How Journalists use Twitter As A Tool

The three different journalists, Barry Bateman , Aki Anastasiou and Karyn Maughan  used twitter as a journalism tool to inform the general public of the events that took place at the Marikana mines. They all used different methods and not to mention creative methods of tweeting. What I noticed about Barry Bateman’s tweets was that   he was a bit subjective in his tweets and he voiced out his opinions and thoughts about the strike of which some people of the public could relate to and he’s tweets kept people talking and had people debating and replying to his tweets. People kept on retweeting his tweets and that resulted in more people being aware of the Marikana strike and shooting.

I loved what Aki Anastasiou did through his tweets he kept the public informed and talking not only through his tweets but through Redi Thlabi’s show and John Robbie on 702 of which people called in others replied to his tweets and to Redi’s Thlabi’s tweets on twitter. Ministers like Nathi Mthethwa also called in on 702 to comment and respond to the listener’s questions and their outcry. He also retweeted John Robbie’s tweets on declaring war against violence in South Africa. This made South African’s more aware of what was happening and more people became alert of Marikana shootings of which people did not know much of.  There was later a public outcry on the situation saying that such violence and police brutality should not be tolerated.

I really loved Poloko Tau’s tweets he kept people well informed at all times and had attached articles and attached links to his tweets  that he wrote  about. He also tweeted about fellow journalist being chased and ducking and diving bullets and he also tweeted about something that really moved me , of which was his source getting shot , for me that was painful but I like the fact that he brought the Lonmin shootings so close to home. The way in which he tweeted made me feel like I was at Marikana already. I like the fact that he tweeted constantly and I was informed of the situation even if I was not close to a TV screen or radio.

These Journalists all had one thing in common they kept the public well informed about the Lonmin shooting , where more than 40 people were killed of which two were police officers. Although the more than 100 Lonmin mine workers were released from prison and the charges were dropped , Lonmin mine workers and mine unions are still having talks behind closed doors about wage increases.

These journalists really took advantage of ICT’s and new technology by using twitter as a tool to tweet and keep the public informed  about the issues that happen in and out of South Africa of which more and more journalists should do .Although at times I thought some were biased and subjective  but they made us feel as if we were at Marikana.

Why Citizen Journalism poses a threat to the Journalism Proffesion

Natasha Phiri -210288104

Citizen Journalism is a new form of Journalism. It encourages basically anyone, an average citizen to be active participants in creating  and sharing news, newsworthy events and information. Citizen journalism develops gradually with technology . With ICT’s on the rise citizen journalism is emerging .

Your average individual who is not a qualified journalist can post up news or newsworthy events on youtube, twitter, facebook, my space you name it. The interactive nature of the internet and digital media and technology  allows your average citizen to be active participants  in the creation of news and information .  An example of this would be the giant protests in Egypt in 2011 when the dictator  Hosni Mubarak was forced to quit as president of the nation. Egyptian citizens  decided to post   up what was really happening in Egypt  making the world at large aware of what was really happening in that nation at that particular time , because local Egyptian broadcasters which are government controlled were not broadcasting this .

As a young journalist  , citizen journalism poses a threat to my profession because I have to go to school and study and get my qualification , mean whilst normal citizens can share news and information , and they are automatically regarded as “citizen journalists” . Professional journalists are objecting to this term citizen journalism because it implies that professional journalists are not operating as citizens.

 Citizen Journalism also means that amateurs and people who are completely clueless about journalism can now write, record and cover stories. Is it honestly fair to categorize such people and call them journalists? Whilst we went to varsity, and were taught about ethics and how to report on news and cover stories.

Citizen journalism also gives the journalism profession and journalists as a whole a bad name . Some people may mislead the public by posting something up and you find that the information is incorrect or false or some facts were not verified . The public will assume that the person that posted up such information is a journalist and that results in us journalists losing our credibility. It also promotes some form of lazy journalism.

Because citizen journalists post their work on social networking sites , this means that the stories were posted outside the newsroom , which means that no one can edit their work or check the spelling and grammar. Another danger is that were do they get their information from? Is it from hearsay information? A source? A written document? And if so how do they verify their information and how do they know that it is true?

Mind you that there are some people who believe everything they read and think that everything from the internet is actually true. This can mislead a lot of people and in the end we get a bad name and we are deemed as not trustworthy. Citizen journalists may also be biased in writing their stories and not objective and in doing such they can influence the reader.

I strongly believe that citizen journalism is a threat to our profession and something needs to be done about it .It jeopardizes our profession , our name and our credibility.

Wgy citizen Journalism poses a threat to the Journalism Profession.

Natasha Phiri -210288104

Citizen Journalism is a new form of Journalism. It encourages basically anyone, an average citizen to be active participants in creating  and sharing news, newsworthy events and information. Citizen journalism develops gradually with technology . With ICT’s on the rise citizen journalism is emerging .

