Thursday, August 11, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
BACK WITH A BANG!!!
I made a promise to keep my blog updated no matter what, even when the course that administrated my blog had ended, this is me keeping my promise. well for starters my holidays were great I honestly had so much fun with close friends and family, but sadly I had to get back to University and get on with my degree. seeing my old friends has been great and I look forward to yet another challenging year, in every aspect of the word.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
VIDEO CONFERENCE WITH UCDAVIS
Thembisa urged us to participate in a video conference with the University of California Davis, and I took part as well,Besides being over shadowed and intimidated by third year students I actually had a lot of fun. I learned completely things such as what they have going on for them, like the proposed net neutrality which is aimed at providing internet access to every citizen at the same rate. The only difference is that those that who would like faster connections would have to pay more, the debate with this proposed net neutrality is that companies that provide internet access will control searches by making certain pages that they like pop up faster than others. Therefore they limit searches and they can control the results that people receive after a certain search. We shared some of the issues that we face as well and they were very interested in the Media Appeals Tribunal as well as on how we feel about, and on our level of access to the internet and on the newspapers that as well on what we generally do on the net. It was a really great experience and I'm honestly glad that I went.
Stay SAFE ONLINE!!
WEEK ELEVEN
This week we had to interview people regarding the Media Appeals Tribunal in order to get the views of societies around us as well as people who might have profound opinions, but who are not in the lime light. I must say I felt like an investigative journalist and it felt really nice, I actually felt what they go through when they are trying to get a story. Interviewing people was tough, because for some, we discovered after the interview that they didn't want to have their pictures taken so it was kind of a drag because some were really great during the interview and to only discover later that they do not want their picture taken. Overall all though I had a really great experience and some really inspiring conversations with people, the MAT may have some disastrous consequences for our Country but I certainly enjoyed investigating about it.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
PICTURES OF PEOPLE WE INTERVIEWED
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| Me and Nokuzola, a first year Media and communication student. |
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| Me with an ANCYL Rep |
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| Me, Pamela and Thobeka, a third year Economics student |
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| Andrew and Thapelo from the DA with me in the middle |
Draft of PUBLISHING THE UNPUBLISHED News Article in our news portal
The Media Appeals Tribunal
Group: The Incredibles
Members:
Cassandra Nkomo
Buntu Ngcuka
Pamela Sandekela
Much controversy has surrounded the Media Appeals Tribunal (MAP) some newspapers have called it unconstitutional, because they believe that it goes against our Bill of rights since it limits the freedom of newspapers to express themselves and provide the public with thorough unbiased and informative information. Their publications would have to go along with the regulations Proposed by the MAP which means that they would avoid publishing articles that they would have to account for at a later stage. It’s safe to say that South Africa’s media industry has never had as big a shake-up as the recent proposal of the Media Appeals Tribunal. The lines have been drawn and there are clearly only two opposing sides on the matter – the political figures that are for it, and the journalists and editors of print media (which is the form of media to be largely affected by it) that are against it.
Over 36 of South Africa’s biggest editors and publishers signed a declaration against the MAT stating that it threatens free expression, while President Jacob Zuma questions the media, asking “is the media a mirror of South African society?” and instructing it to “seriously conduct an introspection and open a constructive debate about the role of this institution in a post Apartheid South Africa".
Shingirai Maparura states that “while media sees the MAT as the death of democracy, the Government asserts that the MAT is aimed at strengthening democracy”. The Government’s statement is a pure contradiction on the Bill of Rights it has set up itself as well as what the ANC fought so hard for during the Apartheid era: democracy in its true essence does not only begin and end with the country’s citizens electing a ruling party. It also includes complete freedom of expression for all, including the media, and complete transparency and a platform for the general public to criticize, approve and debate the actions of government officials. They do, after all, affect us, the people.
So what exactly do some of “the people” think of the MAT? “I think it’s a reflection of how dumb the people in government think we are,” says ZamaNdosi Cele, a fellow media student at the University. “They think we aren’t educated enough to see that, for example, when millions go missing, they are the ones responsible because they’ll be the ones buying cars worth R2 million, when there are still children that attend school under trees. Maybe it’s because young people aren’t interested anymore, and older people feel it is no concern of theirs but people need to wake up and smell the coffee.”
So are the most educated people, eligible to question such actions truly not interested, or do they feel they do not have a voice to speak? Check any random Facebook profiles of, say, 16 to 25 year olds and in the “Political” details section, you’re likely to find things like “Huh?”, “Not interested”, “What a load of bull”, “I find it all boring” or a blank space. “I think that people aren’t reaching out to the youth, even though we are the future of this country. No one cares to ask us how we feel, what we think. We are just told from a young age that all other [political] parties are evil and sometimes our parents don’t care either,” says Nothando Gina, who studies Political Sciences at the University.
