By Nia Crowe
M.A. Strategic PR, 2010
Graduate students enrolled in Annenberg’s summer internship program in Cape Town, South Africa took time from their work schedules and excursions to share their multimedia reporting skills with primary and high school students in Paarl, South Africa.
Students from the Journalism, Strategic Public Relations and Communication Management programs partnered with “learners” recruited by the Kinoinia Community Centre in conjunction with Drakenstein Express community newspaper to report stories on their communities through their eyes. (In South Africa, students are called learners.)
The stories were posted on a blog that Annenberg students John Adams (M.A. print journalism) and Richie Duchon (M.A. Online Journalism) created for the project.
The Annenberg students trained the 11 learners in the use of digital cameras, digital audio recorders and Sound Slides software as well as in interviewing and reporting basics during a June 27-28 workshop in Paarl. At the end, students presented their audio slide shows and news articles then celebrated with a traditional South African braai, the U.S. equivalent of a barbeque.
“It felt awesome to go back into the community to pass on the things we are learning in Annenberg to the student learners. I would love to do something like that again,” Lauren Mendoza, a first-year print journalism student, said of her experience.
The Paarl students, ranging in age from 11 to 19, gained new interests and skills in citizen journalism as well as new insights into the Paarl Valley community. Seventeen-year old Cavendy Festus said, “I enjoyed getting know different people in my community that I would not have otherwise talked to through interviewing them.”
Because of the workshop’s success, Cape Town program director Erna Smith (pictured) and broadcast journalism student Kim Daniels were invited on June 30 to speak on Otherwise, a radio public affairs program for women broadcast nationally on SAfm, a division of the South African Broadcasting Corp.
“The workshop allowed the Annenberg students to experience South Africa from the inside out rather than just from the outside in as interns and visitors,” said Smith, a professor of professional practice in the School of Journalism. “I know the students learned as much about life in South Africa from our talented learners as they taught the learners about journalism.”
Said Harlan Cloete, founder of the Kinoinia centre and the Drakenstein Express: “This was fantastic experience for our young people. I never got the impression that the (Annenberg) students were just doing this as a class assignment. They really put their hearts and souls into this project.”
About USC Annenberg International Graduate Programs:
The USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism sponsors international undergraduate and graduate study-abroad programs in Cape Town, Hong Kong and London. Each of the programs provides students with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain international professional experience in their chosen field of study. Students intern at newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations, PR agencies, or in the communications departments of various top organizations. Students make lifelong friendships and learn new cultures while earning credits toward their USC degree.
