Akanyang Africa An informed view through the African eye

Interviews

Interview with Mmanaledi Mataboge, a senior politics reporter for the South African Mail & Guardian newspaper.

AA: Briefly, who is Mmanaledi Mataboge, where was she born, her interests, what’s she like at school, and what does she believe to be her purpose in life, and any siblings?

MM: Born in Makapanstad, north of Pretoria. The only daughter with 3 brothers. I was born to be the voice for the voiceless, whether as a journalist, a radio presenter or simply an activist in any form. I was one of the popular “teacher’s pet” type from primary school, simply because my brain worked magic. The word “fail” was not part of my vocabulary. I found it difficult to accept coming out as the 2nd best in class, which happened several times.

AA: And what do you do when you are not working?

MM: I watch television a lot and make time to read books, mainly politics, but do novels when I want to detach myself from work.

AA: Are you involved in any community development projects or activities in your hometown or village and how would you explain your involvement and the importance thereof, and if not, why?

MM: I’m not and it is embarrassing. I’ve been thinking about a few ideas, but always put them of because I fear not having time to work on them and I hate being a failure.

AA: What is a brand and do you see yourself as one? If so, how you do you use social media in building that, e.g. Facebook and YouTube?

MM: Never thought of that. I’m not sure how popular I am, if I am at all. I believe as a print journalist, I’m simply a name that people will recognize, but not necessarily know the person. I’m happy with that and I’m not ready for anything bigger than that.

AA: Why is it that some brands, say Mmanaledi Mataboge, in the media industry, last longer than others? What keeps them?

MM: The quality of a journalist’s work will determine their future in the industry.  If I were to write a story that’ll give enough reasons to be questionable tomorrow, readers will forget all the good ones I’ve written before. So credibility is key.

AA: What is investigative journalism, what does it take to become one and what does it involve?

MM: Get to the stories that not any other journalist can get to easily. It involves a lot of digging, strong contacts, thorough knowledge of a wide range of subjects and very careful analysis of information.

AA: How did you get into media, and journalism to be specific?

MM: I studied journalism at Technikon Northern Transvaal (TNT), which changed the name to Technikon Northern Gauteng (TNG) and now Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) after the merger with two other technikons. (I’m a dinosaur)

AA: Mail & Guardian is one of South African weekly and investigative newspapers in South Africa. How long have you been with the publication?

MM: I was with the M&G for a year from 2003 to 2004, then returned in 2008 after a few years in radio. It’s been a year and a half since I came back.

AA: Having been involved or being part of an investigative team in breaking controversial stories – what were or are some of the challenges that journalists face in breaking these stories especially as controversial as they maybe?

MM: Attempts to gag the paper, threats of legal action and some people turning your coverage of a story into a personal war.

AA: Any awards so far, and if any, how did that feel?

MM: Not a single one, never really bothered to enter until last year, the first time I did after my colleague Mandy Rossouw insisted I do and wouldn’t keep quiet until I did.

AA: There have been some reports of some journalist accepting some form of payment in fabricating and or falsifying stories/news. How has that affected you as a journalist and the profession at large seeing that the public relies on these stories to make well-informed decision?

MM: It hasn’t had any direct impact on me, except that it’s worrying to have such allegations made against a journalist. It should not be happening if we do our work properly, guided by our ethics, which I’d like to believe every journalist should hold dear.

AA: Given the above, what effect, if any, do these incidents have on journalists and journalism as a profession in general?

MM: It’s got the possibility of creating a situation where there’s suspicion over some of the stories we cover and how we cove them.

AA: What is the significance of journalism or your profession in the general public, not only here in South Africa, but worldwide?

MM: Besides the traditional role of informing, educating and entertaining, I think if the media created space for different voices to be heard as part of advancing democracy and speaking for the voiceless people, we would be on the right path towards achieving some of the biggest goals across the world.

AA: The Scotsman newspaper report of a pupil who stabbed his teacher for allegedly giving him bad marks. Why we South Africans deprived information such as this one? This is because were it to be a South African pupil who stabbed his teacher, overseas media would have run with the story immediately, and why not us?

MM: Different newspapers and media houses have got different target markets and would be guided by that in the kind of stories they cover. I think the South African media has done great in building its different brands for consumers to distinguish between the many we have already and make a choice.