Their publications would have to go along with the regulations Proposed by the MAP which means that they would avoid publishing articles that they would have to account for at a later stage. As a group we interviewed a couple of people regarding this matter and their views will be incorporated in this article.
We have heard how major publications and various individuals feel about this Tribunal but unfortunately the views of students, lecturers and professors in various fields have not been published. People who will have to be educated under restricted media and professors who will have to provide quality education under restricted media .
Group: The Incredibles
Members:
Cassandra Nkomo
Buntu Ngcuka
Pamela Sandekela
Much controversy has surrounded the Media Appeals Tribunal (MAP) some newspapers have called it unconstitutional, because they believe that it goes against our Bill of rights since it limits the freedom of newspapers to express themselves and provide the public with thorough unbiased and informative information. Their publications would have to go along with the regulations Proposed by the MAP which means that they would avoid publishing articles that they would have to account for at a later stage. It’s safe to say that South Africa’s media industry has never had as big a shake-up as the recent proposal of the Media Appeals Tribunal. The lines have been drawn and there are clearly only two opposing sides on the matter – the political figures that are for it, and the journalists and editors of print media (which is the form of media to be largely affected by it) that are against it.
Over 36 of South Africa’s biggest editors and publishers signed a declaration against the MAT stating that it threatens free expression, while President Jacob Zuma questions the media, asking “is the media a mirror of South African society?” and instructing it to “seriously conduct an introspection and open a constructive debate about the role of this institution in a post Apartheid South Africa".
Shingirai Maparura states that “while media sees the MAT as the death of democracy, the Government asserts that the MAT is aimed at strengthening democracy”. The Government’s statement is a pure contradiction on the Bill of Rights it has set up itself as well as what the ANC fought so hard for during the Apartheid era: democracy in its true essence does not only begin and end with the country’s citizens electing a ruling party. It also includes complete freedom of expression for all, including the media, and complete transparency and a platform for the general public to criticize, approve and debate the actions of government officials. They do, after all, affect us, the people.
So what exactly do some of “the people” think of the MAT? “I think it’s a reflection of how dumb the people in government think we are,” says ZamaNdosi Cele, a fellow media student at the University. “They think we aren’t educated enough to see that, for example, when millions go missing, they are the ones responsible because they’ll be the ones buying cars worth R2 million, when there are still children that attend school under trees. Maybe it’s because young people aren’t interested anymore, and older people feel it is no concern of theirs but people need to wake up and smell the coffee.”
So are the most educated people, eligible to question such actions truly not interested, or do they feel they do not have a voice to speak? Check any random Facebook profiles of, say, 16 to 25 year olds and in the “Political” details section, you’re likely to find things like “Huh?”, “Not interested”, “What a load of bull”, “I find it all boring” or a blank space. “I think that people aren’t reaching out to the youth, even though we are the future of this country. No one cares to ask us how we feel, what we think. We are just told from a young age that all other [political] parties are evil and sometimes our parents don’t care either,” says Nothando Gina, who studies Political Sciences at the University.
Their publications would have to go along with the regulations Proposed by the MAP which means that they would avoid publishing articles that they would have to account for at a later stage. As a group we interviewed a couple of people regarding this matter and their views will be incorporated in this article.
We have heard how major publications and various individuals feel about this Tribunal but unfortunately the views of students, lecturers and professors in various fields have not been published. People who will have to be educated under restricted media and professors who will have to provide quality education under restricted media .
Monday, October 18, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Completely not relevant
Please who ever evaluates my blog, ignore this. its just that I'm so proud of my baby brother who turns one today and the adorable thing is that he does not know a thing about what is happening today.we celebrate the day that he came into our lives and thank God that he has brought him in our lives. my little sister always steals the show, this is why I decided to include her as well.
Monday, October 11, 2010
WEEK TEN
There's nothing better than ten (10/10) is the best you can do, this is why this week has been relatively calm and enjoyable. This week during lectures and tutorials we had to interview people and get their opinions regarding the media appeals tribunal, we had to interview at least four to six people and in my group we decided to interview Four people.The first person we decided to interview was Zoe from the media department and we wanted to ask her firstly her views on the protection of information bill and secondly how she thinks this bill might impact on us as a democratic Country that is still a teenager. the second person we wanted to interview was Mdu from the sociology department and to ask firstly for his views and secondly, as a Sociologist how he thinks this would influence us as a South African society.
