Janine Stephen

Janine Stephen Articles 6

Janine Stephen is an independent journalist and editor with both newspaper and magazine experience. She has written for titles ranging from the Sunday Times and the late-lamented Weekender to Art South Africa, Marie Claire and Horizons. Magazine experience includes a stint as deputy editor on Benetton's Color magazine based in Italy. She's interviewed hundreds of people, from Kenyan camel farmers to Tito Mboweni and pop idol Will Young. But she doesn't own an iPad - yet.

The sum of all fears over SABC’s local content equations

Posted By: Janine Stephenon: June 08, 2011In: Television

Independent producers are getting legal advice on whether they can hold the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to account for failing to adequately monitor the amount of local content on our screens. According to Marc Schwinges, vice chairperson of the SA Screen Federation (SASFED), research undertaken by independent producers themselves appears to indicate […] Read more

Electioneering, social network style

Posted By: Janine Stephenon: May 11, 2011In: Online

As the countdown to the local government elections accelerates, the Twitter wars are heating up. Political parties are turning to social media to reach voters. Janine Stephen catches up with the politicians who have embraced electioneering, social network style. It’s 11.14 am, Friday 6 May, and the ANC’s second live Q&A on Twitter <//twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23ANCLive> is not […] Read more

Fracking: Vat jou goed en pak, vrak

Posted By: Janine Stephenon: May 05, 2011In: Advertising

Imagine: You’re a small activist group, just a few months old and relatively unknown. You’re up against a multinational oil company with limitless resources and a formidable spin machine. What to do? Turn to a diverse, irreverent group of advertising students switched on to the power of social media for advice, of course. Treasure the […] Read more

No tweeting in the Abbey

Posted By: Janine Stephenon: March 23, 2011In: Digital Media

Guests attending the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton next month will be expected to refrain from tweeting, blogging or snapping images on their mobile phones during the ceremony. ‘Guests in the Abbey should be concentrating on the wedding, not [using social media],’ head of communications for Westminster Abbey, Duncan Jeffery, told The […] Read more

That joke isn’t funny anymore

Posted By: Janine Stephenon: March 16, 2011In: Broadcasting

Six months after satirical site Hayibo hung up its sabre-toothed nib due to lack of advertising, ZANews has had to cancel the launch of its fourth season. Has South Africa lost its sense of humour? Nobody laughed at last week’s news that popular online political satire show ZANews had stopped production. Despite 18 months online, […] Read more

Race for iPad content is on

Posted By: Janine Stephenon: February 23, 2011In: Digital Media

Three weeks, five days: that’s how long the Apple iPad has been on sale in South Africa. And already local publishers are under pressure to provide content via the device – with all the interactive bells and social media whistles a tech-savvy audience expects. Newspaper The New Age is already on the tablet, with City […] Read more