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A journalist taking notes.
The South African National Editors Forum (SANEF) says the consequences are dire for news reporters, video and photo-journalists who are unable to cover crime stories on the Cape Flats, due to safety concerns.
Ongoing violence and criminality on the Cape Flats hamper journalists’ efforts to effectively tell the stories of affected communities.
Journalists covering these stories have expressed fear of falling victim to the violence.
Dr Sisanda Nkoala says, “Now people can say, well, nowadays we have social media, so communities don’t need journalists, so we can tell our own stories, but in this age of disinformation and misinformation, we still need credible voices, which come from the newsrooms, to go in and actually report the facts, and we need established institutions to hold government and authorities to account in ways that only journalists can do.”
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