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Anton Harber at GIPCA's Great Texts

The Famous Idea Trading Company
10/02/2012 14:38:41


Artslink.co.za News
Author and editor Anton Harber reveals why he chooses journalism on Thursday 18 October at GIPCA's Great Texts.

Author and editor Anton Harber reveals why he chooses journalism, on Thursday 18 October, in the final 2012 event in the Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA) Great Texts/Big Questions public lecture series.

Harber will examine the changing work and role of journalists in the perfect storm created by new technology, and state and commercial pressures. Using his own work in his recently-published book Diepsloot as the basis of his discussion, he will examine the challenge of journalism in this country, posing pertinent questions: What kind of journalism do we want and need in the age of social media? What do we expect from our journalists in a struggling democracy? Do we want professionalism, or activism, from our reporters?

Harber’s attempt to answer these questions draws on three very different texts: Tiyo Soga's writing on the role of newspapers in Indaba, one of the first newspapers for black readers; George Orwell's Why I Write; and Eduardo Galeano's In Defence of the Word.

Anton Harber was one of the founders of the Mail & Guardian in 1985 and went on to edit this newspaper for 12 years. Having also been an executive director of Kagiso Media, he is now the Caxton Professor of Journalism at Wits University, and chair of the Freedom of Expression Institute. He co-edited the first two editions of The A–Z of South African Politics (Penguin, 1994/5), What is Left Unsaid: Reporting the South African HIV Epidemic (Jacana, 2010) and Troublemakers: The best of SA’s investigative journalism (Jacana, 2010). His book, Diepsloot, was published by Jonathan Ball in May 2011, and won the Recht Malan Prize for Non-Fiction Writing. Harber writes a regular column in Business Day and blogs at www.theharbinger.co.za. His latest venture is in non-fiction e-publishing, www.mampoer.co.za.

This event will take place at Hiddingh Hall, University of Cape Town (UCT) Hiddingh Campus, Orange Street, Cape Town on Thursday 18 October 2012 at 17:30 and is free. Refreshments will be served from 17:00. No Booking is necessary. For more information on the Great Texts / Big Questions series, please contact 021 480 7156 or fin-gipca@uct.ac.za


NOTE TO EDITORS:

About GIPCA: The University of Cape Town’s Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA) facilitates new collaborative and interdisciplinary creative research projects in the disciplines of Music, Dance, Fine Art, Drama, Creative Writing, Film and Media Studies. Interdisciplinarity is a key theme of the institute and projects are imbued with innovation, collaboration and dialogue with urbanism and community. GIPCA was launched in December 2008 with a substantial grant from Sir Donald Gordon, founder of Liberty Life. An Advisory Board comprising Heads of Departments of all Performing and Creative Arts Departments at UCT helps to shape contexts for the instigation and development of projects by students and staff, as well as a wide range of institutions and individuals outside the university. For more information on the 2012 GIPCA programme, visit www.gipca.uct.ac.za, or phone 021 480 7156.

GIPCA Director: Associate Professor Jay Pather
GIPCA Project Manager: Adrienne van Eeden-Wharton
Chair of the GIPCA Board: Professor Paula Ensor


Gilly Hemphill
The Famous Idea
gilly@thefamousidea.co.za
011 446 7061/46
082 820 8584
GIPCA
www.gipca.uct.ac.za
 
Related Venue:
Hiddingh Hall, UCT's Hiddingh campus, Cape Town Western Cape South Africa




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