Journalism in a new democracy : the ethics of listening.
- Authors: Wasserman, Herman
- Date: 2012-09-19
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:577 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008551
- Description: [Conclusion] I started this lecture by recalling how, as a youngster, it was stories that helped me to understand the country I was growing up in, and helped me imagine the lives of others that I did not read about in the media of that time. For journalism in a new democracy such as South Africa to serve more than an elite, for it to enable citizens to actively practice their citizenship through media, for it to treat all South Africans with dignity, it would have to learn to listen across the different lines that continue to keep South Africans apart – journalists would have to learn to listen to the stories of those on the other side of the railway line, the breadline, the picket line, the barbed wire fence. What would this listening mean for journalists in practice? Let me end by returning to the coverage of the Marikana massacre. In a recent interview with Greg Marinovich, the journalist that did the investigation that cast doubt on the official accounts of the events, he was asked if what was needed for better journalism was more investment of resources. ‘Do we need a team (or teams) of journalists to get to the bottom of this?’ he was asked. Marinovich responded as follows: “I wouldn't say that. I think other journalists have been spending more time there than I have (…) It's about opening your eyes and looking at what people are telling you, looking at their stories.”
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- Date Issued: 2012-09-19
Southern African Journal of Gerontology, volume 2, number 1, April 1993
- Authors: Ferreira, Monica (editor) , Møller, Valerie (editor) , HSRC/UCT Centre for Gerontology
- Date: 1993
- Subjects: Gerontology -- South Africa , Older people -- Care -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:8066 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012668
- Description: The second number of SAJG again presents knowledge on ageing and the aged which can be useful in the development of better practices and the formulation of better policies in southern African countries. A focus of the articles in this number is on housing and living arrangements. Nyanguru and Peil writing on Zimbabwe give a finely detailed description of the housing situation of the elderly population using survey material. They draw on comparisons with other developing contexts to place the Zimbabwean housing situation in perspective. At the outset, the authors note that the impact of disability on the elderly is directly related to the nature and quality of housing. In conclusion to their overview of urban and rural housing circumstances. they recommend a more appropriate housing policy for the elderly which makes provision for home maintenance and home-help services to assist the elderly to stay in their homes. Moller re-analyses data collected for South Africa's baseline study of the elderly to explore the possible benefits for South Africa's elderly when they live with adult children. Her comparative case studies are based on the assumption that black elders might prefer to live with sons as traditional custom dictates and whites would usually choose to live independently according to Western custom. Chen systematically explores the question of which children co-reside with elderly parents in Taiwan using a large national database and sophisticated multivariate analyses. He also raises the question whether filial piety is on the decline when children no longer co-reside with their parents. The last article in this issue picks up a subject relating to quality of life-a topic introduced in an article in the first issue of SAJG. Authors Gillespie and Louw wish to re-open the debate on activity and quality of life. They pose the provocative question: Does a decline in activity in the elderly really dampen morale? Preliminary results from the pilot study undertaken by the authors reported in the article yielded inconclusive results. However the pilot study involved only a small sample and is presented to make the point and whet our appetite for further research and debate. In support of Gillespie and Louw's call to re-open the debate on the activity question we contribute further South African evidence which allows for various interpretations
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- Date Issued: 1993