MBABANE: Zweli Martin Dlamini, the editor of this Swaziland News says the standard of journalism in eSwatini has declined and this, could be attributed to the eSwatini government reluctance to support journalism.
The editor shared these sentiments last week when interviewed by the Wits University in South Africa, the institution of higher learning produced a newsletter about global journalism.
“This could be attributed to government reluctance to support journalism. There are no clear internship programmes that seek to ensure that experienced journalists transfer skills to upcoming journalists”, said the editor as quoted by the Wits University newsletter.
Dlamini said journalism was “a continuous learning profession that, of course, requires consistent mentoring of skills. With the ever-changing world and lifestyles, journalists are expected to adapt to the new realities”. He said that “in eSwatini journalism is not taken seriously, it is suppressed at political level and students are struggling to secure scholarships to do journalism. What I have observed is that some students are good in information gathering but struggle with storytelling or writing. Others are good writers but with no content. It’s rare to get a student with both skills,” he said.
The editor was interviewed by Wits University Journalism Lecturer Enock Sithole.
Editor Zweli Martin Dlamini.