We are talking with Violet Gonda from SW Radio Africa on Wednesday. Please listen to two broadcasts from their site and give your reactions in the comment section of this entry.
In addition, we will be joined by Denis Burgierman, a magazine editor from Brazil who is currently traveling the country collecting research for a new magazine. His travel stories are collected here, but they are in Portuguese.
In addition, our talks with Denis and Violet will allow us to also engage in a conversation about press around the world and how it’s different than in the US. Please read the following to help inform our discussion:
The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 19 states: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
But it’s not happening everywhere:
Reporters Without Borders: Press Freedoms 2008 index
Tally of journalists killed worldwide in 2008
Two Journalists in Pakistan Wounded by Gunmen
Online, it’s no better.
Internet censorship in China
Chinese blogger beaten to death
Burmese blogger sentenced to 30 years in jail
19 Comments
November 18, 2008 at 4:28 pm
The first radio clip I listened to with Violet Ganda was pretty interesting. The guest seemed to get extremely mad at her, and frustrated about the questions she was asking. He was kind of a jerk when answering, telling violet he’ll “repeat very slowly in case you didn’t understand the first time”. His tone of voice just made himself look like an ass. He was very good at not answering questions and instead pawning them off on someone else, suggesting she ask someone different for the answers she’s looking for.
The second clip I listened to, from the seventh of november was much much better, her guest was very calm, and understanding, and kept very good radio etiquette while answering questions. A question came up about Obama and how the guest felt about him becoming president, which took me by surprise. I realize this election was very important not only to our country but worldwide, but I guess I just didn’t really realize how much of an impact it had, the guest was opposed to GWB jr. (who wasn’t) and I think it’s great that other countries are in concurrence with our nations decision.
Violet Ganda is very much a lady to look up to. Being able to, dare I say, interrogate certain leaders with questions that everyone wants answered but are often too intimidated to ask is something to be sought after. Outside of being a little hard to understand (more-so in the first clip), the “hot seat” is something I hope is contagious amongst radio stations everywhere.
November 18, 2008 at 8:25 pm
This first clip I listened to was a hot seat with Violet. In the beginning I had a hard time understanding what the guy she was interviewing was saying, but after a few minutes the interview became very intense, and more clear. The guy she was interviewing was starting to get really heated up and was unprofessional answering her questions. I give Violet props throughout her interview because he was very hostile and kept yelling at her to listen, and she didn’t argue.
For the second piece I listened to a hot seat with Violet from November 7th. This interview was much more peaceful and a little easier to understand. The interview was much more controlled and touched on topics that I understood and had background on. It was also really interesting to hear people in a different area of the world discuss something that was so important to our country, and so close to us.
I was overall very impressed with the interviews I heard. Especially with listening to the first hot seat where the guest was very hostile. After listening to interviews and even watching them in a studio I was very caught off guard by the act of the first interviewee. I feel like here people are always trying to compose themselves during interviews, even if they get frustrated they still put on a happy face to keep a good name, whereas he just let go. It was very interesting to compare the show to one here and how much they are the same, and how much they are different.
November 18, 2008 at 9:52 pm
The first clip I listened to the guy was a total asshole. I felt SO bad for Violet and just wanted to smack him through the computer. He was very unprofessional, and really rude.
The second clip I listened to the guest was very calm. It made me feel better knowing all Violet’s guests weren’t so rude and obnoxious. Both interviews showed me that an interview can go either way. Not all of them are the same, it really opened up my eyes that people are jerks…even in the working world.
November 18, 2008 at 10:33 pm
The broadcasts I listened to were the “Health Beat” programs. The broadcast appears to be apart of a weekly weekend program that discusses ways for people to be healthy and stay healthy “physically, mentally and spiritually”.
The first broadcast I listened to was from the November 15-16 weekend. The topic of discussion was about the cholera epidemic that has hit Zimbabwe recently. I was shocked to hear this because I have not heard about this epidemic from any other news source. I am certain had I not heard it from the broadcast I would have not had heard about it. In fact it was difficult to find further information about the epidemic online. Overall the program was informative; although, I wish that the broadcasters had gone further into what cholera was and what its symptoms were. The only information I was given was to how it spreads and what gender and age it’s affecting the most. It was also difficult to hear the other broadcaster who was “on the ground” because of the connection.
