So the way the SABC/M&G story is playing out is testament to the usefulness of having a news website. On Friday night, the SABC chose to report on TV news that the applicant who had brought the interdict order said the newspaper had disregarded the court ruling in a most disgraceful manner.

Sheesh! I just don't get the SABC. The Mail & Guardian has done a terrific job reporting on "explosive final draft of an internal report into alleged corruption, abuse of power and intimidation at the South African Broadcasting Corporation". You'll have to buy today's paper to read more as the story's not on the website. And only parts of the story are in the paper as a judge granted a last-minute interdict against the paper.

Here at WJEC - AMIC, a group of us brainstormed some of the issues, which I’ve distinguished and elaborated a little.

Here’s the wisdom: For the digital age, journalism education should take account of:

1. What j-teachers need to know – creating an influential statement about what digital competencies are needed from ALL faculty.

2. What students need to know and do from (digital) journalism education, including preparation for jobs that don’t even currently exist

What to do about the sad state of unionism amongst South African journalists? This was the conversation I had today with International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) leader Aidan White (pic below).

My explanation for the state-of-play is that it’s a journalists’ job-market – so that classic labour issues of pay, conditions and security are not pressing. An unhappy journo today can find alternative workplaces with ease – in advertising, corporate or government comms, in NGOs and in educational institutions.

This refers to my research articles on the subject

Critical review of MMP research into Racism and Xenophobia (ppt) (2007)

Articles assessing media ten years into democracy
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