Blog review
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University is known to be the pillar and backbone of confused, young, zesty students trying to find their identity, enduring personal growth, learning independency, and ultimately get a taste of “life”. No parents, no headmasters, and no prefects, it’s your way or the high way. The RU scandalous blog (www.ruscandalous.blogspot.com)imagery encapsulates this idea precisely.
The colours are daring, bold, and adventures. Out in the big bad world, and away from parental guidance. The blog welcomes one with an image of the clock tower, which for me symbolises novel beginnings. However, the term “scandalous” has a sense of ambiguity. The images suggest outrageous, indecent behaviour, but the content proves other wise. The other understanding of the term “scandalous” suggests and re-enforces the idea of journalists driven and interested in the socio and political scandals of the world. Good use of imagery is used in most of the articles. However, it is very difficult to read as the writing is red and backgrounded by black.
The young cultures emporium blog (http://youngculturesemporium.blogspot.com/ ) has made use of simplicity rather that boldness. The blog is neatly coordinated. However, the blog could have made use of more images to accompany their stories.
Both the blogs have made use of the hard news reporting style, but especially the opinion style. Greater attention should be given to colour use, imagery, and not to come across as too informal.
Friday, October 30, 2009
read a blog, forget books, a review on journ1 blogs
Motorcycle crash course.. emphasis on the crash.
By Michael Moodie g09m2875
Riding a motorbike is something I have always wanted to do but just never quite had the chance. “We're never going to buy you a bike,” my parents told me. “We don't want you to become a big smudge in the middle of the road.” I've never given much heed to my motorbike dreams since then, not until I had a knock on my door and an offer to learn to ride.
I felt pretty apprehensive at first. When I was a kid I had always imagined riding a motorbike was like riding a very big bicycle. After my first try at getting the bike to move however, I found that there was much more to it than just that. Clutch left hand, front brake right hand, gears left foot, back brake right foot.. it is a lot to remember for someone who used to sit on his bicycle, “Vroom, vroom!!” and then ride off as fast as he could. After several tries and only two stalls later, I was off and moving at what felt like break-neck-speeds, but what the speedometer told me was actually 20 k's and hour. It was an accomplishment none-the-less, and from there on I only got better.
Eventually, after I had finally mastered moving the bike in the right direction, we decided to move on to dirt roads. It was much more challenging technically, but there was much less chance of me riding into something. I had started to master riding the bike well, and despite the sand and gravel sliding beneath my tires, I managed to stay on and look ever-so-slightly as though I knew what I was doing.
Riding that motorbike was an experience that I will never forget, and hopefully it is an experience I will have again. It gave me a sense of freedom and exhilaration that I had never felt before. One day I might just run the risk of becoming a smudge in the road and buy myself my own bike.
A Gem of a First Year Blog
Being a Journalism one student is by no means a pleasant walk in the park. With so many deadlines and specifications sometimes it is hard to put your all into one task. However, after sifting through various blogs, I found one that is truly inspiring: Journ-Inside Out.
Journ-Inside Out has a very attractive format. It resembles what a Journalists table would probably look like. The white background and black text makes the blog posts very reader friendly. There is lots of colour that inspires creativity. On the right hand side of the blog the creators have put information containing what their blog is about, relating websites that would interest the reader of this particular blog, fun quotes aimed at Journalists, and even a game. These little suggestions automatically create a closer bond with the reader and demonstrate purely, by their presence, that the authors of this blog care about their fellow readers.
The information content in Journ-Inside Out is of an extraordinary range. The authors of this blog have really taken pride and interest in filling their blog with information that pertains to first year Journalist and to educating them about current events. The articles cover a wide range of different topics such as politics, poverty, class, life worth, and even waitressing.
If you have not yet indulged yourself in the sweet treats of this blog, I highly recommend that you do so. There is so much to look forward to.
The Life of a Rhodent is a Life for Me
Inside the Union Club, mixture of my Rhodes friends and Nalson Mandela Metropolitan University friends having a good time.
So the bet was on. Two of my Grahamstown buddies and I packed our bags, loaded up my car, and headed off to PE to experience the party life of a Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University student. This was a task that we knew was going to take us out of our comfort zone, but had to be done to prove a point. During the first night we found ourselves being mocked and judged because we where Rhodes students in a PE world. Although the mocking was light and very sarcastic it made us feel tremendously out of place and looked down on. However, us being the true Rhodens we are, pushed this aside, and put on our partying shoes. First up was a club called the College. The people where grossly overdressed, the music was average, and the friendliness of the people, non-existent. We ended up going home at 12 and my mates from PE thought this was an absolute joll. Second night, we were faced with the same story. They thought this club, the Collage, was the most hectic place on earth.