The next broadcast I listened to was from the previous weekend of November 8-9. During this program a biomedicalist who is conducting research on HIV and AIDS was discussing some of his recent research. Unfortunately it was difficult to understand the biomedicalist because of his heavy accent and also it was noisy in the background(where he was). So I was unable to hear a lot of what he said.
November 18, 2008 at 10:34 pm
The first broadcast I listened to was a segment created on November 11 called the “Diaspora Diaries,” which was done by a staff member named Alex. She interviews a man named Daniel who is the coordinator of the political Zimbabwe forum about the corruption of the government and the dire need for restructure of their country. They talk about the need for more mass action and mass protest needed to change the situation going on in Zimbabwe. The people of Zimbabwe seem to have given up on fighting for their political and civil rights. Daniel expresses the need of public forums in order for action to take place.
The regime is very corrupt Alex asks, “How can action take place in these countries when you’ve got leaders who are quite clearly not interested in resolving the Zimbabwe impasse…” Daniel expresses again the need for the people of Zimbabwe to speak up so Zimbabwe can come more of a global priority.
I thought it was also interesting that they mentioned what worldly priorities the new president of the United States will see, and that he won’t see Zimbabwe as a priority unless the people dying of hunger and people suffering political violence become more of a public issue. I found it very interesting how this segment shows their need for the aid of western countries.
The next segment I listened to was called the “Hot Seat” with Violet Gonda. I guess it was the same one Nicole listened to because the professor she was interviewing began getting very agitated and was getting very defensive at every question Violet was asking. She remained very professional, and was still trying to seek answers. He was very hard to understand, but what I got was that he was very disappointed with the outcome of a meeting over the weekend, but knows he must act respectful over the decision made. She questions if his strategic approach is the right one to solve the problem. He cut her off in the middle of a question she was trying to ask and spoke over her. He was very rude, and stuck to his views of “putting national interest before self-interest.” By the end of the interview she seemed to calm to him down, and finish the interview, her laugh at the end seemed more of a “thank God this is over” laugh.
I think SW Radio Africa does an excellent job speaking out about the issues currently going on in Zimbabwe, and has given me a better understanding than what is seen in American broadcasts, which now I see is due to the fact that we really don’t know the extent of the issues going on. It is not a global priority, which was emphasized in both broadcasts I listened to. I am looking forward to hearing what Violet has to say over this interview tomorrow. I really want to know what thoughts were running through her head when she was talking to this very outspoken man. I also want to know if what they are doing are making the problems going on in Zimbabwe more of a global issue.
November 18, 2008 at 11:07 pm
The first broadcast I listened to was recorded November 8-9th. I found it a bit difficult to understand, considering the accent of the guest speaker. There also seemed to be too much background noise. However, aside from those minor setbacks, I did pick up from the broadcast that the doctor was speaking about his recent research about HIV/AIDS. The subject of HIV/AIDS is very important to me, so I was interested in what I could understand from it.
The second broadcast I listened to, Hot Seat (recorded November 7th) was much easier for me to understand. I found it very interesting to hear what others from across the world had to say about topics that affect everyone in the world. I understood it and actually enjoyed it, as well. The interview tended to have a laid-back tone and was enjoyable to listen to.
I think Viola Ganda seems like a woman with poise and power. She is not afraid to ask questions and generally gets the answer. The Hot Seat was my favorite broadcast.
November 19, 2008 at 12:53 am
Both broadcasts I listened to were from the Hot Seat with Violet Ganda. Her guest in the first broadcast was Professor Arthur Mutambara. It seems at first he was trying to do the whole Sarah Palin avoid-answering-the-question thing but Ganda kept reinforcing her questions and asking them in different ways. I like how she asks REAL questions and doesn’t give up when she doesn’t get the answer.
The second broadcast I listened to Ganda was speaking with Brian Kagoro. This interview was a little easier to understand and the guest seemed to be more calm. The radio broadcast is very different compared to what is on American radio. It seems like SW Radio Africa and especially Ganda really care about the people of Zimbabwe and aren’t afraid to ask about important issues. American radio seems like fluff compared to this.
