I am working at the largest online news company in South Africa and the media environment in this country has been a little tense in recent weeks.
Nelson Mandela was the first black president of this country, but he is also a living symbol of the anti-Apartheid struggle. Many South Africans feel a strong emotional connection to him, not necessarily as a politician, but as the face of their tumultuous history. Many South Africans even refer to Mandela by terms of respect and endearment: Madiba, or Tata. Mandela is a few days shy of his 95th birthday and he has now been hospitalized for one month. Many assume these are his final days.
When he entered the hospital in Pretoria (other side of the country from Cape Town) on June 8 with a recurring lung infection, the local media immediately took notice. Within a few days, the international media had taken notice too.
Almost as long as Mandela has been in the hospital, journalists from several local and international outlets have been camping outside the hospital. One organization, reportedly, is even sub-letting an apartment across the street from the hospital to get better views and satellite reception from the balcony.
While those journalists have been waiting for weeks, tweeting, photographing, and reporting any signs of activity, other journalists are preparing from the office. Articles, undoubtedly, have been written in advance about Mandela’s death. Organizations have created plans for how to report the information when the time comes. Portraits of Mandela with 1918-2013 written on them have likely already been photoshopped.
It’s a little morbid, but is it wrong?
If you trust user comments, it certainly is. “Vultures!” web users have written under photos of journalists sitting outside the Pretoria hospital, “Leave the Mandela family alone!”
The Mandela family has expressed varying opinions on the matter.
“I just think it’s in bad taste, it’s crass," Makaziwe Mandela said about the media’s treatment of the situation in a scathing interview on national television.
On the other hand, Mandela’s wife, Graca Machel issued a statement thanking supporters—including the media—from around the world saying, “We have felt the closeness of the world and the meaning of strength and peace.”
In the age of the Internet, we are more connected than ever. That has allowed people worldwide to share their expressions of concern about the ailing political hero. But it has also put a heavy responsibility on media outlets.
News24’s slogan is, “Breaking News. First.” It’s a promise to deliver information as fast as technology will allow. It’s also difficult standard to maintain.
The speed of Internet news demands that the media must be prepared to report information quickly, but social rules say it’s impolite to pay attention too closely. So for now, our job in the media is a little awkward.
Nelson Mandela was the first black president of this country, but he is also a living symbol of the anti-Apartheid struggle. Many South Africans feel a strong emotional connection to him, not necessarily as a politician, but as the face of their tumultuous history. Many South Africans even refer to Mandela by terms of respect and endearment: Madiba, or Tata. Mandela is a few days shy of his 95th birthday and he has now been hospitalized for one month. Many assume these are his final days.
When he entered the hospital in Pretoria (other side of the country from Cape Town) on June 8 with a recurring lung infection, the local media immediately took notice. Within a few days, the international media had taken notice too.
Almost as long as Mandela has been in the hospital, journalists from several local and international outlets have been camping outside the hospital. One organization, reportedly, is even sub-letting an apartment across the street from the hospital to get better views and satellite reception from the balcony.
While those journalists have been waiting for weeks, tweeting, photographing, and reporting any signs of activity, other journalists are preparing from the office. Articles, undoubtedly, have been written in advance about Mandela’s death. Organizations have created plans for how to report the information when the time comes. Portraits of Mandela with 1918-2013 written on them have likely already been photoshopped.
It’s a little morbid, but is it wrong?
If you trust user comments, it certainly is. “Vultures!” web users have written under photos of journalists sitting outside the Pretoria hospital, “Leave the Mandela family alone!”
The Mandela family has expressed varying opinions on the matter.
“I just think it’s in bad taste, it’s crass," Makaziwe Mandela said about the media’s treatment of the situation in a scathing interview on national television.
On the other hand, Mandela’s wife, Graca Machel issued a statement thanking supporters—including the media—from around the world saying, “We have felt the closeness of the world and the meaning of strength and peace.”
In the age of the Internet, we are more connected than ever. That has allowed people worldwide to share their expressions of concern about the ailing political hero. But it has also put a heavy responsibility on media outlets.
News24’s slogan is, “Breaking News. First.” It’s a promise to deliver information as fast as technology will allow. It’s also difficult standard to maintain.
The speed of Internet news demands that the media must be prepared to report information quickly, but social rules say it’s impolite to pay attention too closely. So for now, our job in the media is a little awkward.
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