Sol Plaatje Institute launches blog – SPI.Media Leadership
GRAHAMSTOWN – The Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership (SPI) has launched its very own blog, SPI. Media Leadership.
SPI. Media Leadership aims to be at the forefront of reporting analysis and discussions on a diverse range of issues impacting media leadership, management, journalism and journalism training within and outside Africa.
SPI director, Francis Mdlongwa, says of the blog’s inception:
“The SPI blog is a timely and important platform to aggregate key debates on media management and leadership, at a time when the media globally is facing critical questions of survival in a landscape turned upside down by rapid technological changes.”
Media enterprises, operating in the digital age, in both developed and developing nations, are facing great uncertainties and challenges – as to the specific approach they should be taking in responding to the changing needs of the consumer. Mdlongwa explains:
“With the advent of digital media channels, media companies around the world – especially in the developed North where broadband has given audiences a wider and cheaper choice of news and information platforms – are in financial crisis as they struggle to find a business model that works.
The SPI blog looks at these and related debates and, on how African and the Third World media firms can use what I would call a ‘grace period’ that they now have to learn from the mistakes of the North and to prepare for inevitable change.”
Professor Guy Berger, Head of the School of Journalism & Media Studies, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, echoes these sentiments:
“In turbulent times, the sustainability of media is a hot topic. Rupert Murdoch says the issue isn't whether to have an online paywall, but how high it will be. Whether he's right, or whether he's a generation that's misreading the era, is something every media person has a view on.”
He adds;
“But what's valuable is having a platform dedicated to bringing together all these views - particularly from stakeholders in Africa. The technology makes it easy to aggregate ideas, and the Sol Plaatje Institute is a logical base to host the discussion. There's also a role for the Institute in terms of initiating and leading debates - proactively bringing issues and perspectives to bear.”
Berger further explains that in order for the SPI to fulfil its role of being an aggregator of ideas and opinions, what’s also important is that;
“The intellectual capital on offer at the SPI blog centre also gets into the debates on relevant websites elsewhere. It's important, for instance, for media businesses in the developed economies, to see summaries and links to "Southern" voices on the SPI blog.”
Indeed, just over a month after its inception, the SPI blog has already begun linking to “Southern” voices by hosting articles from Memeburn, a “news and opinion platform tracking tech culture, innovation and business” founded by South African web entrepreneur Matthew Buckland. Key opinion-leaders contribute to Memeburn, providing their insights on the online industry.
The SPI blog is a critical platform for the sharing of ideas, experiences and new ways of doing business in an age of discontinuity. We welcome contributions from academics, media owners and leaders, journalists and ordinary folk who have a thought to share.
If you are interested in writing for our blog, simply drop the SPI’s marketing-communications officer, Monique Senekal, an email at m.senekal@ru.ac.za or msenekal6@gmail.com
Last updated » 2010-04-16