Dummies’ guide to the next big thing: programmatic advertising

If you’re a media planner you probably know something about programmatic advertising – the next big thing in online – and are wanting to understand it more. If you’re a digital publisher, you fear it because it looks set to drive down ad revenue and take it out of the hands of your ad sales team.

Which is why the South African branch of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) are planning to run a range of courses on programmatic advertising, targeting advertising students, agencies, marketers and publishers. This is being driven by the IAB’s new head of innovation, Mike Carter.

Read More

SA student media on growth path

From the fall of the Cecil John Rhodes statue at the University of Cape Town to the Student Representative Council (SRC) president’s “I love Hitler” pronouncements at Wits University, South Africa’s campuses have been a big national story this year.

In some instances it was student media rather than the mainstream press that got the story first – a measure of how the genre has grown in the past decade in the number of titles, platforms and quality of content.

Read More

Media freedom in Egypt: a long way from Tahrir Square

You probably know about Peter Greste – the Australian Al Jazeera journalist who was arrested in late 2013 and spent 400 days in jail in Egypt on trumped-up charges. Greste was deported from Egypt in February this year – a way for the Egyptian government to save face, while effectively releasing him from a seven-year jail sentence. You may also have heard of Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed – Greste’s colleagues, who are currently out on bail while a retrial of their case was under way in April 2015.

However, these three men are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to journalists in jail in Egypt. And, although the Al Jazeera case has attracted the most international attention – with one Australian and one dual Egyptian-Canadian citizen – on trial, the majority of journalists behind bars are local.

Read More

Internet for the poor

Even amongst those who do go online, research shows that for those on low incomes, the Internet, for them is a rationed resource offering something far less than the all-encompassing network of information, communication and entertainment that richer users have at their fingertips.

Instant messaging using tools such as WhatsApp ishugely popular because it actually saves money – it’s much cheaper than sending SMS texts – but video and other ‘rich media’ is rationed because of data costs, and to a lesser extent because of slow connectivity. In other words the poor experience a poor woman’s or poor man’s Internet.

Read More

Putting readers before the journalist

When the ABC circulation and Amps readership figures come out, Soccer Laduma is often the star of the show – gaining ground or holding steady – but media watchers tend to dismiss it because it’s a sports title.

The weekly newspaper’s number are big – 315 000 circulation and 3.2-million readership (by comparison the Daily Sun’s circulation is 266 000 and it has 5.3-million readers) while its online stats put it among the top websites in the country.Effective Measure stats for April 2015 reported 1-million unique browsers and 27-million page impressions for mobile, and 239 349 uniques and 3.6-million page impressions for web.

Read More

Law Focus: Law of Pharmaceutical Patents

Everyone hates being sick and medicine shouldn’t be a luxury.

We take a look at South Africa’s pharmaceutical patent laws and how they influence the price and accessibility of meds, with the help of TAC’s Lotti Rutter and MSF’s Catherine Tomlinson.

LAW FOCUS ON VOWFM. TUESDAYS 6 - 7PM

Tune into 88.1FM or stream on www.vowfm.co.za

Listen Here

The Science Inside: South Africa’s Water Crisis

This week’s topic is the water crisis in South Africa.

The show starts with how the joys of brewing beer can solve a water crisis. From there we chat to Professor Anthony Turton about why we are on the brink of chaos and Senta Berner about how angry people can become when their water is cut off.

Listen Here

The Business Buzz: Student Medical Aid

“In our Business Wrap”, Financial adviser Ken Swettenham gives us a recap of the week’s business, finance and economic news and also shares tips on how to spot a money scam.

For our main topic segment this week, we look at Student Medical Aid. Rikki Erasmus, the Head of the Student Segment at Momentum Health explains what student medical aid is and elaborates on the various medical plans and covers that are tailor-made for students.

The Brand Manager at Black Bold Animation and Design, Thato, tells us about all the wonderful opportunities they have for youth and graduates in the field of animation and design- for our 60 second corporate sell.

In our “Rant n Rave” segment- Tumi, a programming and content intern, tells us all that she loves and hates about her job.

Listen Here

Wits Internet Week

The Network Society Project at Wits Journalism, the Link Centre and the Johannesburg Centre for Software Engineering are planning a week of events dedicated to understanding the Internet of the past and the present and to contributing to the future growth of an open, relevant, affordable and accessible Internet in south Africa and the rest of the continent.

The week aims to bring together those engaged in researching the Internet, those engaged in building it and those who should benefit from its development.

RSVP NOW

Radio Days Africa 2015

The Wits Radio Academy’s annual radio conference has become the premier gathering of radio leaders on the continent. It’s where they grapple with issues facing the medium in a changing environment, get inspired by the best new ideas from here and abroad, and learn new skills.

The conference will bring together around 50 top international speakers, and 200 and upwards delegates from public, commercial and community radio; producers, managers, on-air talent, sales and marketing staff and anybody else interested in the medium. It’s the conference for everybody interested in radio and its future. This year, the theme is Radio 2.0, concentrating on the new shapes and forms the medium will take.

RSVP NOW

Scholarships for Journalism Courses Available

Midcareer journalists from several developing countries can apply for a scholarship to attend an RNTC course in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands Fellowship Programmes (NFP) are accepting applications for journalism courses at the Radio Nederland Training Centre (RNTC). NFP is funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and run by the Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education (NUFFIC).

APPLY NOW

Become a loveLife Freelancer

South Africa’s largest print publication for youth is looking to expand its network of freelance journalists. As we widen our focus to include young people 12 to 24 for all over SA, it only makes to open up loveLife’sUNCUT Magazine to young writers who are on the pulse of what is happening in THEIR communities.

We’re searching for writers from all parts of South Africa – within various spheres of interest – to cover the burning issues that youth in their communities face to create positive change. loveLife’s renewed focus youth leadership challenges young people to be change agents in their communities, and this is our challenge to you!

APPLY NOW