Future of “storytellers” secure, says media boss

 by Iske Conradie

"Oh my goodness, print is dead,'' bellows Media24 CEO Esmaré Weideman, parroting the panic among journalists about the diminishing print media industry. 

Weideman, a veteran journalist running South Africa’s largest media company, believes the concern about the print industry is "the most irreverent debate of all times".

"It doesn't matter if print is dead," she says, addressing the journalism students at the Stellenbosch University during a guest lecture on Monday morning. 

"I do not think we have ever lived more exciting times in media," declares Weideman.

Weideman assured Stellenbosch University journalism students, their profession is secure, despite the "double whammy" of a weak global economy and the digital revolution disrupting the media industry.

She says journalists can now blog, broadcast, tweet, film and write for newspapers, mobile phones and other devices - which they could not do in former times.

As she praises the manifold ways in which present-day journalists can tell stories, she slices through the air with incessant hand gestures.

"If you do not like change, please do not become a journalist - you will be very bad at it. You have to be excited because of all these changes," concludes Weideman.

After Weideman's speech, Annzra Naidoo, a journalism student, thanks Weideman for her optimistic perspective.

"A lot of people have been telling us that the industry is dying," says Naidoo. A choir of nervous giggles, from within the lecture hall, affirms Naidoo's remark.

Another student, S'thembile Cele, believes Weideman's enthusiasm for numerous story-telling methods presents an obstacle for journalists with specialised talents.

"I do not think everyone can be a good multi-skilled journalist. I think it poses a threat to, never mind the print side of things, but to everyone who cannot be as dynamic as what there will be a demand for now. We are losing specialisation," argues Cele.

Professor Lizette Rabe, a journalism lecturer at the Stellenbosch University and former Sarie magazine editor, believes it is up to the new generation of journalists to redefine media.

Rabe agrees with Weideman that journalist have a guaranteed role in future society.

"In any revolutionary period, like the disruptive digital economy we are experiencing now, everything is turned upside down.

"The point is there will always be newsworthy events happening, meaning there will be a need for people to package news. We talk about different digital platforms and technological frameworks, but those frameworks and platforms mean absolutely nothing without content. "

She maintains that the public will continue to rely on journalists for content, because citizens "cannot spell" or produce objective news.

"That is why journalism is a profession which is linked to a professional code of ethics."