My two Rhodent friends and I noticed the cliques of people that stuck together in the club. People were not open and friendly like in Grahamstown. The whole vibe and mentality of the people was also different. We noticed how many girls flaunted their high hill shoes and uncomfortable clothing all in the name of fashion. That’s when I realized that Rhodes is really laid back in comparison. We do not necessarily worry too much about what we wear as long as we have a good time. We also don’t worry as much about flaunting our valuables is order to gain status for what we own. The students of Rhodes just all mesh together and become equals in a vibe that is like no other.
Our stay in PE ended that Monday morning. A weekend was long enough in the city of PE and we were ready to head back to our beloved Grahamstown. Port Elizabeth is not a horrible place, but the vibe of Grahamstown is so much more welcoming. The people are friendly and laid back, the clubs all unique in their own ways, and to my surprise I learned we know how to handle our alcohol consumption; and are not afraid to experiment with the cheap stuff like Crackling.
Our turn was over; it was now time for my friends from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University to pull their weight. When Inter-varsity time rolled around I gave my friends from PE a call. They came through and joined us Rhodents in one of the most legend parties known to student kind. They found themselves lying in, gutters, scoring random people, and much to my disgust puking on my kitchen floor.
When the discussion of whose University had the best parties came about, there was no argument. Rhodes had defiantly taken the trophy. My friends commented on the hospitality of the fellow Rhodent’s, the ability to make a party wherever they went, and of course the ability to hold the unnatural amount of alcohol and still function semi-normal. All in all, my uncomfortable experience in PE helped me realise that my university, Rhodes, has some of the best parties around, and for that I am proud.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
True Grit
Wana bs dilemma
A blog is successfull by primarily the quality and quantity of its content however other side dishes entice the reader such as its layout , style , use of multimedia and when all of this is brought together how controversial the blog is . The blog Wanna.b.Journos ( http://www.wannabjournos.com/ ) is a blog which in aspects of this fails whilst in other aspects exceeds creating a dilemma for any potential reader. The content of this blog is varied ranging from well written critical anlyses of local and International controversial topics to excessivley personnel and slightly mundane experiences of the bloggers. The blog is filled with articulatley written pieces on issues concerning not only readers in Grahamstown but readers from across the globe and includes posts ranging from racism at Rhodes University to Barack Obama's Nobel peace prize. However this content is often personell almost to the extent of a stream of consciousness which detracts from the professionalism of the blog and bores the already inattentive readers. The layout of the blog echoes what it is about and who is writing giving the reader an immediate sense of what they are going to be reading. Multimedia included in this blog is lacking and the use of more photographs as well as video clips would enhance the readers experience. This blog has various admirable qualities could be enhanced to become like the blog Heavy Chefs ( http://www.heavychefs.com/ ) using large amounts of multimedia and keeping all content topic specific.
Monday, October 26, 2009
students pay doctors for laziness- the predicament of LOA's
Zama khumalo
Tweet: “Is it fair for others to pay themselves out of academic work?
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The "Duly Performed" rule applies to all academic departments at Rhodes University. Students are obliged to meet the DP requirements of each department. However, for some students the term DP and LOA (leave of absence letter) also stands for “I can pretend to be sick, because I can afford for a doctor to confirm me sick, when I am not”. Acquiring a leave of absence letter is made easier for students who can afford medical aid in Grahamstown.
It has come to my attention, disappointment and dismay at the number of students who miss their tutorials, and seek for a test or assignment extension, because they depend on a doctor’s certificate.
When the pressure is mounting and academic demands are escalating, students will turn to their medical aids for a doctor’s note to sign them off. Have you ever wondered why students who never attend tutorials, or hand in assignments on time still have their DP’s without warnings?
If you don’t have a doctor to pay you off, for lectures, tutorials and assignments in Grahamstown, then you are really out of luck, because the Sanatorium doesn’t dish out ‘leave of absence letters’ like hot cakes.
It is unfair and unjust that students who do not have medical aid and are rejected at the Sanatorium for a leave of absence, have to suffer the consequences of not having an LOA. We have all heard the saying “it’s chilled; I’ll just go the doctor and cough once or twice to get an LOA”.
I don’t have a solution for this increasingly common predicament amongst students, but university should aim to level the playing fields.
Are You in Control, or Does Racism Control You
Racism in South African Universitie's is a problem that has recently drawn a lot of media attention. In August, during inter-varsity, on my very own university campus (Rhodes), a student allegedly shouted out the derogatory term, nigger, at Prof Fakson Banda and his family whilst they where driving by in their car. In another case, at the University of the Free State, 4 students made a video of a group of black workers being instructed to drink beer, dance and play rugby, and also eat food that was allegedly urinated on.
