Pap n' Vleis

Long gone are the days when we would all recite: “Cathy can jump, jump Cathy jump” in Aunty Shelly’s grade one class; long gone are the days of having first and second break times and long gone are the days of CTA’s and compulsory Physical Training (PT) classes. Now our days are filled with: 45 minute lectures with you sitting at the back of the lecture hall trying to figure out what twitter is because you had missed last weeks lectures, sitting in tutorials with a “know-it-all” tutor and almost missing essay deadlines. Yep, this is the life of an undergraduate student… Don’t you wish you could go somewhere and vent?

Well this blog contains thought provoking, profound and entertaining information for students, especially journalism students around the globe. Pap ‘n vleis is a social network that provides a platform where students can share ideas and knowledge not only on journalism but also on general interests in forms like topics, discussions and debates. The aim of the blog is to attract as many student followers as possible in the attempt to create a sense of unity through the challenges that we all face. Our aim is to breakaway from formalities that are associated with the academic side of student life by addressing important issues in a way that is relaxed and understandable. The reader is encouraged to be opinionated but at the same time to make sense of his/her post which will provide the other followers with a new and alternative outlook to the world around us. The reader is encouraged to get involved in the debates and topics, challenging this generation. As the readership grows, so will the relationship with the readers (followers); extending the platform of the global village. With these young minds interacting and working together, the blog has the potential to become a great success.

You got to admit it, the journalism course isn’t exactly what you thought it would be, right? There are no other people in the world that understands what you are feeling than your fellow national and international journalism colleges. As journalism students, we are presented with the struggle of remaining unique in a world limited by informalities and rules. This blog strives to be controversial, as students want to be provoked, to express their anger, fear and hopes for a brighter tomorrow, and we have provided this platform. So think of this blog like the pages of your diary, where you can be yourself.

Lincoln van der Westhuizen

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To start this thing off I should perhaps give some background information about this here “new – fangled blog”. This blog is an attempt to throw different cultures in a great big melting pot, and then crucially, placing that pot within a journalistic context. We are going to make fun of the media simply because they are not always right. There will be observations about not only students but also university. I thought that a good place to start this post would be to answer the question: “why do I want to become a journalist?”

Firstly, a free press is one of the most important things in a democracy. The public needs to be aware of what happening around them. With all this in mind, the question has to be asked: Is it just me or are the only people that like journalists, other journalists? And why shouldn’t people dislike journalists, they’re nosy, prying, stubborn individuals who more often than not end up mentioning uninteresting jargon like slugs, byline, leads and inverted pyramids. They quote selectively and some of them are as biased as Australian sports commentators. Yet I want nothing more than to be one of these people.

I know that it is narcisstic, but I also want to be the one who knows everything first. I also want to break that big story that changes the way people see the world. I often wonder if what drives journalists is not the pursuit of the truth, but some vain obsession to be better than their rivals. Make no mistake, journalism has some challenges that have emerged in recent times and that have to be dealt with if the media industry is not going to collapse.

Trying to become a journalist in this day and age is an incredibly daunting task. All around us we have new technology and it appears as if anyone with a broadband connection can call themselves a journalist. In our information saturated climate is it still possible for good journalism to prosper and to be appreciated? Is it still worthwhile to study to become a journalist? I believe so; one only has to read a book like The Bang - Bang Club by Joao Silva and Greg Maranovich to see how journalists can still have an influence on the world we live in. This book explores the lives of the photographers who took the photos of the Hostel wars during the early nineties. Every aspiring journo should read it. The book just proves one very important fact: the public still needs brave individuals to push the envelope and to be there in the trenches to send back information.

Who am I? After pondering and considering this question I came up with the simple fact that I am a stranger to you, and unless I do not tell you, you will not know. I do not want a stranger knowing who I am, but a lot of the time “Strangers are friends you have yet to meet”. This is the perfect place for Journalism students around the world to communicate with each other. No matter whether you are friends or strangers this is where communication is able to take place. Yes, you can express every ounce of anger you have boiling up inside of you about how Journalism is really getting the best of you, you can express your deepest thoughts or even use it to enjoy e few laughs now and then. This blog is your space and you can do with it what you may, but the point of this blog is really to see the points of view of other journalism students and to relate to what they might be saying. Your blog is your personality. In order for this blog to be a success, students have to cooperate and not critically analyze or criticize what other students are saying but instead give your opinion.

After all the moaning and complaining that our parents and Carte Blanch did about the dangers of Twitter, Facebook, Mxit and Blogging we now have a valid reason as to why we have to, because the lecturer told us to! Use this to your advantage people! No one can stop you now, not even your parents. Let’s face it; we are living in the twenty first century where technology is at its peak so why not enjoy it while it lasts. Make your blog your sanctuary where every time you visit it, it puts a smile on your face or brings that positive feeling to your day. Let your voice be heard, let your feelings flow.

Tamaryn Olsson

Tanya Hirst

Hold up, take a breath, being a student journalist is incredibly tiring, so we all need a place to rant and rave about it...and right here, right now, is perfect. Happy days, PMS, issues that have no relevance other than to the student are all to be posted at this very spot. Take time to see things from a perspective that introduces a slightly sceptical, yet validly opinionated take on the student life. With a dash of humour here and a hint of intensity there, blogging will be bumped up to a new level. There are going to be combinations of freaking out, rising up, and complete dissections of topics ranging from A to Z, directly aimed at the student, however diverse such a target may be. My take on the blog is to be relaxed, like a conversation, I want it to feel like you can be a part of the action or issues described right from the comfort of your own space. There’s no need to feel intimidated by the occasional use of journalistic jargon, or proudly South African phrases, all will be explained for the benefit of the reader.

There is nothing better than to have a good laugh at something that you can relate to, or feel strongly about an issue presented to you, that is what makes journalism so multi-faceted... there will be much laughing and raging from this blogger. On a more serious note, (yes, I can do serious sometimes) we may all think and feel differently, but on some level, we are all connected in the intricate web of journalism and its opportunities, by the way we are able to take what we know and expand on it through the views of others, filtering through to the good ideas in an attempt to improve on our own one’s. Being a journalism student is more than just writing “stuff”, it is about believing in what you have to say and being able to provoke others to do the same. My main aim will be to involve as many people in the discussion (even though it won’t be directly) and get them thinking and feeling a multitude of things, and in doing so, create a relationship that is intensified by the sharing of common thoughts.

There is always something appealing about a piece of writing long enough to grab your attention, and short enough to hold onto it. It is important that up and coming blogs are easy and interesting to read, as opposed to long, monotonous and overly fluffed with information that has no relevance to the topic. None of that here, just some good ‘ole discussions at their best...watch this space.