Grocott’s Mail has launched a new initiative that will change the manner in which Grahamstonians can share their newsworthy stories. The Grocott’s Mail Citizen Journalism Newsroom was officially launched during the Highway Africa week on Tuesday at the Grocott’s Mail offices in High Street.
Grocott’s Mail has launched a new initiative that will change the manner in which Grahamstonians can share their newsworthy stories. The Grocott’s Mail Citizen Journalism Newsroom was officially launched during the Highway Africa week on Tuesday at the Grocott’s Mail offices in High Street.
View the photo gallery of the launch
The Grocott’s Mail Citizen Journalism Newsroom is located at Grocott’s Mail and consists of 10 computers, equipped with USB data cables, card readers and Bluetooth dongles. This allows community members to walk in and transfer photos from their cellphones and cameras to the computers. These photos can be paired with written stories which can then be published. Facilitators are on hand to assist people with using the software and hardware.
"This is the very first newsroom of its sort in Africa that we know of," said Harry Dugmore, MTN Chair of Media and Mobile Communication at the School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University.
During the launch, a video explaining how the Citizen Journalism Newsroom operates was viewed. Each person involved in the initiative discussed the importance of the facility to the community.
Khaya Thonjeni, Schools Outreach Officer at the School of Journalism and Media Studies, said that the Grahamstown community will get an opportunity to tell their stories without their facts being distorted. "Grahamstonians are very passionate about their stories and how they are told, so this newsroom will allow them to have their stories the way they want," he said.
The mayor of Makana, Vumile Lwana, officially opened the Grocott’s Mail Citizen Journalism Newsroom by cutting a blue ribbon. "This is a very good initiative; it will increase the enthusiasm of Grahamstown people about journalism, leading them into wanting to join the profession," Lwana said.
Michael Salzwedel, New Media Editor at Grocott’s Mail, gave a presentation on how interested citizens can use the newsroom to pubilsh their own content on Grocott’s Mail Online.
To submit their stories, pictures or videos, users simply register on Grocott’s Online and then access the ‘MyStory‘ section (found under ‘My Makana’). Contributions will then be moderated before being published online. Selected contributions will also be published in the print edition of Grocott’s Mail.
Salzwedel said that the newsroom gives the community a public platform to tell their stories. "Many people have something to say, but often they don’t know how or where to say it. The Grocott’s Mail Citizen Journalism Newsroom changes that," he said.
