South African Women in Science Awards

I was profiled by the national department of science and technology.

This, after I was selected as a finalist in the Distinguished Young Women Researchers: Humanities and Social Sciences category for the 2024 South African women in Science Awards.

I was chosen as the first runner up in my hotly contested group and commended for the contribution my work is making in advancing scholarship in my field.

Link: https://www.dst.gov.za/index.php/media-room/latest-news/4337-celebrating-30-years-of-democracy-towards-women-s-development

How South African Female Politicians Harness Social Media

One of the glaring issues in this, and every other election in SA, is the visibility of female politicians. Like many countries, South Africa grapples with the complex challenge of gender inequality in its political landscape. While strides have been made towards greater gender representation, female politicians still face barriers that hinder their full participation in the country’s democratic processes. This includes their visibility in mainstream media where interviews and panel discussions disproportionately feature male politicians.

Science journalism: Social media can help to reach audiences

Science journalism is about taking complex academic research and turning it into easy-to-read content that is still accurate. Aside from informing readers through evidence-based journalism, it aims to make the wider public curious about scientific research.

Link: https://www.universityworldnews.com/post-mobile.php?story=20240515195555864

Academic Life Podcast with Christina Gessler

Today’s book is: 100 Years of Radio in South Africa, Volume 1: South African Radio Stations and Broadcasters Then & Now (Palgrave MacMillan, 2023), edited by Dr. Sisanda Nkoala (with Gilbert Motsaathebe). The book focuses on South African radio stations and broadcasters in the past and present. It brings together media scholars and practitioners to deliberate on the role and influence of radio broadcasting in South Africa over the past 100 years.

Dr Sisanda Nkoala, an associate professor who teaches media studies in the Linguistics Department at the University of the Western Cape, told Daily Maverick: “Community radio is a pivotal pillar in South Africa’s three-tier radio landscape. Activists had to fight to ensure it was established shortly before we entered the democratic dispensation in the 1990s. They recognised that having come out of an era where media was a powerful tool of propaganda and oppression, there was a need for media platforms that would emanate from the grassroots and give an authentic voice to ordinary South Africans.

“Bush Radio was at the forefront of this, and it is no small matter that it is deemed the mother of community radio in our context.”

Professor outlines journey of radio over the years

Link: Professor outlines journey of radio over the years | Netwerk24 

Radio 702 Marks 100 years since radio was introduced in South Africa, through the first experimental broadcast at the Railway Headquarters in Johannesburg

In a stretched global media world, where “beats”, such as health, education and the environment, covered by specialist reporters, have been shrinking as fast as reader numbers and advertising, a job ad for a “modern storyteller” adept in print, audio and visual journalism was bound to be controversial.

South African newsrooms are as depleted as most around the world. Arts, culture and entertainment coverage is often confined to what celebrities say on X or the pictures they post on Instagram.

“If we base the idea of journalism on information that is in the public interest rather than information that the public finds interesting, then reporters who are dedicated to specific celebrities, no matter their cultural, economic and social impact, might not be sustainable nor in the best interest of the field,” says Dr Sisanda Nkoala, senior lecturer in the media department at Cape Peninsula University of Technology. 

Link: https://mg.co.za/friday/2023-10-14-tayloring-stories-for-fans/

100 years of radio in South Africa

Cape Talk's Clarence speaks to Dr Sisanda Nkoala Senior Lecturer, Cape Peninsula University of Technology about 100 years of radio in South Africa: https://omny.fm/shows/mid-morning/heritage-half-hour-100-years-of-sa-radio

Television reports on crimes against women and children tend to get a lot of views and opens up the platform to public scrutiny. It's also the main medium in which viewers are informed about court cases and their outcomes. Sisanda Nkoala from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology has written a research paper on the role news broadcasts play when it comes to reporting on matters that involve the law and the courts. She spoke to Thembekile Mrototo. #eNCA Courtesy #DStv403

In this article, I  was featured giving commentory on the implications of closing down a Cape Town-based community radio station that broadcasts tot he Khayelitsha community in Xhosa.

In this edition of the Knowledge Bank, Powerfm's Lukhona Mnguni explored a chapter from the book “Radio, Public Life and Citizen Deliberation in South Africa”. The chapter, “In whose interest is it anyway? - An analysis of the content, discourse and programming strategies of South African business radio shows”, authored by Sisanda Nkoala and Dr Trust Matsilele explores the extent to which South African talk radio stations fulfil their normative role of ensuring that disparate groups participate in shaping narratives around the structure and direction of the country's economy.

As media coverage of the 16 days of activism for no violence against women and children peaks, a recent study challenges newsrooms to reflect on the words and visuals they use to convey stories.In the study, entitled Crimes Against Children: Evaluative Language and News Reports on Sentences, academic Sisanda Nkoala examined television news coverage of three prominent child murder cases by SA’s biggest broadcasters. The peer-reviewed study was published in the Javnost — The Public journal last month. Nkoala zoomed in on SA’s two major broadcasters’ reporting on the judgments and sentencing of Nicholas Ninow, Zintle Maditla and Nkosinathi Ndlela...  ~ 10 December 2020

Do media reports on crimes against children focus on emotion rather than facts?

Do media reports on crimes against children focus on emotion rather than facts? University of Cape Town PhD graduate Dr Sisanda Nkoala conducted a study on television news reporting of violent crimes against children. 

Acknowledging that the advent of mass media has been one of the most significant developments in shaping the world as we know it today, recent University of Cape Town (UCT) PhD graduate Dr Sisanda Nkoala wanted to understand how that shaping occurs and what it persuades us of  ~ 1 August 2022

Also republished on:

https://indiaeducationdiary.in/university-of-cape-town-media-reports-on-crimes-against-children-focus-on-emotion-rather-than-facts-study/

An article published in The Conversation Africa based on my paper on Educators experiences of using multlingual pedagogies in emergency remote teaching during the Covid19 pandemic. Also republished on:

https://www.modernghana.com/news/1180067/covid-was-a-setback-for-indigenous-languages-sout.html