Enrolment of first year students in journalism leaps up by 30% in 1979. Why?
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"Possibly because the Information scandal has made journalism seem like a glamorous profession." At least this is the opinion of Journalism staff who compare the jump in numbers with a similar phenomenon at journalism schools in the United States after Watergate.
Of course, the increase may also be linked to the growing reputation of the Rhodes department, the only one of its kind at an English-language university in South Africa.
Bulletin, 1979 (2): 3
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Voice
Clive Emdon (1979)
Voice
Clive Emdon was a visiting lecturer in the department in 1979.
"I was seconded to Rhodes as a visiting lecturer in 1979 to 1981 by the Rand Daily Mail after working for the Mail for 10 years as a reporter, night news editor and as a labour correspondent,
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It was a well-run department under the management initially promoted by Tony Giffard, then by Les Switzer, then Gavin Stewart. There was a large student body that was articulate and responsive to lecturers. As a working journalist I was able to complete my own degree while teaching at Rhodes with majors in African Politics and Sociology.
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I lectured to 1st, 2nd 3rd & 4th-year students in the practice of journalism (1st & 2nd years), investigative reporting (3rd year), and design and editing (3rd & 4th)."
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Rhodes was a seminal experience involving three women in my life.
My wife at the time, Jennifer Hyman, worked as the regional journalist in Grahamstown for the Eastern Province Herald in Port Elizabeth. Both of our children, Joshua and Thandi went to local schools.
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In my first term I met a fellow student Enid Reid, to whom I later married in 1985 after leaving Grahamstown and with whom I lived in Durban while working on the Daily News.
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In 1996 I married fellow journalist Heloise Henning in Johannesburg. We had been together in the 3rd year course in African Politics under Prof. Nancy Charton. She shared a house with Larry Strelitz. We met up later when she joined the Development Bank in Mid-Rand after being a parliamentary reporter for SAPA and an economics writer for Business Day. We have been married for 22 years and have two children Benjamin and Gina.
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Key Rand Daily Mail colleagues and friends at Rhodes included Graeme Addison, Gavin Stewart and his wife Ingrid Stewart. Graeme, who spent years as a writer for The Star and Business Day. He and I taught journalism in the industry as well as at University and Polytechnic levels and more recently to groups of foreign journalists sent to South Africa for training.
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From Rhodes I became head of journalism and public relations at Durban Technikon for 10 years, then as director of the Independent Media Diversity Trust in Johannesburg establishing community radio stations and newspapers and running courses for journalists in the industry and at Wits University. I went on to work for Business Times of the Sunday Times as surveys editor and then as a training editor on The Citizen.
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I moved to Ottawa, Canada with my Heloise and our children ten years ago, where she is the manager of international projects at Carleton University. I have worked as a contract editor for different institutes and for Research ICT Africa."
Beyond Theory and Practice