Racism, no matter how disguised or nuanced, remains one of the ugliest and most deeply entrenched dark sides of human nature. It’s been in society since time immemorial. And it was naive of us to dream it would ever disappear — least of all in South Africa. It has taken on a million faces and […]
Media
Posted inMedia
Shirt happens
The first email plopped into my inbox at 7.03pm. It was from the National Prosecuting Authority and the subject line was “Serial rapist found guilty”. “Justice George Maluleka,” read the statement, “has been found guilty of raping 57 women. He is by far one of the worst serial rapists in this country. He had caused […]
Posted inBusiness, Media, News/Politics
To skill a mockingbird
It is a tragic human failing that we find it so easy to take our elders for granted. Maybe because I am easing into that category with alacrity; maybe because I massacred so many brain cells as a piece of furniture at the Fed; but all the hype around skills shortages and development and training […]
Posted inBusiness, Media, News/Politics
‘Naive and irresponsible,’ says former don
By Adam Kurtz The case of Llewellyn Kriel poses some intriguing questions for South Africa. Kriel (54), a fixed-term contractor to the Sowetan working as senior revise sub-editor (one of two end-of-the-line quality controllers), was found guilty of “gross misconduct” by an internal disciplinary hearing for “bringing Sowetan into disrepute” by criticising its management and […]
Posted inMedia
There is no such thing as Truth, only degrees of culpability
The reason social theorists that could be classified as postmodernists have failed to deal with the changes brought about by the newer trends in digital media usage is simple — these changes represent, materially, what they have been thinking about for close to 40 years. Proclaiming the advent of postmodernism is no longer radical, but […]
Posted inMedia, Tech
Bloggers of the Week: The Mike and Justin show
I’ve been terrified of naming these two guys as Bloggers of the Week. When the concept for this blog was first proposed, the biggest criticism was that it would simply line up the usual suspects of the Web 2.0 world, such as Justin Hartman and Mike Stopforth. But hey, we all have to conquer our […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media, News/Politics
The Christian fundamentalist lynch mob is at it again
Having tasted victory against Tim du Plessis and Rapport, Christian fundamentalists have set their sights on a fresh target. According to Jacques Liebenberg in Beeld, a campaign is under way to organise a boycott of the film The Golden Compass, due to be released in South Africa on Friday. According to an anonymous message distributed […]
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It’s the story that sells
Recently I was in Stone Town, Zanzibar, browsing the large selection of local paintings on offer. When I engaged one of the vendors in friendly barter, the sales pitch unfolded. I was told by the vendor that he had painted it. Isn’t it romantic to buy art from the artist himself? I decided to do […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
FM’s dose of succession tabloiditus
Be afraid of the spectre of a President Zuma. Thus blares the Financial Mail on its cover last week. Inside the mag, you might find even more reason to be afraid. It’s an article about the present president, titled “Arms and the man”, written by editor Barney Mthombothi. Indeed, I’m scared. Some may say my […]
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News companies are paddling without a compass
In the week that a South African journalist was fired for moaning about his employer on a competitor’s website, the Los Angeles Times launched a spectacular new blog, called the Readers’ Representative Journal. It is a thing of beauty, I tell ya. Clear, lovely and as well put together as only an American news organisation […]
Posted inBusiness, Media, Tech
Facebook 2: The search engine is coming
It’s tough being Mark Zuckerberg. A few weeks ago, you had your competitors running scared and Microsoft desperately hung on to the front of the queue to do a deal with you that, by some estimates, values your company at $15-billion. Unfortunately, you face these nasty rumours that the clickthrough rate for Facebook display advertising […]
Posted inBusiness, Media, Tech
Want to buy the Team.com name for $300 000? Too late
How do you choose a name for a new company? There might be many rules in that book, but I will tell you rule number one: no matter what the new company will do, make sure its .com domain name is available. If the .com name is not available, and you are absolutely, definitely, beyond-a-shadow-of-a-doubt […]