Comments on: Grovel time

By: Costa de leew

Costa de leew — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 10:43:21 +0000

Firstly i think you deserved what you got. You definitely could have approached/addressed this in the right way. As a black person I feel this is definitely an insult to the people you mentioned in your blog.
I once again just see a whining white person, who will complain about AA, BEE and all that. What you are actually saying is that those black journo’s should not have been hired in the first place if they are not able to do their work/speak and write English.

Very typical of a white people who never want’s to share in the resources of this country.

By: Vincent Maher - Media in Transition » Sowetan journalist fired for blogging

Vincent Maher - Media in Transition » Sowetan journalist fired for blogging — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:05:51 +0000

[...] think, as I do, that the decision to fire Kriel was a little harsh, especially since he’d published a type of apology. Don’t get me wrong, this post is not a rant or a moralistic condemnation – the situation is [...]

By: Sandra

Sandra — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:04:48 +0000

And hopefully shooting the messenger wont help Thabo Mbeki either – Polokwane here we come!!

By: Marian

Marian — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:39:21 +0000

As an former journalist I understood your need to vent your anger at the responsibility you bear in getting literate, clearly communicated news out to the audience under tight deadlines. It helps if your colleagues sweat as hard as you do to get their copy right before it hits your desk. But, as always, the people who need to read your piece are unlikely to. Newspaper managements have always under-invested in journalists. One fatous old fart famously said that he could pull anyone out of the gutter and make them a reporter. For the responsibility they bear, journalists are woefully under-trained and supported. It’s assumed that journalism is in the DNA of some really odd people. You’re dumped in the job and told to get on with it, picking up what techniques you can from your colleagues. Used car salesmen get more training than journalists do.
I hope you feel better, Llewellyn, having got that off your chest. And I hope your colleagues will appreciate that they also have to try harder to carry their end of the can. But most of all, I hope – vainly – that newspaper managements realise that they’re part of the problem and need to get seriously involved in producing better-quality journalists if their money-making machines are to have any credibility.
Take a hug to ease your brusing and vented spleen. You’re not alone.