It is sad that years after apartheid we are still dealing with discrimination amoungst our people based purly on the colour of one's skin. I think it is unacceptable and childish. Racism should be treated with zero tolerance. We all have the same needs and wants such as: shelter, food, love and acceptance. For one race to think and act like they are superior to another is ridiculous.
Sadly, incidenes like these are not only limited to universities, they are prevalent around the world. How long will we let such shallow assumptions and stereotypes rule us? I think that we should all learn from the mistakes of our forefathers and strive for a future were everyone is equal and free of the poison, racism, that is dividing our nations.
Related topics:
http://www.grocotts.co.za/content/racism-still-haunts-rhodes-28-08-2009
http://www.sabcnews.com/portal/site/SABCNews/menuitem.5c4f8fe7ee929f602ea12ea1674daeb9/?vgnextoid=966024152c064210VgnVCM10000077d4ea9bRCRD&vgnextfmt=default
Age of Ambivalence
Danielle Bowler .
In a society where poverty is ever present and experiences of it are had it is not the state of the world which we should blame but look inwards at ourselves. This thought was triggered by the book I am currently reading called 'the bang bang club' by Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva. This book is a commentary on award wining photographs taken by the authors and their peers and highlights the post 1990 violence in South Afica whos memory has been lost in the 21st century (Photos viewed at http://www.joaosilva.co.za/ ).The dominant theme throughout this book is the indiffernce of the majority of white South Africans continued their lives in ambivalence of the mass organised violence. Following this trail of thought process I realized my generations ambivalence to the poverty of the majority of South Africans which , to an extent, has been caused by apartheid. As young journalists we need to engage with the needy support the poor and uplift the impoverished. To step out of the bubles of comfort in which we live and confront the poverty. Every world citizen encounters such povert but by wriding ourselves of this ambivilence and apathy we will find a solution and learn from the likes of Marinovich and Silva.
In the interests of reconciliation...
By Michael Moodie g09m2875
Looking back several years, I remember feeling the same sense of disgust and revulsion as I do now at what was done to the workers at the University of the Free State. I remember peering at the newspaper, seeing the humiliation to which the workers were subjected, and feeling sick to pit of my stomach.
Now, as back then, that feeling has returned although for an entirely different reason altogether. "In a gesture of racial reconciliation and the need for healing," said the new Vice Chancellor to the university, "the disciplinary charges against the four accused students will be dropped." As I read these words, I felt the sick in my stomach slowly begin to boil. When these four Afrikaans students decided to humiliate and demean the black workers in the way that they did, they spat in the face of reconciliation. Why is it that it should be reconciliation that saves them from punishment? What they did was unforgivable and they should suffer the consequences for it.
There is a time and a place for forgiveness, healing and reconciliation, but this is not it. South Africa has become too concerned with race relations to see that the actual crime committed here is a crime against our fellow man. Ignore race and ignore colour and see the bare fact here is that no human being should be treated in this way.
Once again Jonathan Shapiro has got it dead right. His latest cartoon in the Mail&Guardian says all that I have just said using no words at all:
Monday, October 19, 2009
A Cry to Save the World
How much longer will we turn a blind eye on the crisis destroying our world? Planet Earth houses us, feeds us, and keeps us alive, in return we poison it. Recent reports have been challenging us to pay more attention to this global crisis, and I agree. When we burn fossil fuels, greenhouse gasses are released into the atmosphere, which adds to the crisis of global warming.
Greenpeace has done recent studies proving that South Africa alone can reduce its annual greenhouse gas emissions by more than 200 million tons by 2050 without hindering the economic growth of the country. This can be done by making use of more solar and wind powered appliances. Also we can start being more conscious of our electricity usage and make sure we use it more efficiently.
Also making headlines is a song titled Beds'r Burning, featuring 55 famous celebrities. The song is mainly directed at world leaders, and focuses on raising awareness on the issue of global warming in order to bring them together and come up with a plan on how they can reduce the issue of global warming .This idea came from the Geneva-based Global Humanitarian Forum and was released on October the 1st in Paris.
I think with all this awareness being raised about global warming, the eye’s of the world could be opened before it is too late. It is up to us to decide if we are going to help play a part in reducing the amount of exerted greenhouse gasses or add to the detriment of our planet Earth.
