Introduction to Social Media Tools workshop

The third and final tweet-up on gender issues was held at frayintermedia training rooms in May. An initiative of Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) the tweet-up raises discussions on various issues affecting citizens leading up to the upcoming municipal elections.

Lisa Vetten of the Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre (TLAC) and Janine Hicks of Commission of Gender Equality (CGE) made up the panel. They raised quite a few issues regarding the importance of strong representation of women needed in our government as well various issues affecting women in these upcoming elections. According to Hicks it is worrisome that not even the DA – with three women on their elections posters – is really pushing gender issues in these next coming elections.

“There are different needs for the communities besides service deliveries”, she said.  Of these she mentioned issues like the high drop out rate of girls in schools, teenage pregnancies and abuse from pupils e.g. teachers, high mortality rate and HIV feminisation to name a few.  Hicks also pointed out the lack of women representation in our government as reason for the minimal interest with regards to issues relating and affecting women. “We don’t need just equal representation of women in parliament but also who these women are and what they will do for gender equality”, said Hicks.

Vetten raised the issue of accountability for promises made during the campaigning period.  “Elections aren’t the b-all and end-all. We have to hold politicians accountable and not just leave them alone for 5 years then bring up these important issues”.

She also stressed the importance of seeing women as equals to their male counterparts.  “I find it offensive when people question women candidate’s credentials and the same questions not asked of men. “If society recognised women are equal there would be no need for quotas – but reality this is not the case”, she said.

More comments on the tweet-up please follow @MediaMatterZA @GenderIssuesZA and look for the hashtag #MMAEAP on twitter.

What is the relevance of political reporting to the lives of people who feel far removed from politics? How can political reporting include the voices of those who are marginalised and on the outskirts of society, while competing with the sensational gossip of tabloids? Talking to people is a good place to start. Inspired by a recent conference on the rights and regulation of Africa’s media, Jackie Bischof writes for journalism.co.za on the relevance and worth of political reporting for South Africa’s marginalised. Speaking at a recent conference at Wits University on the rights and regulation of Africa’s media, Professor Tawana Kupe, Dean of Humanities at the university, discussed some of the characteristics of the media in Africa that were causing it to miss the mark in terms of its democratic role on the continent. Political and financial pressures, a lack of professionalism, a small, elite readership base and the overuse of news wires were some of the problems that had prevented media houses from emerging as powerful democratic forces in some countries.

In some respects the most worrying aspect of coverage – aside from the impact of political repression and censorship, which are major barriers – is a tendency for outlets to focus on news stemming from urban areas, generally involving a small powerful elite. This type of coverage invariably skews the way in which a society is represented in its media.

Speaking on a panel titled “Transformation and democratisation of the media,” Kupe described the role of the so-called ‘Fourth Estate’: “To inform citizens of their rights so that they can exercise them,” with a duty “towards citizens and not powerful political, economic, social and cultural interests.” The media should “challenge citizen’s prejudices, reinforcing progressive democratic values.”

But the reality is that “the media is a useful and escapist outlet for the elite whose small numbers can’t out-vote [entrenched power]. The media that reaches most people is the state broadcaster,” which often carries propaganda and denies the opposition a voice while simultaneously vilifying them. In a lot of media environments, “there is no developed community base.”

In spaces where there are no strong opposition parties who can voice criticism of the government, and where the government is so insecure in its position that it seeks to stifle debate and criticism, the media tends to become the unofficial opposition. This role can become so encompassing that the political reporting focuses on the missteps of government and the political of personality rather than the impact of government on ordinary citizens.

“As result, the media do not constitute a genuine public sphere – the autonomous space between the state and the market – for citizens,” said Kupe.

One organisation that has tried to tackle issues of limited coverage has been global news agency, Inter Press Service, whose director of the African region, Paula Fray, appeared on the same panel.

IPS endeavours to hire journalists that are from the country they are covering, and tries to ensure coverage is on a diverse range of topics and features a diverse range of voices.

Fray acknowledged the numerous financial, social and infrastructural challenges facing journalists in Africa. She said that “journalists on the continent don’t see how critical their role is,” and that a focus on finding stories that would attract as many eyeballs as possible invariably leads to a focus away from the somewhat technical and at times tedious work of covering the nuts and bolts of politics.

