On 11th June, the Journo Challenge, a Media Workshop presented by Romesa Muhammad with the help of Azraa Rockman, took place Students attending the workshop had to write an article about a made-up scenario that was acted out by some of the Media Club girls.
The made-up scenario was that the captain of Water High School's hockey team, Chwayita Hanabe, got injured while celebrating her victory against Darwin High School's hockey team. Mohiba Natha played the role of Chwayita's friend. Q-Lynn Davids was the suspected perpetrator in this made-up crime scene. Zoe Muller played the role of a confused but defensive friend of the suspected perpetrator. Bilqees Vawda was the referee who did not see this incident occur. Miacarla Tee played the incredible role of being the most reliable witness in this confusing set up. Whereas, Megan Potgieter played the dramatic role of being the bystander with a highly unrealistic view of what had taken place.
The workshop attendees had to write an article in a non-biased and objective manner after interviewing all those present at the “crime scene”. Their piece of work had to be factual and objective. After the short skit, the attendees interviewed the victim and her loyal friend, the suspected perpetrator and her confused but defensive friend, the bystanders and the referee. "How dare could they!" Chwayita had shouted out in outrage as she acted the role of the victim. Her incorrect use of grammar had definitely made everyone laugh. It was one of the highlights of the challenge. Mrs Gerber was surprised by the media girls' incredible acting skills when she found what drama queens the media club regulars were!
The purpose of the Journo Challenge was, "To see the journalists' ability to collect facts and their ability to keep their opinions to themselves as they write their articles." Those were the words of Miss Mxoli as the journalists handed their finished articles in. Aspiring journals and bloggers got some amazing tips on grabbing the audience’s attention like making a short title that summarizes the article or have a bold title that is easy to see, considering the effect of your article on the family of those your write about, checking for sensationalism and bias. The workshops give us a platform to share our views on all things related to media and integrity in what we say or write about others while keeping it enjoyable and educational!
The girls attending summed up the workshop with one word “interesting". We all learnt that there is always more than one side to a story and that we should always remain objective.
Special thanks goes to Mrs Gerber and Miss Mxoli for supervising the workshop and always teaching us aspects that can help even out of school, Romesa Muhammad for heading this wonderful workshop, Azraa Rockman for providing the script for the made-up scenario, the dramatic actresses and everyone who attended the workshop.