November 19, 2008 at 3:12 am
The first broadcast that I listened to was “Letters From America” from the Nov. 10th broadcast. Stanford Mukasa spoke about the presidential election that took place in the U.S. He first gave the basic story of Obama winning and the country celebrating this historic event. He talked about the process both Obama and McCain went through to get to where they were on election day. It was interesting getting an international perspective on Obama winning. Later he compared the elections of the U.S. to those of Zimbabwe. He sounded real impressed on how it was handled. He mentioned how Obama and McCain behaved so professionally and mature during the months leading up to the election. What really struck me was when Stanford said that no one died from either party in this election. It was something I know but didn’t think about. I’m so used to seeing professional campaigns that I forget about how corrupt other elections in other countries are. Stanford mentioned how their elections are nothing like those in the U.S.. He called Zimbabwe’s elections ’shameful.’ He wrapped it up by saying he would like to see elections like this in his country.
The second broadcast I heard was “Health beat” from the 15-16th weekend show. The guest was some guy named Simon, it was difficult to understand his last name. He called in to inform people of the disease known as cholera and how it was sweeping through the country. The disease is spread mostly due to unclean water that is being consumed by the people. He talked about how many people are dying from it, 10 in the past 2 days to be exact. However, the number of actual death is difficult to determine since so many people are dying in their homes and their deaths go unreported. He mentioned that women are most likely to get this disease then men, simply because women do not have access to cleaner water than men do. He said that people are not informed of the treatments for this disease. I believe he said that there were free treatments available for people except that they do not know about them. It was sad hearing about this.
These two broadcast were both very interesting and yet about two completely different topics. There were some times I had trouble understanding what they were saying. At times I couldn’t make it out over the call. Another time there was some noise in the background which distracted from the actual broadcast. Overall it was interesting to hear them.
November 19, 2008 at 3:58 am
The first broadcast I listened to was called “hot seat” from Nov. 15. The interview was nothing like I have heard before. Violet was questioning someone named Professor Tambara about the position taken by the heads of state in a war about rival parties sharing the same ministry. The topic was honestly hard for me to understand but I think I got what you wanted me to learn from the broadcast.
Violet is obviously very knowledgeable and passionate about politics in Zimbabwe. She asked crucial questions and didn’t hesitate to interrupt and make sure that the professor answered all the controversial questions she asked. During the show the professor became so defensive he was answering the same response to each questions she asked him but Violet was not scared to continue pushing her daring questions on him-she made him look like an idiot. She really held her own against someone who is obviously a powerful man in Zimbabwe.
I think that what she is doing is really great for her country and she is not afraid to get in there and distress her interviewee for the response she needs.
The second broadcast I listened to was the one about AIDS. This broadcast was much more settled down and informative, (well from what I could understand). When I have more time I am going to listen to more of her shows, I think that what she does is exactly the what the responsibility of a journalist is; to the facts to the people no matter what.
November 19, 2008 at 4:19 am
The overall attitude of “Different Points of View” (aired November 17th) presented by Duane was an extremely meaningful piece. He talked about how in the United States it is inspirational how we have the new black leader, Barack Obama, yet in Zimbabwe the situation is the exact opposite. Apparently, the leader of the country, “Muguagay” is tearing the country apart, leaving the people with almost no hope. The most powerful quote Duane used that I thought really conveyed the graveness of the situation was, “Light at the end of the tunnel might be an on-coming train.” Obviously the seriousness of this quote is quite withstanding. However, at the end of the podcast, Duane read a poem of hope and inspiration for the people. Duane showed how even in horrific situations, there is still a sense of hope.
The second podcast, featuring the voice of Lance Guma, was actually very humorous and entertaining. It featured songs from all over the world that featured Obama. The last song actually made me laugh out loud, since it turned the popular line of “tell me where you got your body from, I got it from my mama” into “tell me where you got your education from, I got it from Obama”. The songs were very humorous, yet really expressed the point at how inspired the world is at Obama’s recent presidency. In fact, Lance Guma even announced that he would participate in Wimbledon, and be one of the first black tennis players to do so with the repeated phrase, “yes we can”. (Though this did indeed convey as a joke.) The entertainment through the songs really expressed the pride and success of the African people, and was conveyed through the statement, “A change for Africa.”
November 19, 2008 at 4:22 am
I first listened to Violet Ganda interview a man who became very pushy. I always find it interesting when someone of importance is being talked to and they are rude. It’s difficult to always be professional, but he was out of line. I appreciated her strength in continuing to question. Ganda really shows how much everything matters to her, as well as other people.
The second broadcast was “Health beat”. It spoke about the concern of disease and epidemic throughout Zimbabwe. A lot was challenging to understand, but the main point was that it is important to stay healthy. It talked about different ways to stay healthy not only in shape physically but also a mind, body, and soul type of health.
