Grocott’s: a journey unlike any other

With the recent overhaul of Grocott’s Mail’s structure from a bi-weekly to a larger, value-packed publication to hit the shelves every Friday, the oldest independent newspaper in the country is going from strength to strength.

Grocott’s is now arguably in the best possible position to fulfil its mission and vision: to serve the community of Grahamstown with a quality newspaper and to shape of the country’s future journalists.

The David Rabkin Project for Experiential Journalism takes dozens of journalism students through challenging and caffeine-fuelled internships at Grocott’s.

Under the guidance of dedicated staff, we left our roles as mere journalism students behind.

Thrown in the deep end, we became real journalists, talking to real people about their problems and writing for a respected publication.

It’s a safe space, too, one where we can experiment with styles, beats and stories without the dark fear of making mistakes that might otherwise cost us our jobs, had we been working in the harsher 'real world’.

We have seen its educational benefits first-hand.

Our preconceptions (and perhaps even misconceptions) of a small independent paper have been rocked to their core as we tried to speak to as wide and diverse an audience as the Grahamstown community.

We were given responsibility and were forced out of our comfort zones – and it has been a journey unlike any other.

I would like to extend the thanks of all the fourth-year writing and editing journalism students from Rhodes University to both the readers and staff of Grocott’s Mail.

It has been a stressful, insightful and above all enjoyable experience writing for the people of our small town.

This has been a valuable dozen or so weeks that will no doubt stand us in good stead in the upcoming years.

Writers, correspondents, editors – wherever life may take us – let it never be forgotten where our humble beginnings lie.

Grahamstown, we thank you.