Second Podcast, Second Reflection

I think the more excited a journalist is about a particular story, the better they are at telling it. I was completely engaged in the Ramaposa story about the black pages. Perhaps because I am an economist at heart and I know that such a directory would have profound economic implications on our country, not to mention the political stir that may arise from a directory that is exclusively for businesses that are 100% owned. I was quite surprised at the opinions of Richard Pithouse, the political lecture at Rhodes University. I had expected him to be outraged at the launch of such a directory, citing racism or exclusion as the main reason; however, his stance was the complete opposite. What was interesting was the way he juxtaposed the initiative of the black pages as similar to that of promoting women’s rights or gay rights and other such privileges for groups who had been previously marginalised in society. The economic perspective, being that such a directory could actually spur growth in the country was also enlightening. My intention was to produce a story that was informative, educational and inspirational, especially to businessman of Grahamstown; reporting on news that would give hope to a better and more successful tomorrow in a town characterised by profound poverty.
I hope that I met this aim.