Thursday, 28 April 2022 Lecturer to present at World Press Freedom Day Conference

Journalism lecturer Sisanda Nkoala will fly the CPUT flag at the UNESCO World Press Freedom Day Global Conference in Uruguay next month.

Not only has one of her papers been selected for presentation at the conference, but she will also serve on a panel discussing "Censorious Assaults on Education and Collateral Impacts on Student Press Freedom”.

“I am excited and honoured to have been selected because the UNESCO Global Press Freedom Conference is an important event for the global journalism fraternity. It allows me to deliberate on press freedom, one of the cornerstones of a functioning democracy. It is also an important platform to network and create meaningful collaborations to advance my research and teaching in journalism studies,” said Nkoala.

The title of her paper is Language as Symbolic Action in Online Violence against South African Female Journalists on Twitter.

Nkoala said that online violence against journalists is a global phenomenon. Recent studies have documented patterns suggesting that specific groups of journalists defined by gender are likely targets of online harassment intended to prompt women journalists to self-censor.

 “My study builds on this and focuses on using language as symbolic action for mob censorship in digital spaces against selected female South African journalists. Mob censorship is understood as violence exercised by ordinary citizens against journalists to intimidate and silence the press.”

 Through a qualitative content analysis, she analysed how women journalists are subjected to mob censorship in digital spaces through the posts directed at them.

“My main finding is that the most prevalent linguistic devices used to engage in mob censorship of these women journalists are name-calling and chastisement. My analysis highlights that this occurs through belittling them based on race and gender and trying to admonish these women into silence through sexual innuendo and mentalism.”

The panel she will serve on l will consider issues and developments threatening student journalists' ability to exercise their press freedom.

This year’s conference will take place from 2 to 5 May, and the theme is Journalism under Digital Siege.

World Press Freedom Day is observed on May 3 every year and reminds governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom. It is also a day of reflection among media professionals about press freedom and professional ethics. 

Asked what World Press Freedom means to her, Nkoala said it is a day to remember the centrality of a free and functioning press in all our lives.

“In the age of disinformation, knowing that there exists an institution, like the press, that can be trusted not only to help us decipher fact from fiction but also to speak truth to power and be a voice for those whose voices are muted is important. Our press in South Africa has played an important role in recent years in doing this. Through entities, such as the South African Press Council, where I serve as a public representative, it is encouraging to know that the climate of excellent and ethical journalism, which is also important for press freedom, is preserved.”

Written by Ilse Fredericks

Email: Frederickskennediji@cput.ac.za