BURSARY SCHEME THEY DO JOURN AS WELL: CLOSES 15 NOV

FAK managing director, PO.Box 73169, Lynwood Ridge, 0040

FAK@mweb.co.za

·         NSFAS (national student financial AID scheme

Bursaries and loans

0217633232, info@nsfas.org.za

For more info on some of the universities that offers journalism visit:

Tshwane University of technology: http://www.tut.ac.za/

Rhodes University: http://www.ru.ac.za

University of Pretoria:  http://web.up.ac.za

University of the Free State: http://www.ufs.ac.za

University of Johannesburg: http://www.uj.ac.za