The third person we planned to interview was a Zimbabwean Tutor and we planned to ask her firstly for her views of the Bill and secondly as a person who is coming from a Country that has been protecting information, how has her experience shaped her views on the bill and what advice can she give us as a nation.
The last person we decided to ask was a commoner someone with a regular job and who knows little about anything, and we planned to firstly ask this person if they know about the protection of information bill and to let them know about it if they do not and to then ask for their main sources of information and they would feel if certain material is left out, whether or not they would feel that their right as a South African Citizen are infringed or not. Hopefully our article will be great.
The third person we planned to interview was a Zimbabwean Tutor and we planned to ask her firstly for her views of the Bill and secondly as a person who is coming from a Country that has been protecting information, how has her experience shaped her views on the bill and what advice can she give us as a nation.
The last person we decided to ask was a commoner someone with a regular job and who knows little about anything, and we planned to firstly ask this person if they know about the protection of information bill and to let them know about it if they do not and to then ask for their main sources of information and they would feel if certain material is left out, whether or not they would feel that their right as a South African Citizen are infringed or not. Hopefully our article will be great.
Friday, October 1, 2010
President Barack Obama signing the Daniel Pearl Press Freedom Act
file:///home/users/210510399/Downloads/Protecting%2520Press%2520Freedoms%2520Worldwide.mp4
This video alerts us all on the need for press freedom and it is a way that America is paying tribute to the late Daniel Pearl for his contribution in investigative journalism.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Week Nine
Press freedom remains the main important base of any democratic country sadly though other journalists have lost their lives in the quest to achieve this freedom. I have included a video of US president Barack Obama signing the press freedom act which is honour of Daniel Pearl who was brutally murdered in the name of investigative journalism which lead him to his tragic death.This week fortunately there were no lectures, you would think that after a vacation one would return rejuvenated but sadly that is not always the case. This week I decided to catch up on work that I had missed and to start brainstorming ideas for our final assignment and to add gadgets on my blog. I can't wait for the weekend to start I'm finished already :((
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
WEEK EIGHT
My week began with taking my Grandmother to hospital but fortunately she is not that ill because it was for her usuall checkup. Our tutorial task for this week was to practice making a movie using a programme called openshot we had the opportunity to explore all the fuctions that it had like the razor blade which allows you to be a real movie director and cut out whatever you do not want. We also had to have a song that goes along with your chosen photographs and we had to create another track to accomodate the song. Unfortunately though I thought I had saved my work but I didn't and when I got back It was gone so now I'm going to have to do t again and this time i'll save it on my my USB but there is no stress because I really enjoyed playing a movie director.
Friday, September 10, 2010
WEEk SEVEN
This week made me realise how much work I needed to catch up on. I mainly did research about our articles focusing on our group title of pros and cons of the media appeals tribunal and the protection of information bill and I found some interesting arguments between political parties. apparently the protection of information bill is not aimed at covering up wrong doings but to protect information that might pose a threat to national security. Therefore for example if this bill is approved a ministers whereabouts would not be enclosed, not just general whereabouts but details of accommodation in hotels and travel even though it is detected that they might be travelling more or using excessive amounts of tax payers monies. There if that minister is misusing the funds the public will not now about it because disclosing such information may pose a threat to their personal security. Therefore this protection of information bill will be biased and one sided since the public has the right to know if their money Is being misused. Other things that I had to do this week or that were done was uploading our first draft as a group which was successfully done. We also worked with openshot which was a bit challenging at first but I ended up enjoying it. it kinda made me feel a bit like some movie director or producer but it was a nice fun experience. The sad thing though is that I saved my work in the desktop that I was using since I lost my USB and when I came back to watch it again IT WAS GONE :(( so I'm kinda sad about that but on the bright side without the strikes interference I had a good week.
Friday, August 27, 2010
WOW WEEK FIVE!!!
SUPRISINGLY I HAVE HONESTLY ENJOYED THIS WEEK, I GUESS HAVING CAUGHT UP ON SCHOOL WORK AND BEING ORGANISED I FEEL RELIEVED. AND I KNOW I'M WRITING IN CAPITAL LETTERS ONLY BUT THAT IS JUST ALL PART OF MAKING A STATEMENT! IN OUR TUTORUAL THIS WEEK WE HAD TO OPEN UP ZOTERO GROUPS AND SHARE INFORMATION WITH OUR TEAM MEMBERS WHICH I SUCCESSFULLY DID, WE HAVE AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY THAT IS DUE NEXT WEEK WHICH I AM CURRENTLY DOING RIGHT NOW. OH AND THE BEST PART I'M GOING TO MY GRANNY'S THIS WEEKEND I HAVEN'T SEEN THEM IN ABOUT SIX MONTHS AND I CAN'T WAIT TO STAY UP ALL NIGHT AND CATCH UP TO TOP IT OFF THERE IS A PARTY TOMORROW AND I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO IT HONESTLY honestly the last party I attended was when... I dnt even remember but definately not this year maybe late last year or something, BUT HEY THE BRIGHT SIDE IS THAT I WAS FOCUSSED ON SCHOOL WORK AND HEY FIRST SEMMESTER I MANAGED TO GET THROUGH IT SO MY ANTI- PARTYING HABITS PAID OFF!
