Local newsNews

My heart went out to the old man in hand-cuffs

Newspaper readers are always way off the mark as to the role of a journalist within the broader community.

Newspaper readers are always way off the mark as to the role of a journalist within the broader community.

Take for instance the tiff between a jilted lover and a woman who mothered the couple’s child.

The son died during unrest in the township in Bela-Bela.

I was the duty reporter at the time, and did publish a story about the boy’s untimely death, from a rubber bullet allegedly fired by the police.

The boy’s dad arrived at The BEAT offices fuming, accusing me of publishing the wrong surname in the newspaper.

Common law has it that a child retains his/her mother’s surname if there is no formal marriage between boyfriend and girlfriend.

That is the surname we used in the newspaper, and the rest is history.

Another experience is that often we are invited to the police station to photograph suspects.

Among these suspects was a 70-year-old who left me with no option but to pity the poor old man.

More often than not, when police release information about the arrest of suspects, we publish what comes from the police.

Some of the suspects perceive our reporting as a personal attack.

This is downright mischief, because as reporters we do not have arresting powers.

On a lighter note, I travelled with Modimolle’s Solomon Mahlangu High School under-15 soccer team to Polokwane for the Copa Coca-Cola Cup.

When the minibus stopped and hooted at various homes in the early hours, some of the boys emerged from the yard armed with what looked like harmless sticks.

They all said the sticks were for self-defence in case a mugger pounced from the darkness!

— The BEAT

At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App here.

Related Articles

Check Also
Close
Back to top button