Media Update | What’s the deal with slow journalism?
In the era of fast-paced news and media houses rushing to be the first to break a story, slow journalism is a break from that norm, bringing readers exactly what it says – slow journalism. This sort of journalism goes beyond the story, unpacking it properly for readers and following it up. This gives time-constrained, under-resourced journalists the time to do a deep dive of stories they previously would not have been able to do and also offers readers better quality journalism. The article explains this in more detail here.
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Daily Maverick | The role of citizen journalism in our connected world
The availability of smartphones and the growth of social media have made it easier for ordinary people to become citizen journalists. Citizen journalism has also made it easier to mobilise movements such as South Africa’s #FeesMustFall, #FreeZuma, and the worldwide support of #BlackLivesMatter. This piece argues that this democratisation of media is a boon to the media but it can also be dangerous in fanning the flames of hate and spreading fake news and misinformation, thus the need for experienced editors to maintain quality control. Read more here.
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TechCrunch | Social media platforms restricted in Zambia amidst ongoing elections
Zambians are up in arms after the government seemingly blocked the use of WhatsApp and other social media platforms amid ongoing elections. This was further confirmed by internet monitoring agency Netblocks who said internet service providers had restricted users’ access to these platforms. This article looks at how the government in Zambia and other African countries continues to use the internet against voters to slow the spread of important information in an election. Read more here.
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Journalism.co.uk | Five tools every journalist should try this year
This helpful guide offers journalists a variety of tools to help make their work easier whether they are working from home or back at the office. These tools include a platform where journalists are able to speed up the process of finding reliable interview sources and a live-streaming platform designed specifically for Facebook and YouTube. Read more here.
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News24 | Protecting Women Journalists
This article breaks down incidences where women journalists have been attacked and look at potential solutions to prevent it. The article noted that protecting women against violence or attacks is essential to protecting democracy and media freedom. Journalism plays an essential role in freedom of expression but for women journalists who are threatened offline and online, it results in women being silenced which threatens the very freedom that journalism represents or stands for. | Read more about this here
