BY DELISA THWALA
MATSAPHA – University of Eswatini third year students as part of their Mass Media Entrepreneurship class had Eswatini Positive News (EPN) induct them on media business start ups.
Lecturer Dr Mandla Mphofu said they needed the session because there was a lot they wanted their journalism students to learn before heading for the industry.
“We are creating future leaders who will change the country with their reporting and the stories to write, which is how we came about with today’s class and we invited EPN Director as our guest lecturer. We also want to capacitate our students on media entrepreneurship so that they can explore the media business sector,” he said.
Meanwhile, EPN Director and experienced Journalist Mbongeni Ndlela said, they have been confronted with the target of empirical research and the way journalism studies can not only be a description of what is happening in the field, but can really and progressively contribute to build the sense of contemporary changes.
“We have chosen to immerse ourselves in our fields for long periods of time, without presuming our results. This approach is often seen as an easy way taken by journalists to begin their career . But what we want to explain is that the inductive perspective is more than an approach to discover the field, it is also an original and rigorous way to explain the process of journalism,” he said.
EPN Director Mbongeni Ndlela posing for a group photo with Uneswa third-year journalism students after 2 hours of lecture.
He further said, while journalism is facing particular challenges, especially with blogs, converged journalism, citizen journalism, using research and a good moral compass enables readers to analyse and to justify their thoughts or choices but also to explain the process of writing good stories with the knowledge they can bring impact.
“Journalism plays a crucial role in informing the public, holding those in power accountable, and fostering a functioning democracy. It helps to uncover the truth, provide a platform for diverse voices, and create a more informed and engaged society,”said Ndlela.
He further said Journalists provide an important service because they are responsible for investigating events and reporting on them objectively.
“Their work helps the public stay informed and can sometimes, with investigative journalism, expose injustices or wrongdoings,” he said.
Ndlela further shared with the students how EPN started to become what it is now. He disclosed the publication is two years old but it has been growing positively, having a huge impact in disseminating good positive stories. He told the students that every challenge presents an opportunity.
“It is possible to compile a positive and balanced article from a negative report, statement or environment. A journalist or author needs to be vigilant on how to handle misinformation and disinformation,” Ndlela said.
He further shared how journalists could handle or pursue articles to defend the truth from fake information.