Monday, August 23, 2010
WEEK FOUR
Lectures began with a drag as always, we had to do a quiz I know it sucks but at least they are better this semester. This week we had to do research on the mandate that different political parties here in South Africa are against, This new mandate wants to give the state more power of the press they want to remove the transparency that we have as a country. A Media Tribunal which is aimed at giving Government the power of what should be published, And what shouldn't be published. under this Tribunal individuals who go against its regulations could be imprisoned for up to three years and could face heavy fines.This media tribunal could bring back the dark days of apartheid where the media had no rights and could not let the world know what was happening to south Africa. I am for and against this tribunal firstly a media tribunal would ensure that embarrassing stories about our country are not shown to the rest of the world, that is the reason I have for being for the tribunal. But even though our image as a country would appear to be okay, if this tribunal goes through the public would have no way of finding out about the Government and they would not be able to account for their actions. Therefore whether or not this tribunal should take place is a difficult matter to decide.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Me and Freedom of Expression
Back To Basics: Getting To know Xolile
Well my name is Cassandra, that is my official name and I am nineteen years old. I was raised by my mum and granny at a village called Umgababa ( south of Durban). Growing up I didn't have any siblings, my mum only had other children when she met my step father and decided to extend our family. I'm now privileged enough to have a sister and a brother and we all live together in Ridgeview Gardens like a real family. To be honest growing up without a father did have its minor blows but I would be unappreciative if I say that I had a tough upbringing, It wasn't smooth sailing but it was memorable even though my father wasn't around. throughout my childhood my mother has been the backbone of my daily existence. she has been strong enough to raise me in such a way that I could hardly feel that my father wasn't there. I am a firm believer in God and I believe that we owe him all the praise for everything that he has done for us. unfortunately that is not the end...
I'm currently enrolled as a first year student at the University of Kwazulu-natal in South Africa and I'm doing a Bachelor Of social sciences in geography and environmental management. I hope to become an environmental manager soon, besides focusing on my studies I volunteer at green peace africa whenever i have time actually I make time! I'm obsessed with our beautiful environment and preserving it is going to be my future career. My home language is isiZulu in fact I identify with the Zulu culture, below is a picture of Zulu men in traditional gear about to do an ensemble. the songs that are sung and drums it all makes me feel like I'm part of something.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
One would easily conclude that they have the freedom to express themselves without considering the laws that guard freedom of expression. newspapers and Tv being my main source of news, I believe that the right to express yourself helps you to feel that you have a voice it means that i can stand up for myself and be heard!!! It means that I shouldn't pretend to be something I'm not, just to please others because by doing that I'm actually infringing on my rights as an individual, my democratic right to be me. If i was not allowed to express myself or not permitted to be me I don't think that it would like bottrling up who I really am.
Freedom of expression to me goes deeper than being allowed to belong to certain religion or cult it means the little things, like being able to raise my hand during lectures in front of about 400 students, it means feeling worthy to be heard and not being afraid of people who may have an opinion that is different to mine. Freedom of expression means not interfering with other people's right to express themselves as well, This is the little things that people do without realising that they have infringed another individuals right to express themselves like laughing at another person just because they may have a dressing style or taste that is different from yours. freedom of expression means understanding one another and allowing me to be me and me doing the sane by allowing you to be you.
I'm a subcriber to true love magazine and I get it monthly i like their wonderfull features of women that have made it in the world as well as the monthly chance that is given to readers to write insipirational stories about themselves that help to keep me going. I mainly watch talk shows on tv as well as those investigative programmes like without a trace, which allows you ton actually take part in the investigation and it actually gets your mind going and you start assessing people or the characters trying to figure out the person responsible for the crime and eventually- my favourite part which is getting them to account for their actions. to be honest reading a story on the newspaper depends on the title of the story if it bold and catchy that sort of draws me in and I want to know what is happening but if it is boring I just flip the page! My latest novel was by my favourite author Dan Brown and it is titled Digital Fortress and it is set in a mordern day sort of like the era of spies but it is very fascinating I couldn't put it down I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Freedom of the press is important in order to achieve complete transparency and to get corrupt officials to account for their failure to consider the citezens rights. Still Reporters from other countries should not be allowed to export stories that exaggerate our standing asv a country, stories that shame us as a country.
