Print Media South Africa (PMSA) in a joint initiative with the Poynter Institute, proudly hosted a successful industry training seminar for the country's senior editors and media executives.
The 4 day training began on the 18th of October and was held at Emoyeni Conference Centre. The training was geared toward equipping South African editors with the necessary resources in dealing with contemporary challenges within the newsroom. Focus areas included leadership styles; how to manage change; and the transformation of digital content into a business model.
Jonathan Beukes, supplements editor of the Nambian, said, "It was a very enriching course. I didn't expect so much. I didn't expect the calibre of the people that attended the course." The class register included names such Thulani Mbhatha (editor of Isolezwe), Gasant Abader (executive editor at the Cape Argus), Mmanaledi Mataboge (assistant news editor for the Mail and Guardian), Wally Mbhele (editor at Avusa) and Irma Green, Group Editor of Lowveld Media (Caxton Newspapers).
Ainsley Moos (Editor - Volksblad) mentioned how useful the entire training was as, "the media industry is at a serious crossroads. We have to rethink how we have been doing things. Going forward from here onwards, certainly some things have to change." He went on to say, "I hope Stephen (Buckley) can come back to South Africa to do some more training."
Stephen Buckley was the facilitator for the training seminar. Buckley is the Dean of faculty at Poynter with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the Duke University.
Buckley's background:
Stephen worked as an intern in the Detroit bureau of The Wall Street Journal in 1987 and as an editorial writer for the Philadelphia Daily News in 1988. He began his professional career as a night police reporter for The Washington Post. He then covered a variety of beats in suburban Maryland for the next four years.
In January 1995, he became Africa bureau chief, based in Nairobi, Kenya, for the Post. During that assignment, he wrote a range of stories about a range of people -- from nomads in Mali to refugees in Rwanda. In June 1998, Stephen spent six months as a teaching fellow at the Poynter Institute. Then he took six months to learn Portuguese, after which he became the Post's Brazil bureau chief, based in Rio de Janeiro. He covered Brazil until May 2001.
"Democracy and journalism in South Africa will be just fine with you as its leaders. Poynter is with you in your struggles and however we can help, we would like to help", said Buckley when addressing the audience at the Poynter Alumni Cocktail Function. He added that the 20 year relationship between the South African media industry and Poynter is a crucial one that should continue for years to come for the development of journalism. He thanked PMSA for its role in the organising for the event and added, "This has been a life-changing experience for me and thank you. "
Irma Green (Group Editor of Lowveld Media) took part in the training. When asked about the experience and Stephen Buckley's input, she offered, "I think Stephen was a great facilitator. We had a lot of senior editors from different media groups who worked together as though they were part of one team. I think that comes from great facilitating. "This has been one of the most valuable experiences as an editor that I have had in the twenty years that I have been in journalism", said Green.
We, at Print Media SA, would like extend our thanks to the Poynter Institute and Stephen Buckley, Paddi Clay the Chairperson of the PMSA People Development Committee and the editors who participated in the training. We hope that it was a valuable experience that they will take with them in the critical roles they play in the newspaper and magazine industry daily.
