For most of us Covid-19 (aka lockdown) has changed our lives. Retrenchments and unplanned pay cuts have brought financial stress into many households.
Big businesses are shutting their doors leaving thousands of people around the world jobless, and sadly the media industry has not been spared.
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Last week the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) announced their plans to launch a relief fund for journalists who have lost their livelihoods as a direct result of the Covid-19 national disaster.
The ‘Covid-19 Impact on Journalism’ report released in June this year points to the devastation that Covid has wreaked on the industry, particularly the print media with the closure of two magazine publishers and 80 small print publications operating across the country, leading to the loss of over 700 journalist jobs.
The report also reveals that freelancers had been particularly badly impacted and that 60 percent of their members had lost almost 70 percent of their income – and that some had lost 80 percent to 100 percent.
“What is particularly worrying is that the media industry plays a powerful, democracy-deepening role in society – this is in terms of ensuring a free flow of information in society to keep citizens informed and to hold the powerful to account, both in terms of government and the private sector,” read the SANEF press statement.
Personally, this lockdown period has been a challenge, and brought about a whole new meaning to the word ‘hustle’.
They say ‘when life throws you lemons – make lemonade’ – and this is exactly what I have tried to do – pick myself up and make a plan B, C, D and E to make a buck or five.
But what has hit home the hardest for me during this ‘period of chaotic madness’ is the need to support local.
And 200 percent local that is!
Drive that extra kilometre or three to support the little store down the road, the homemade cakes, the hand-sewn items or the traders selling their fruit and vegetables on the roadside.
I have found myself, never before, supporting local businesses or individuals as I now understand the hustle trying to keep bread on the table.
Largely, because I have discovered a new skill and found myself sewing until midnight and weekends to keep my hustle going.
The beauty about hustling on the South Coast is that we are a truly amazing community of people who care.
And it’s this strong community spirit that makes the hustle a whole lot easier.
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