Well my name is Cassandra, that is my official name and I am nineteen years old. I was raised by my mum and granny at a village called Umgababa ( south of Durban). Growing up I didn't have any siblings, my mum only had other children when she met my step father and decided to extend our family. I'm now privileged enough to have a sister and a brother and we all live together in Ridgeview Gardens like a real family. To be honest growing up without a father did have its minor blows but I would be unappreciative if I say that I had a tough upbringing, It wasn't smooth sailing but it was memorable even though my father wasn't around. throughout my childhood my mother has been the backbone of my daily existence. she has been strong enough to raise me in such a way that I could hardly feel that my father wasn't there. I am a firm believer in God and I believe that we owe him all the praise for everything that he has done for us. unfortunately that is not the end...
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| This is a wonderful picture of our coastline in Durban, South Africa |
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| this is another great scenery of Stellenbosch in Capetown now you see why I love our beautifull environment, it completely takes my breath away. |
I'm currently enrolled as a first year student at the University of Kwazulu-natal in South Africa and I'm doing a Bachelor Of social sciences in geography and environmental management. I hope to become an environmental manager soon, besides focusing on my studies I volunteer at green peace africa whenever i have time actually I make time! I'm obsessed with our beautiful environment and preserving it is going to be my future career. My home language is isiZulu in fact I identify with the Zulu culture, below is a picture of Zulu men in traditional gear about to do an ensemble. the songs that are sung and drums it all makes me feel like I'm part of something.
One would easily conclude that they have the freedom to express themselves without considering the laws that guard freedom of expression. newspapers and Tv being my main source of news, I believe that the right to express yourself helps you to feel that you have a voice it means that i can stand up for myself and be heard!!! It means that I shouldn't pretend to be something I'm not, just to please others because by doing that I'm actually infringing on my rights as an individual, my democratic right to be me. If i was not allowed to express myself or not permitted to be me I don't think that it would like bottrling up who I really am.
Freedom of expression to me goes deeper than being allowed to belong to certain religion or cult it means the little things, like being able to raise my hand during lectures in front of about 400 students, it means feeling worthy to be heard and not being afraid of people who may have an opinion that is different to mine. Freedom of expression means not interfering with other people's right to express themselves as well, This is the little things that people do without realising that they have infringed another individuals right to express themselves like laughing at another person just because they may have a dressing style or taste that is different from yours. freedom of expression means understanding one another and allowing me to be me and me doing the sane by allowing you to be you.
I'm a subcriber to true love magazine and I get it monthly i like their wonderfull features of women that have made it in the world as well as the monthly chance that is given to readers to write insipirational stories about themselves that help to keep me going. I mainly watch talk shows on tv as well as those investigative programmes like without a trace, which allows you ton actually take part in the investigation and it actually gets your mind going and you start assessing people or the characters trying to figure out the person responsible for the crime and eventually- my favourite part which is getting them to account for their actions. to be honest reading a story on the newspaper depends on the title of the story if it bold and catchy that sort of draws me in and I want to know what is happening but if it is boring I just flip the page! My latest novel was by my favourite author Dan Brown and it is titled Digital Fortress and it is set in a mordern day sort of like the era of spies but it is very fascinating I couldn't put it down I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Freedom of the press is important in order to achieve complete transparency and to get corrupt officials to account for their failure to consider the citezens rights. Still Reporters from other countries should not be allowed to export stories that exaggerate our standing asv a country, stories that shame us as a country.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Back To Basics: Getting To know Xolile
Well my name is Cassandra, that is my official name and I am nineteen years old. I was raised by my mum and granny at a village called Umgababa ( south of Durban). Growing up I didn't have any siblings, my mum only had other children when she met my step father and decided to extend our family. I'm now privileged enough to have a sister and a brother and we all live together in Ridgeview Gardens like a real family. To be honest growing up without a father did have its minor blows but I would be unappreciative if I say that I had a tough upbringing, It wasn't smooth sailing but it was memorable even though my father wasn't around. throughout my childhood my mother has been the backbone of my daily existence. she has been strong enough to raise me in such a way that I could hardly feel that my father wasn't there. I am a firm believer in God and I believe that we owe him all the praise for everything that he has done for us. well I hope that I have summarised an understandable version of the real me cheers...
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