Gehalte-beriggewing in die buitekantoor van 'n Suid-Afrikaanse dagblad
Abstract
Die medialandskap het die afgelope twee dekades dramaties verander weens hoofsaaklik tegnologiese vooruitgang. Die digitale rewolusie het geboorte gegee aan die internet. Dit het 'n hele nuwe wêreld geskep waar elkeen met net 'n selfoon toegang tot nuus op elke kontinent het. Sosiale media soos Facebook, Twitter en Instagram, asook interaktiewe nuuswebwerwe, maak dit boonop vir elkeen moontlik om 'n mening oor elke denkbare onderwerp te lug. Daarmee saam kan elkeen met toegang tot dié tegnologie nou self nuus versprei. Die digitalisering van nuus het boonop veroorsaak dat die sirkulasie van koerante wêreldwyd aan die daal is, wat beteken nuuskantore moet met ál minder joernaliste klaarkom. Al dié veranderinge veroorsaak dat joernaliste nuus toenemend vinniger vir aanlyn nuuswebwerwe moet produseer en gehoor gee aan die eise van 'n baie betrokke gehoor wat self ook die nuusagenda wil bepaal. Boonop moet minder joernaliste meer nuus produseer. Joernaliste wat nuus alleen in 'n groot gebied moet dek, soos buitekantore van Suid-Afrikaanse dagblaaie, spring dié druk nie vry nie. Terwyl dit nog altyd 'n uitdagende taak was om so 'n kantoor alleen te bestuur teen die spoed van daaglikse spertye, is dié spertye nou soms selfs uurliks soos wat nuus breek en vir aanlyn platforms geskryf moet word. Onlangse navorsing toon die verwagtinge is egter steeds dat joernaliste aan die tradisionele standaarde vir gehalte moet voldoen. Hierdie verkennende studie fokus op hoe buitekantoorjoernaliste by Suid-Afrikaanse dagblaaie hul direkte omgewing kan bestuur om aan tegnologiese eise te voldoen sonder om gehalte prys te gee. 'n Stelsel-en-prosesgegronde benadering is gevolg om hul dagtaak as verskillende prosesse te beskryf, voordat dié prosesse ontleed is. Eindelik is tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat buitekantoorjoernaliste met die nodige insette wel prosesse kan volg wat gehalteberiggewing behoort te verseker. Praktiese riglyne is opgestel op grond van die studie se bevindings oor dié prosesse om joernaliste in buitekantore en nuusbestuurders te help om sulke kantore doeltreffend te bestuur.
The media landscape has changed dramatically over the past twenty years, mainly as
a result of technological advances. The digital revolution gave birth to the internet, a
phenomenon that created a whole new cyber world where everyone with even a cell
phone has access to news on every continent. Social media like Facebook, Twitter
and Instagram, as well as interactive news websites, create the possibility for every
single person to voice an opinion about practically anything. On top of this, everybody
with access to these technologies can distribute news themselves.
Furthermore, the digitalisation of news resulted in a worldwide decline in newspaper
readers, causing the retrenchment of journalists in news offices. Al these changes
resulted in journalists having to produce news faster and faster for online news
websites, and giving in to the demands of an increasingly involved audience who
wants to put the news agenda on the table themselves – this in an environment where
increasingly fewer journalists have to produce more stories.
Journalists who have to cover news in a vast area, like in satellite offices of daily
newspapers in South Africa, don't escape this pressure. While always a demanding
job to run such an office alone with daily deadlines, these deadlines now sometimes
have become hourly as breaking news has to be written for online platforms.
Recent research however shows it is still expected from journalists to maintain
traditional values of quality journalism. This exploratory study focuses on how
journalists in satellite offices of daily newspapers, can manage their direct environment
in order to adhere to technological demands, without compromising quality. A system
and process approach was followed to describe daily tasks of journalists in satellite
offices, before these processes were analysed. It was concluded that journalists in
satellite offices can write quality reports if they have the necessary inputs and follow
certain processes. Practical guidelines were compiled, based on the findings of the
study about these processes, to help journalists in satellite offices and news managers
to run offices like these efficiently.
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