Balanced Reporting
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Presentation Transcript
Balanced Reporting Grocott’s Policy for Today and Tomorrow
Goals and Objectives • To generate policy that will positively influence and direct reporting at Grocott’s Mail • An analysis of the media environment that Grocott’s Mail exists within, with regard to Balanced Reporting.
Balanced Reporting • What is it? • What is it not • Challenges to Journalists • The How • Balance and Diversity
Research • Sampling • Methodology • Results: a) Quantitative b) Qualitative
Qualitative Data • What are the needs of the people of the Makana Municipality, and do you think they are being fairly represented in Grocott’s? • Are you being represented. What do you want to see? • Picture Quality? • How do you feel about Temporary Staff? • Rhodes owning part of paper?
The HRC • Investigation of allegations of racist reporting in the media • Bad Newsroom diversity • White top-down media ownership ensured people felt marginalised • Gender lines meant woman at the bottom and controlled by men
The HRC (cont.) • Stereotypical racialisation of media subjects • No plurality in media information • Black lives were seen to be either tragic or threatening ... and less worthy then white lives • Not deliberate use of stereotyping or racialisation ... but instead unconscious self-censorship from apartheid area
The HRC (cont.) • White paranoia about Black areas, resulting in black people doing 'black area' stories … and then white people getting credit and by-line.
Recommendations • Ensure newsroom diversity through employment of a diverse range of gender, culture and racially different demographics • Ensure that racism and racialisations don't enter the newsroom by being aware of terminology and focuses used
Recommendations (cont.) • Should create a balance between negative and positive stories • Should have an active role and understanding in community development and issues • Should ensure training and employment of local people so that local issues and the understanding of local issues goes beyond Rhodes students • Should look into either creating a separate language publication, or incorporating languages into the publication.
Recommendations (cont.) • Submission only printing was problematic if medium is English so allow reporters to do Vox Pops to allow for different languages and illiterate people to have their say