Mart-Marie van den Berg was the editor of the Mamelodi Voice in 2010. She wrote a note on her experience
“The Mamelodi Experience,” as I like to
call it, is a fulfilling, exciting and daunting task. We barely knew each other
before we boarded the first bus that would take us to the opening of the
Gauteng Legislature at the Mamelodi Campus of the University of Pretoria. We
were a shivering, wet and miserable-looking group of journalism students who
waited a couple of hours for the Premier of Gauteng to arrive. The assignment
was easy: report on the opening of the Legislature, but it was like first year
orientation – the initial suffering will bond a group. That was our first
Mamelodi outing, and it was full steam ahead from there.
Two months later we suddenly had titles –
sub-editors, layout artists, copy editors, you name it. As editor, I kept the
fact to myself that I had no idea where we should start, or how we should go
about “this reporting thing” as one of the Mamelodi Voice journalists called
it.
So we started by visiting Mamelodi (sometimes
more than four times a week) and asked the locals what they want to read about.
Then we started having fun, fights and sleepless nights. I wanted to scream
when I had to read an article for the 35th time, but someone had to
do it, and I was not the only one. We had a great team, with the exception of
some members who literally were great at just not being there. Those who were
there everyday pulled more than their own weight and made my job easier.
It is not all hard and certainly not all
easy, but reading the first printed copy makes it all worth it. Suddenly you
forget the tears, arguments and blurry eyes from staring at the computer and
just revel in the success of the past couple of months.
My favourite moments:
Experiencing the hospitality of the Mams
locals first-hand – every time we visited.
Early morning cupcake-and-coffee sessions
with our Editorial Manager, Musi Kahimbaara, Deputy Editor, Reinart Toerien and
News Editor Marthé Kotze.
Hearing the “Mamelodi at Night”-stories
after Maryke van Staden and Musi Kahimbaara partied with the locals.
Seeing the first printed edition and
thinking, “We actually did it!”
The Mamelodi Voice is not a job, or an
assignment, it is a privilege and a lot like a roller-coaster ride: A hell of a
lot of fun with whoops of joy coming out of your mouth on the climb while the
downhill sees you trying not to pee in your pants.
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