Covid-19 shaped a new era for journalism in South Africa
The Covid-19 pandemic changed life as we know it, and years from now, we will still be picking up the pieces. Rasaad Adams looked into how the pandemic and the strict lockdown regulations have changed South Africa’s journalism industry, with many journalists having to adapt to a new way of news collection and dissemination.
Fin24 reported that South African publishing giant Caxton & CTP Publishers, announced the withdrawal of several of the country’s popular magazines, following a move by advertisers to pull finances due to the strains that derived with the pandemic and lockdown regulations.
This is unfortunate, not only for those news and media outlets being affected but also the public. We live in a time where access to accurate and verified information is of utmost importance. Being in a state of lockdown leads one to constantly seek new information.
Julian Jansen is a Cape Town-based investigative journalist who joined Rapport in 2006. Jansen described the Covid-19 pandemic as “one of the worst things to happen to humanity since the second world war.”
He explained that conducting interviews and having meetings via Skype and Zoom, is just not the same experience. “I am an emotional writer, who observes gestures and prefers to look my interviewee in their eyes,” he said.
Jansen reiterated that the pandemic has, however, not been all doom and gloom. “I have the opportunity to tell the stories of individuals who, despite the challenges, are lending a hand to those in need. Ubuntu has been an antidote against this virus,” he added.
Dennis Delport (23), is a multimedia journalist based in Johannesburg, and recently graduated from the North-West University (NWU).
He said that Covid-19 came at a very early time in his journalism career and that his studies certainly did not prepare him for what he currently experiences. “Media conferences and interviews with potential sources are now all done digitally,” Delport said.
In recognising the importance of providing reliable news during these times, the editor of Potchefstroom Herald, Dustin Wetdewich, made an editorial decision at the start of lockdown to make this local newspaper available for free. Wetdewich said that as a publication, they realised that for some people the Herald is their only source of information – in terms of local news.
“We realised that in these uncertain times, and with fake news being on the rise, it would only be responsible of us to make sure that everyone has access to reliable information,” he said.
Wetdewich realised how effective working from home can be. He said that as community news reporters, they, in any case, spend most of their time out of the office and in search of news. This led to their decision to permanently close the Herald’s office, and all staff members will now be working from home – with the publication remaining free of charge.
“This is definitely a new era for a newspaper that is more than 100-years old. We are still figuring out the logistics, but still, we see this as an exciting time.”
Dr Kate Skinner, the director of the South African National Editors Forum (SANEF), said that the biggest upside of this dark period has been the massive surge in traffic to credible online news sources.
“Traffic to news websites increased by 72% in March, while other sites saw a 44% growth in unique browsers. People are seeking out credible news and that is a huge win for the industry,” Skinner said.
I take the point that at present journalists have to change the way they function, but I wrote early on that after all is said and done, not much will have changed content wise. I stand by that view.