Sniper scandal and SA’s arms trade – a story of print and web working together
We were working this week on a story about South Africa's sales of sniper rifles to Libya (and here in Rapport), a story based on video evidence posted on the Web and which finally exposed the reason for the South African government's continued reluctance to confirm on the specifics of its arms dealings with Libya as it lurched towards a civil war.
This story is noteworthy, I think, besides being pretty interesting, it also involved us working across platforms both to produce material for the report but also using web tools to assist with print presentation and story-telling.
Media24 Investigations reporter, Julian Rademeyer, used the web to both source evidence for his sniper's rifle story but also to produce a video (see below) which was used to back our report up, both giving us print stills and web video.
The web video was linked with interactive "tags" in print in both City Press and Rapport, allowing print readers to connect to the video via cellphone by taking pictures of the tag using their phones.
A journo’s public holiday anthem
Hi-ho,hi-ho, it's off to work I go
No day off when you're a hack
Deadlines do not fall back
For us who scribble for a living
For whom the thrill is in the giving
Of all the facts you do not know
Hi-ho,hi-ho.... It's off to work I go
Is Branko bonkers or brilliant? SA’s first iPad daily ‘paper’ proposition examined
I was fascinated to read earlier this week about Daily Maverick's irrepressable entrepeneur Branko Brkic's plan to launch SA's first iPad daily "newspaper" under the Maverick brand. It's a concept that I've been keen on ever since laying my hands on an iPad and I too have spent many hours doing sums on the back of knapkins wondering if they can be made to work.
When I first looked at Branko's proposition I thought he was bonkers. "There's no way he can make this work," I thought.
But then I took the time to do some calculations based on the assumptions that he has put out there already and from this we can glean some insight into his business plan.
This is what we know:
- There will be a monthly subscription of R395
- Subscribers will have to commit to a two-year deal
- Branko targets an eventual market of between 20,000 and 25,000
- He plans to offer around 40 articles a day
So, lets do some numbers (disclaimer: I am not an MBA, an account, or a business manager, so please challenge my assumptions/calculations)
Scridb filterThe long grind of the information battle. Result: What SA’s top civil servants earn
Over the last six months or so since I joined the Media24 Investigations team I've been pushing for us to really get active on access to information applications and last weekend one of our most ambitious projects came to fruition as we published the salaries of most of South Africa's directors-general, the country's top civil servants. (Stories in Afrikaans in Rapport here and also in City Press)
An earlier access to information request involved us fighting for information around the SA's national matric examination mark adjustments.
The information in our most recent project involving the DGs salaries came after many months of work in hassling dozens of government departments to respond to our access to information request - even though the Promotion of Access to Information law clearly sets out how this process is supposed to unfold.
Now, for reporters in Western democracies the idea of having to file access to information applications to get details of civil servants' salaries would probably seem crazy as this kind of information would, you would imagine, be freely available.
But would it? Our own campaign was in itself inspired by the amazing Bureau for Investigative Journalism project in the United Kingdom which produced a series of stories on the back of literally thousands and thousands of access to information applications.
How to bust open secrets with South Africa’s wonderful access to information laws
So, this morning Dr Mafu Rakometsi, the CEO of the Umalusi Council, stood up at a press conference in Pretoria to reveal some answers to some pressing questions about the 2010 matric results and how the results in various subjects were changed. 
For myself and team mates in the Media24 Investigations team and colleagues at the Sunday titles, Rapport and City Press, this marked the end of a fascinating chapter in which we had brought the power of South Africa's access to information laws to bear on this body.
Dr Rakometsi told everyone gathered there that the exam quality watchdog had taken this unprecedented step because of the intense interest in the "standardisation" process and after extensive consultations with relevant stakeholders and other interested parties.
But the truth behind this decison is rather more textured, as I will explain. The story behind it, I believe, holds an important lesson for South African journalists and, in fact, for any citizen wanting to ensure that those in authority do not withold from us information to which we are entitled.
Scridb filter