I enjoyed these broadcasts, and have even listened to more since these. It is interesting and amazing to listen to what is happening throughout the world by a direct source such as these broadcasts in Zimbabwe.
November 19, 2008 at 4:22 am
The first broadcast I listened to began with a song called “Obama Is Thy Name.” It was actually kind of catchy and told the voters in America, ‘not matter who you are’ to vote for Barack, Barack Obama. After the song, callers called up to talk about the inspiration they got from Obama’s campaign and promises for the future. It really hit home for me how his presidency has affected other countries other than my own. The show was very positive and supportive of everyone’s comments and about the new President of the United States. They were all excited and I realized that this is history in the making and the whole world is watching.
The next broadcast’s newsreel included abductions, murders, rapes and so much more. News in America has similar topics but their news has an apparent tone conflict between the Zimbabwe people, their tribunal and their government. Human rights are being compromised and there have been convictions of contempt handed out. However, crisis occurs all over the world and I liked how these broadcasts were an eye opener to me. Also, I liked how the shows addressed local and global issues and their personal affects and consequences.
November 19, 2008 at 4:33 am
The first clip I listed to was “Different Points of View” from Tuesday, November 11th. The man was very clear in his manner of speaking. He spoke slowly, which made it helpful to comprehend everything he was saying. It was sad hearing how things are continually getting worse in Zimbabwe and that it feels as if nothing will ever be able to truly change. The way he discussed the issues seemed so hopeless. Your heart kind of broke a little just by listening. Personally, I find it hard to follow along with audio. I find it easier to grasp the information by reading it on a page. Although things seemed hopeless, he still discussed how people must continue to have faith and always be prepared. He talks a lot about God and how he will grace Zimbabwe’s presence and “bring it back from the brink,” I believe this section is from a poem. I found the way that he said despite everything, he feels there will be a spiritual breakthrough and change will come to Zimbabwe was so inspiring.
Next I listened to “Hot Seat” from Friday, November 14th. The program puts the spotlight on issues in Zimbabwe. It was somewhat hard to understand the people speaking; however, the issues that were being discussed were interesting. The man seemed very defensive, and somewhat rude. Violet was always professional and I found her to be the easiest to understand. I found this segment interesting, yet confusing with their accents. I would like to see the interview on print, so I can get a better understanding about what was being discussed.
Overall, I think SW Radio Africa is interesting and has a lot of significance to the people of Zimbabwe and promoting and publicizing the many issues they are facing. After listening to these broadcasts, I do feel I have a better understanding of what these people are going through and how different it is in America.
November 19, 2008 at 5:13 am
I decided to listen to Healthbeat from November 13th, 2008. The caller is a biomedical scientist from Botswana who focuses in research on AIDS. His call is very unclear so I had to rely on what the Radio Host says. She recaps almost everything he talks about. The topic is how Zimbabwe has a large AIDS population, but most of the people with the disease there have left seeking treatment, therefore Zimbabwe is not prevalent with AIDS anymore, but the neighboring countries have increased with the population. Another caller touches on the subject of AIDS patients and how they receive medicine and anti-retrovirals. It’s very interesting to hear from this kind of country, yet very hard to believe they are so far behind in healthcare issues from us.
I decided to continue listening to the Healthbeat program, this one from November 15, 2008. The host speaks to Simon, a correspondent talking about bodies being loaded by the truckload from Cholera. Simon is on the field reporting. He says that no one knows why the outbreak is spreading so bad, and talks about the people he interviewed that died shortly after he spoke with them. People do not have access to clean water and are using shallow rivers for sources. The unavailability of clean water is a very tough issue for people in this are of the world. Once again it’s very interesting and opens my eyes to the issues that are going on right now. It’s difficult to grasp how we live such different lives.
November 19, 2008 at 6:32 am
I listened to two different ‘Letter From America’ segments and I thought it was really interesting to hear detailed reports about the political situation in Zimbabwe because that’s not really a priority for U.S. audiences. I knew that the country was run under a dictatorship, and I knew that there was a large movement to establish democracy in the country, but I had no idea how much resistance that was being met with when it comes to elections, even though the U.N. supports the movement. It’s just interesting to hear about life in a country so different from our own, because I think sometimes we get so used to our lives that we forget about the rest of the world.
