Entry two

Journey of discovery

“What made you choose journalism?” asked human resource managers during the course of internship interviews. When I first applied for a radio content producing internship right after my undergrad graduation in 2015 at the SABC this was the first question I was asked by the interviewing panel, to my surprise the same question was again asked by the editor at OFM in 2016, and guess what?  The answer was still the same. “I want to make a different in society. I want to teach people and inform them on matters that affect their daily lives. The media is very influential and needs people who are not afraid to be the voice for the voiceless, I want to influence perceptions and build the nation through knowledge” I replied. Because this question was asked in a context of seeking exposure to gain work experience, you would ask yourself whether it was truthful or sugar-coated. 

Well, they say your eyes are the mirror to your heart, so I guess reading this you will need to look into my eyes to find out... ok, enough of jokes.  The response to the interview question was however not a joke. It is the same answer that motivated me to once again further my studies in Journalism; it is the same answer that committed me to register for an Honours degree, of which I do not have money to fund. It is the same answer that motivates me to go to a news room everyday of the week. It is the same answer as to why I find myself channel-hopping between different radio stations on a given day. It is the same answer as to why I would write articles that sometimes do not get published, well sometimes political and commercial reasons ‘seems to take over’ in newsrooms, but that’s’ a topic for another day.  

Compared to where I was at the beginning of the year I would certainly say I have thus far travelled on a journey of discovery. Discovery of thy self, discovery of how the media operates, discovery of how radio programmes get produced, discovery of how news get produced for radio, digital and print platforms, and of course on how to do academic research. I mean I am a postgraduate now, Hello!

So, the big question is:  Where to from here?

Well, for as long as we are still alive, the journey continues..... Read the next blog entry for more or simply follow @katlehomorapela, or Katleho Prudy Morapela on Instagram and Facebook.