Ask almost any seasoned editor the main challenges in running a newsroom today and he will probably mention a shortage of experienced journalists.
It’s an issue that continues to plague the industry despite efforts by the likes of the South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) and the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) to try and find solutions.
“One of the common criticisms that I hear from many foreign African correspondents is that South African journalists do not ask probing questions at press conferences,” says Raymond Louw, former editor of the legendary anti-apartheid Rand Daily Mail newspaper.
“It’s as if they do not want to embarrass the people being questioned or themselves. They seem to shy away from asking questions that might make them unpopular,” adds Louw, who was the paper’s editor for 10 years and now serves on the board of Misa.
Beeld editor Peet Kruger says the situation has not improved since a Sanef report four years ago warned that journalists at entry level have a poor general knowledge, causing shallow and inaccurate reporting.
“The issue of juniorisation in the media is severe,” adds Kruger. “It has worsened in the past few years and that can be attributed to a combination of factors. One of the reasons in Beeld‘s case has been the fast growth in the economy in general and in the number of newspaper and magazine titles.
“It has meant that experienced journalists have a lot more career opportunities than before. The number of publications is increasing and so are public relations companies and all of them are drawing from the same pool. While the number of media and PR jobs has increased, the pool of talent has not grown at the same pace.”
In the past four years alone, at least 10 publications have been launched, the bulk of them by Media24. While the three newspapers – ThisDay, Die Wêreld and Nova – met their demise soon afterwards, who could forget how former ThisDay editor Justice Malala was poached from the Sunday Times and made the highest paid editor in the country?
While the defection of journalists into the private sector is nothing new, the post-1994 era has seen a large number of good black journalists leaving the profession for lucrative posts as government spin doctors.
Among these are former Sowetan editor John Dludlu who is now Transnet’s spokesman and senior South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) television reporter Clayson Monyela who is the new Public Service and Administration department spokesman, and former Business Report‘s journalist Mokgadi Pela who took over from SABC head of news and current affairs Snuki Zikalala as the labour department spokesperson.
Stellenbosh University’s head of the journalism department postgraduate programme, professor Lizette Rabe, says the gaps left by departing journalists are not being filled.
“While the juniorisation of the newsroom is not a new phenomenon, it has always been balanced by the presence of seniors in the newsrooms. But now it seems most of them have moved on in search of better salaries and working conditions, and there have not been enough people in the middle coming in to fill those positions.”
But Primedia Broadcasting’s head of news and current affairs, Yusuf Abramjee, says this should be seen as a challenge.
“We shouldn’t look at it as a problem but a challenge to ensure that whatever skills these juniors acquire they pass them on to those after them. While age is something that can be debated, it shouldn’t be held against them,” he says.
Europe-based media manager, journalist and CEO of Mineweb, Jenny Luesby, says the juniorisation of newsrooms does not appear to be a big concern in other countries.
“I don’t think we are seeing a juniorisation in journalism. It is an industry where there tends to be a predominance of younger professionals. I think this is natural. It is not a well-paid profession, but also it is mission-driven,” she says, adding that her comments only relate to her speciality – business journalism.
“People enter journalism, by and large, because they want a job they love and that they believe in, rather than because it will set them up well to buy a house and feed the family. This can mean that once the financial pressures are greater, and perhaps the sense of mission has waned, many transfer their journalism skills to other better-paid areas, such as PR, research posts and corporate analysis.”
Luesby says however that what has changed is the journalism profession losing senior staff sooner. “The best newsrooms I have seen always understand the value of and have a number of key older journalists.”
Rabe says this is indeed a challenge, especially given that most journalists now remain in the profession for four to five years before moving on to greener pastures, making no allowance for skills transfer.
“In a growing and developing media environment like we have in South Africa, we must accept that juniorisation in newsrooms is a fact. That does not say it is negative as we have a very special community and a continuous culture of change dominating the everyday life of everyone,” says Pedro Diederichs, head of Tshwane University of Technology’s journalism department.
“New ideas and new energy thrive in such an environment and that is where juniorisation can become an asset. But it has to be managed.”
Paddi Clay, head of Johncom Pearson Graduate Training Programme, says their challenge is not only training graduates but also newsroom editors who are often reluctant to give their specialist writers time to train others.
“I guess it’s because editors in general are getting younger and most of them are still trying to find their way and therefore often feel uneasy about releasing their specialist reporters in case something happens.”
Media24 last year spent more than R600,000 on bursaries for journalism students. Upon completion of their studies, the graduates are placed at the company’s newspaper and magazine divisions.
“The turnover of staff in the prevailing transformation and equity climate is another field that will have to receive urgent attention. Better remuneration for talented journalists will stop the poaching of excellent staff by government departments for one,” says Diederichs.
The focus on the juniorisation makes one wonder whether the local media industry ever had a golden era given that this issue is nothing new.
Louw, Abramjee and Clay say the pre-1994 period in South Africa can be regarded as one where local journalists proved to among the bravest in the world.
“Journalists then were faced with many challenges including a hostile government, not just an irritated government but a hostile one,” says Louw. “But despite this, their degree of enterprise and determination to get the story was very apparent.”
FinWeek editor Rikus Delport believes South Africa has some of the best journalists in the world.
“They are constantly faced with some of the toughest challenges and have, despite this, managed to keep the public informed on all important matters. One just has to look at the quality of investigative journalism and some of the stories that have recently been published to realise that they don’t have to stand back for their international peers.”
Beeld‘s Kruger says he prefers to see the ‘Golden Era’ as the future if the industry invests wisely in continuous training.
Although fingers have been pointed at tertiary institutions in the past, it is clear that the blame cannot be laid at one party’s door step.
Rapport editor Tim du Plessis believes the success of an intern or junior reporter has more to do with natural talent, self-motivation, a willingness and ability to learn, enthusiasm and integrity.
“These traits, much more than the university or technikon from which they graduated, determine whether they will make it in journalism or not.”