November 19, 2008 at 9:19 am
The first clip that I heard was the Hot Seat with Violet. I didn’t know where to go, so I heard Violets clip first. When I Finished I wondered if she always interviewed many people like Professor Arthur Mutambara; people that are just so rude. I felt bad for Violet but sort of proud at the same time. She has the guts to go head to head with ignorant people like Mutambara. “I said this already, and if you want I’ll say it again.” Mutambara just took any shot he could to bring Violet down – but no! – Violet was persistent with her questions. It got heated.
I also heard another clip called Behind the Headlines with Lance Guma. The interview itself was alright. At times I lost track of what they were saying, there was some static. It was interesting of what I made out. The whole NBC ordeal really grabbed my attention, but at times it seems like the guest speaker was just ranting on about it.
November 19, 2008 at 1:34 pm
The first podcast I listened to was hot seat 071108 broadcasted on November 13, 2008. This podcast talked about Zimbabwean politics and the current struggling economy. A point was brought up about the Zimbabwe economy is not the only country struggling, a lot of the surrounding countries are also feeling the repercussions of the unbelievable inflation. They also talked briefly on the new United States’ president elect, Barack Obama. The Obama success is looked at as symbolism of change and hope and victory for the black people over seas. In the podcast they also compare and contrast Zimbabwe and America in the sense of a battling economy and warfare. I figured that the election would have a big impact on the world, but it is just interesting to actually hear it from economists and on other countries news podcasts.
The second podcast I listened to was Roundup News, the general news, broadcasted on November 17, 2008. The show opened with an unusual story about Zimbabwean police stealing money from people. Apparently the police set up a roadblock on the way to the airport and we taking people’s money and valuables. A man who was a victim of these acts was being interviewed. He said the policemen were uniformed and were targeting people on their way to the airport. The policemen said that if the people had a problem with what was happening they could file a report, but obviously these people were on their way to catch flight, which meant they did not have the time. These acts go to show the problems in Zimbabwe, because if the people cannot go to the police where else can they go.
November 19, 2008 at 2:08 pm
I really enjoyed taking a listen to two of her broadcasts. The layout of the program reminds me a lot of NPR, with the music and the news they cover. The problem with NPR, I feel, is that at times they don’t ask hard questions. This might be to keep their objective status covered. Anyways, my point is that in the program Hot Seat for 11/14, she DID ask those tough questions. She was very persistent and acting as a true journalist. Afterall, if we don’t ask hard questions, we might not find the truth and if we’re working as the public’s trust then there’s a conflict of interest. I have to add – I liked how she allowed him to talk and give his position. It was no Limbaugh.
The next broadcast deals not so much with either hot button issues, or a potential controversial figure, but with Rebuilding Zimbabwe – the title of the broadcast. It was more informative, but still held the edge that was apparent in the first broadcast I listened to. This show is part of their weekend broadcast. It’s also in a language I don’t understand, it must be the Zimbabwean language Shona (from a quick search). I can tell this is comparable to NPR’s weekend newscast in that it’s a little more relaxed than their week day shows that deal with tough issues.
November 19, 2008 at 5:47 pm
I listened to the broadcast by Violet Ganda called “Hot Seat.” I was blown away while listening to the broadcast at how rude and inconsiderate the Professor Arthur Mutambara whom she interviews was. I thought he was being very harsh, and hard to communicate with. I admire how assertive Violet was, and how consise she was with her questions. She knew exactly how to handle him professionally. It was a good learning experience for me going into broadcasting to see how you handle a situation like that. Overall I enjoyed listening, because she interviewed the Professor about Zimbabwa and the crisis going on in the country. I feel like to fully understand the situation though I really should have had more knowledge about the topic she discussed. Eventhough I couldn’t totally understand everything, Violet delivered her interview with great passion. It was obvious that she cared about the issues and dictatorship affecting Zimbabwa.
The last broadcast I had the opportunity to listen to was a biomedicalist conducting a research project on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. I had a really hard time understanding this broadcast as well because the Biomedicalist had a very strong accent. Despite the heavy accent what I did get is that he has a lot of indepth information regarding HIV/AIDS. He is very informative, and had done a lot to help the cause. He will continue to research and hopefully figure out a way to better help the epidemic. On top of the biomedicalist’s heavy accent the place where he was talking was very loud, which took away from what he was saying as well. Overall, still very informative as well.
I had a good time listening to the different broadcasts and watching how other broadcast journalist handle different situations. I learned a lot about journalism (broadcast), as well as new issues I was not aware of.