Sources and related news articles:
http://www.climateark.org/globalwarmingcrisis/
http://www.health24.com/news/Enviro_Health_/1-1308,52912.asp
http://www.globalwarmingheartland.org/
http://www.news24.com/Content/Entertainment/International/1044/9902c259e9ff4476ae6743aff69db655/15-09-2009-11-56/55_celebs_for_climate_change
Something is seriously amiss..
Article abstract from: The Mail&Guardian newspaper
Headline: "DA warns against pardon for Shabir Shaik"
After nineteen years spent living in South Africa, I find that it takes a lot to shock and disturb me. Corruption and bribery have become just another part of everyday life in South Africa and like me, many other people have learned just to accept it. There was a rare moment of justice however, when Shabir Shaik was convicted for fraud and sent to prison. It was a small step towards justice, but it was a step none-the-less.
In the article I found in the Mail&Guardian, I read that Shabir Shaik had applied for a presidential pardon as long ago as April 2008. Over a year ago, a convicted fraudster applies for a presidential pardon, and for over a year the rejection letter that ought to have been sent back to him has been left unmailed. What is the ruling party waiting for? There should be no debate whatsoever as to what should be done. The small bit of me that still cares and still longs for justice stirred.. for just a moment.. and then subsided back into the depths of realisation that there is virtually nothing I can do to stop it. I have become too complacent to care and too accustomed to injustice in South Africa to bother to lift a finger. If I am the youth of South Africa today, what of the children of tomorrow?
(http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-10-19-da-warns-against-pardon-for-schabir-shaik)
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The prevelance of the 'status quo' in articles
Article abstracted from: Daily News:
Headline: “Drug mule mom finally home”
“I've paid my dues, I am stronger, and I have changed my ways for the better”, typically those are words of an ex rebellious, defiant adolescent. Was that a bold, unfair, stereotypical, statement? Truth is, if we did not live in a world that perpetuates the status quo, ideologies and stereotypes, the story of a drug dealer mom would not have made headline news.
Joeleene Phillips is a mother of two, who arrived back in South Africa on Wednesday after serving almost three years in a Brazilian prison, for smuggling 3kg of cocaine in 2006.
Somehow the status quo does not concur that a white, middle class, South African mother can be involved in drug trafficking. Even though Philips eventually admitted that she was aware that she was transporting drugs, society would typically blame the Nigerian boyfriend, who fled after her arrest, for luring her into this shameful, dodgy activity.
We have all figured by now, that news is influential on public opinion in a range of specific and measurable ways. Therefore depending on how the story is told, the quotes chosen, information presented and whose point of view is represented, the story may promote a certain point of view. The story has taken a sympathetic approach, highlighting on sensational and emotionally expressive phrases and quotes. The information presented is largely Phillips ‘moving’ opinions.
This re-enforces the idea of stereotyping ethnicity's, genders and class positions in society. To some extent, the act of Phillips was deviant from the usual societal standards and expectations. Therefore it is written in a remorseful, repentant manner. The images used also bind this suggestion. Because of these ideological subconscious ideas being reflected in this article, Phillips story may come as natural, accepted and preferred in society.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=vn20091015104153497C578411&set_id=1&click_id=13&sf=
Images
http://gallery.iol.co.za/v/iolnews/Drug+mule+mom+comes+back+home+14_10_2009/
The not so Wonderful Wizard of ASA
Lying seems to have become a cliche amongst not only South African politicians but also her sports associates and bosses. Leonard Chuene , the boss of Athletics South Africa (ASA) is one who is perpetuating this stereotype as evidence has been revealed of his lies surrounding gender tests done on Caster Semenya prior to the Athletics World Championship. The Mail and Guardian article (http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-09-18-semenya-saga-chuenes-trail-of-lies#comments ) called " Semenya saga : Chuene's trail of lies" provided evidence stating that not only did ASA conduct gender tests on Semenya prior to the Berlin Athletics World Championships 2009 but that the results were not what they should be, two facts that Chuene strongly denied. The Zapiro cartoon ( http://www.mg.co.za/zapiro/fullcartoon/2282 ) encompasses the 'saga' in a broader sense displaying a humorous yet blatant reaction to the actions of the Australian press , the IAAF and ASA whilst highlighting Semenya's innocence. Fittingly Zapiro plays on the Wizard of OZ, and yes this story could very well be a fairytale , that is a fairy tale with a gratuitous hermaphrodite and without the hero and happy ending. This cartoon highlights how each organisation by lack of a fundamental human organ has created a nightmare for Semenya , stressing their inhumanity. The bottom line amongst all the pointing of fingers and slinging of feces is that ASA lied causing Semenya irreparable damage and should meet the consequence of their actions. This virtue which could be recited by a five year old , has yet to sink into the skull of ASA.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