AA: Do you think Julius Malema is as thief, as Business Day newspaper Editor Peter Bruce put it recently, “but he is treated like a hero by the poor” and his state of wealth in general?

MM: My opinion is that one cannot be called a thief unless if they were court with their hands in the till or there was uncontested evidence that they are thieves.

AA: What is it that needs to be done by the business sector, the community at large and government departments in helping shape, modify and develop youth into young leaders of tomorrow?

MM: I think leaders are born to be that and in most cases that aspect of their life would be evident from a young age. We however need training in the necessary skills a person in a leadership position would need and a lot of coaching from reputable leaders who can share the wisdom.

AA: Why should South Africans appreciate their being hosts of the 2010 World Cup and what are you expected benefits thereof?

MM: SA is a young democracy. For us to be trusted with such a huge tournament is an honour and we should celebrate that. It will probably take 20 years before the World Cup comes to Africa again, so we should see this year’s tournament as representing the entire continent.

AA: Do South African really need Gautrain?

MM: We do. The morning and afternoon traffic is madness. I think there are more cars than people on the road. I still fail to understand how people cope with commuting between Pretoria and Johannesburg on a daily basis, without getting impatient with the bumper to bumper traffic. It looks unbearable.

AA: What are your views on the following in South Africa, presently:

MM: The State of Democracy and Citizenry Participation – We are improving everyday and with the kind of journalists and activists from all walks of life that we have, I believe democracy will be defended,

MM: Press Freedom and its threat – We still enjoying a pretty good space for the freedom of the press, but one gets worried when leading organizations such as the ANCYL start attacking journalists on a personal level and hope that will be nipped in the bud as soon as possible,

MM: Affirmative Action, BBEE – They are both still relevant in SA, progress has been made, but a lot more still needs to be done. It’ll take time to undo the injustices of the past.

AA: Do you blog, and if not, why? And what is the state of Blogging in South Africa?

MM: I don’t blog. I have not tried it because I hardly have time to do other things other than my job. I however think it’s one of the very useful media tools that journalists need to use actively.

AA: There have been reports of newspapers (The Weekender) and magazines in the country and aboard closing down. What could have contributed to the closure of those publications, and do you still see that as likely to happen in the future and how can that be avoided?

MM: The weekender was a pretty good paper, the first Saturday newspaper I subscribed to. My opinion is that they came into the market at the time that was very financially difficult for all of us. Newspapers and magazines have been introduced and closed in the country before. Think This Day, also one of the good newspapers, Next magazine that was targeted at young people.  I think more newspapers and magazines will be launched and some will be closed down. That’s just some of the results of competition. Your product speaks for you, sometimes it succeeds, sometimes it doesn’t.

AA: There have been reports that Rupert Murdoch of News of the International media group which owns the likes of the Times newspaper in the UK will introduce what is known as ‘the pay-wall’. This means, for example, internet users will not be able to read The Times online contents for free as we are able to now, but that there will be a charge to read contents of any of the newspapers owned by News of the World group. The Sunday Times (South Africa) has warned internet users that they will not be able to read the newspaper’s online contents. Is this possible and ‘doable’ in South Africa, and if not, why would such initiative fail? By the way, I am no subscriber to Mail & Guardian and Sunday Times, but I buy and read them weekly. And how far is Mail & Guardian far on its pay-way and are we likely to see any soon?

MM: The traditional way of consuming news, particularly in the print media is being challenged strongly and rather threatened by the internet. More and more readers are moving to the Online news content, hence the introduction of a “pay wall” by some media houses. There is however still a section of readers that still prefer the normal newspaper that they can page through and read with a glass of red wine.

AA: Why do we care and dare question how and where Floyd could have gotten information implicating journalists in somewhat incriminating activities and if he (and whoever could have helped you with the 'dossier') has not used, if not abused, state resources in getting that 'information' whereas we careless let alone asking how journalists themselves could have gotten 'private' information on or of politicians involved in criminal activities and therefore they journalists start talking of “sources”?

MM: Journalists are guided by ethics and media laws in what we do. Gathering information is our primary task for us to be able to write the stories that we write. If any other citizens, including politicians, have got information on a journalist, they should take that information to the law enforcement agencies. Journalists are here to report news, not to be news subjects.