By Noxolo Nxusani
Crime Reporter, Sowetan
Johannesburg, South Africa

Last year there was an incident involving the Greenville school board and an education reporter from The Greenville News. The board claimed that the reporter misquoted them in a story that appeared in the paper. When the reporter was asked for the tape backup of the interview, he did not have one because he had not recorded the interview. Because there was no proof that the quote was accurate The Greenville News had to apologize to the board and the reporter vanished a few days after that. While it was not clear whether he was fired or he resigned voluntarily, there are other stories similar to this one.

Because of such incidents, I realized that even though this was news to me, it was mandatory and could cost me dearly if I did not also use a tape recorder in my interviews. Tapes are used during all interviews including those done over the phone and they must be kept as backup material.

The second day at The Greenville News, I went out with another reporter to cover a press conference addressing the issue of strip clubs in Greenville. This was one of the hottest stories in town as the association opposing strip clubs was threatening to take photos of clients who visit the clubs and publish them on the Internet.

When we returned from the press conference, we sat down and wrote the story jointly, using both our bylines. However, my name was removed from the story because I did not have a tape recording of the interview to back me up. I was then told that my stories could not be used until I got a recorder and recorded my interviews. Executives at The Greenville News are similar to some executives in newsrooms in third world countries—they are all terrified of lawsuits and will do anything to prevent them.

There was also the issue of signing a timecard each time you leave the office. I was lucky, I was not made to do the same thing. However, I noticed that reporters were counting hours and were not allowed to work any hour or minute over the required 40 hours a week, whether this happens within a three day period or not. They'll have to stop and start afresh the following week. Otherwise if you continued and work, that's on your own time. You don't get paid for those extra hours. I have never heard of journalists doing that, because it means cutting off some time and not finishing their jobs. Journalists never have straight hours, their time schedule is always fluid.

One other thing that attracted my attention was the availability and usage of police scanner radios in the newsroom. Crime reporters and all photographers have two way radios connecting them to police activities in the area.

Another issue was having several news editors, assignment editors and assistants to check and edit the stories, decreasing the pressures of deadlines. At the end of the day, the news editor had time to focus on individual reporters, checking on their progress job wise.

These four issues are topping the list of things I've learnt at The Greenville News during my fellowship. Except for the time card signing, I plan to take them home with me and continue using them if my editors at home grant me permission.

The availability of police scanners would definitely pass as I would like to improve the coverage of crime stories back home. I realized that it helped reporters and photographers to get the stories on time and on the scene rather than getting it from the police later on. It also gives the ability to talk to witnesses immediately and see for oneself what exactly happened.

In regard to having several assistant editors, the idea helps as I've mentioned before that it gives the news editor enough time to focus on individual journalists. I might suggest this to my bosses back home, however I'd have to choose their best days.

These four examples, used together and correctly, would help improve the coverage of news in my paper and would also build better working relations between reporters and editors.