Your average individual who is not a qualified journalist can post up news or newsworthy events on youtube, twitter, facebook, my space you name it. The interactive nature of the internet and digital media and technology  allows your average citizen to be active participants  in the creation of news and information .  An example of this would be the giant protests in Egypt in 2011 when the dictator  Hosni Mubarak was forced to quit as president of the nation. Egyptian citizens  decided to post   up what was really happening in Egypt  making the world at large aware of what was really happening in that nation at that particular time , because local Egyptian broadcasters which are government controlled were not broadcasting this .

As a young journalist  , citizen journalism poses a threat to my profession because I have to go to school and study and get my qualification , mean whilst normal citizens can share news and information , and they are automatically regarded as “citizen journalists” . Professional journalists are objecting to this term citizen journalism because it implies that professional journalists are not operating as citizens.

 Citizen Journalism also means that amateurs and people who are completely clueless about journalism can now write, record and cover stories. Is it honestly fair to categorize such people and call them journalists? Whilst we went to varsity, and were taught about ethics and how to report on news and cover stories.

Citizen journalism also gives the journalism profession and journalists as a whole a bad name . Some people may mislead the public by posting something up and you find that the information is incorrect or false or some facts were not verified . The public will assume that the person that posted up such information is a journalist and that results in us journalists losing our credibility. It also promotes some form of lazy journalism.

Because citizen journalists post their work on social networking sites , this means that the stories were posted outside the newsroom , which means that no one can edit their work or check the spelling and grammar. Another danger is that were do they get their information from? Is it from hearsay information? A source? A written document? And if so how do they verify their information and how do they know that it is true?

Mind you that there are some people who believe everything they read and think that everything from the internet is actually true. This can mislead a lot of people and in the end we get a bad name and we are deemed as not trustworthy. Citizen journalists may also be biased in writing their stories and not objective and in doing such they can influence the reader.

I strongly believe that citizen journalism is a threat to our profession and something needs to be done about it .It jeopardizes our profession , our name and our credibility.

There’s more to news media than meets the eye .

So here I was thinking that news media was all about social networking sites like facebook, twitter and you tube but boy was I wrong. After reading chapter one and two of The introduction to new media I was enlightened.

New media as it turns out is more than social networking sites  or on-line news websites , it also consists of the 3C’s (Communication , Computing and Content ).New media can also be thought of as digital media.

It was interesting to know that the internet came about because there was an emergence and mass popularization so people saw that there was a need for the internet. usage has been on the rise especially in Africa .

New media  and the use the internet creates immediacy , such technological advances create “borderless” communication whereas people from all across the world can communicate with each other despite the time and the geographical location they find themselves in.

HAS SOUTH AFRICA EMPOWERED WOMEN TO VOICE OUT THEIR OPINIONS ON ISSUES THAT AFFECT THEM

It's been 18 years since South Africa has attained it's democracy but yet there are practices that are performed by the government by which raises questions about the rights of women in South Africa.


Has the South Africa empowered women to voice out their opinions on issues that affect them?
We went down town to find out what people had to say,Thandiswa Bikistwa of Ellererines said , "The government does not give women a platform to voice out their opinions , many women and children get abused but their voices are not heard."On the contrary  Gira Hattingh ,owner of KwamamGira super save store said that women are not given a platform to voice out their opinions ,"I feel that the empowerment for white and black women is very bad I know and I've witnessed too many foreigners  in this country, the revenue is taken by foreigners , ladies who have hawkers on the street cannot buy with the money they have because Somalians or Pakistani's in every corner , therefore us as women in South Africa have no place.

However, cope spokesperson in Grahamstown , Sfundo Mlinda is adamant that South African women are empowered to voice their opinions , he said ,"South African women are empowered to an extent that the regulatory framework , including the constitution provides so, to participate directly in the democratization of the country , to an extent that it is successful  we may not be in a position to claim that  indeed after seventeen years of democracy women are indeed in the mainstream of democratic  processes in South Africa".


While some people think that women are being given a platform to express themselves , there are those who still think that there's more to be done.

82 Zimbabwean Players suspended after allegations of match-fixing

The Zimbabwean Football Association has suspended 82 of it's players from playing soccer and representing it's country after they were involved in a match- fixing scandal of unsactioned games in Asia , which involve friendly  games against Asian teams like Thailand and Syria in 2008. The number has increased from 62 players to 82 some of these players include Lionel Mutizwa of Mamelodi Sundowns, Khama Billiant of Ajax Cape Town, Ovidy Karuru of the U.S Boulogne and JimmyJambo and Willard Katsonde of Kazier Cheifs.It is alleged that the players played for money and really didn't care if they won or lost .The suspension of these players will will affect their respective leagues.


Hearings will start next week and will end in March, players who are involved in the scandal will only be cleared after the hearing, In my opinion it's wrong  and those found guilty should be punished but yet again  lets look at this from both views why would they do such in the first place? Is it because they are underpaid? Or is it because they just selfish and want more money? Because they do get paid by their national teams and their respective clubs but yet again the question arises what ever happened to the days when soccer players used to play for the love of it and not for the money, fame or girls? Nowadays you  get people involved in match -fixing scandals. Is it also because we as African players like comparing ourselves to European players and their standards?