“How does the media encourage and facilitate debate?” asked Fray. “How do we use new media tools to encourage interactive discussion… to get citizens politically engaged …  [to cover] budget issues, policy issues, [to provide] access to information that allows them to make informed input in decisions?” she asked.

One of the things that journalists tend not to do is to quite simple. They don’t speak to people who are affected by politics; those who experience the trickle down effects of political and economic decisions. Speaking to people as opposed to getting insight from an expert in an office will entice “empathy with the reader, an emotional connection,” said Fray. Journalists need to “use citizen’s voices respectfully and in an interesting way instead of just using them as colour. When we do this we will find stories that connect across classes, genders and so on.”

“The media can’t tell people what to think, but it can provide a framework of what people should think about,” said Fray. “The biggest challenge is getting reporters to move away from reporting that favours the elite, to looking for voices of ordinary people.”

An example in motion –

For political researcher and advocacy coordinator of the national working group of the R2K campaign Sithembile Mbete, coverage of the Makahaza toilet scandal in 2010 was an example of how political reporting can focus on “petty party politicking” instead of a “substantive discussion of issues affecting people’s lives”.

“The situation was originally brought to the attention of the media after the ANCYL brought a complaint to the Human Rights Commission,” said Mbete. “It was hoped that the media attention would put the spotlight on the poor state of sanitation services in informal settlements and the danger it posed to residents of communities like Makhaza. For many people the basic act of going to the toilet is the most dangerous moment of their day as they risk being attacked on the way and face grave health risks from using ablution facilities often overflowing with raw sewerage.

“Instead of reporting the Makhaza toilet issue as one of service delivery and government accountability, the media instead chose to focus on the political battle that ensued between the DA and the ANCYL. By focussing on the statements of well-known political figures the media reduced a governance issue into petty politics and ignored the more important story about the quality of life of ordinary South Africans.”

One media outlet got it right, says Mbete. The Cape Times ran an article on sanitation in the RR section of Khayelitsha, which vividly described the daily dangers faced by residents trying to perform tasks that millions of South Africans take for granted – washing their clothes, cleaning their faces, going to the toilet.

“What works in this article is that it gives importance to the perspective of residents of that area without treating their experiences as just colour or background noise,” she said. “It also focuses on the issues without getting bogged down in the politics of which party is to blame. It gives a voice to those whose stories aren’t always told. I think it succeeds as political reporting because instead of focusing on the party politics that most people are tired of, it focuses on an actual issue that we would all be empathetic to- going to the toilet is a basic human function after all.”

Getting it right

The trick with political reporting is to balance dry and factual information with an effective explanation of why it should matter to people. This gap – between policy and the people– can be bridged, as Fray suggests, by using real-life examples that show the effect of political decisions.

But more than that, it’s about the media industry moving beyond complaints of lack of resources, time and interest on the part of advertisers and readers, to writing more stories on those on the outskirts of media attention. It’s about moving away from sensationalism and petty gossip to a more meaningful exploration of what powerful people’s choices are doing to other people’s lives – both positive and negative. This is what truly drives politics in the long-term and is the hallmark of quality and relevant media coverage.

ELEVEN ELEMENTS OF GOOD POLITICAL REPORTING FROM THE KNIGHT FOUNDATION

1.       It frames the story in ways that help people relate to the news and participate in democracy.

2.       It explains the background and context.

3.       It shows “Why the audience should care.”

4.       It highlights the effect of politics and political action on people.

5.       The lede cuts to the chase.

6.       It includes BASIC info – it doesn’t assume everyone understands the jargon.

7.       It uses all the good reporting techniques: Thoroughness. Details. Accuracy. Strong sources.

8.       It uses many different storytelling techniques: Hard-news style. Anecdotes.

9.       Human examples. Good quotes/soundbites.

10.       It helps people make informed decisions.

11.   It illuminates the democratic and political process.

The Social Justice Coalition works on sanitation and safety and security issues in Khayelitsha. Read more.

Read some examples of stellar political reporting from the U.S. and more tips from the Knight Foundation, based in Syracuse University in New York.

Direct link of article: http://journalism.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&Itemid=51&catid=92&id=3968&view=article