Clayton Peel
I am a dynamic academic, journalist and team player bringing more than 10 years' experience as a news writer, and having spent the last 15 years in higher education, training journalists and communication professionals in the skills, general and content specific knowledge, and the use of communication theory to be able to carve their own content niche and pursue careers in journalism, public affairs, and other forms of mass communication. I am able to take on any issue and produce writing pieces quickly to take advantage of current public interests. I am a hardworking, dependable and entrepreneurial professional. I seek to inspire readers with knowledge of the changing realities in the world we live in
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This article presents a summary of primary and secondary observations of reporting in a conflict
situation, based on extracts from the experiences of the journeyman British Broadcasting
Corporation international correspondent, George Alagiah. Although Alagiah covered conflict
situations in diverse African destinations – from Rwanda to Somalia, Ethiopia to South Africa,
and Liberia to Zimbabwe, among others – the focus of the reflections in this article were on
his two stints in war-torn Somalia in 1991 and 1992, shortly after the fall of the government
of Siad Barre. Barre’s overthrow had left the country in the hands of rival tribal groups who
warred with each other, and even splintered and fought each other within the tribal groups
themselves. The demarcations of loyalties were unclear, and for foreign journalists and aid
workers, navigating the labyrinth of authorities and their unruly militias which held sway in
different regions of the country was a headache which could so easily become a death trap
– and did, for a number of journalists and aid workers. The challenges of reaching such a
population are manifold. In the course of working in such a lawless environment, the ethical
dictates of operation related to use of sources, the filming of human suffering, keeping an
objective mind, parting with money to secure access, and keeping a watchdog’s oversight over
how foreign and local players transacted their affairs were sorely tested, and for the purposes
of prompting feedback and discussion, I presented these ethical conundrums to 20 assembled
Southern African journalists at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) and
African Peacebuilding Network (APN) workshop held in Windhoek, Namibia. The ensuing
article captures the responses of the journalists, together with a snapshot of the horrors that
Alagiah experienced and at least one ethical dilemma he encountered as he tried to be true to
his profession, his audience, and the various stakeholders working in Somalia.
Keywords: aid; Alagiah; Africa; BBC; conflict reporting; correspondent; donor funds; ethics;
Key words: Social media, new media, non-governmental organizations, traditional media, beneficiaries, social networking sites, Maarifa (knowledge hub) centres.
… Read more
KEYWORDS: ODL, HEIs, 4IR, learning management systems
This article presents a summary of primary and secondary observations of reporting in a conflict
situation, based on extracts from the experiences of the journeyman British Broadcasting
Corporation international correspondent, George Alagiah. Although Alagiah covered conflict
situations in diverse African destinations – from Rwanda to Somalia, Ethiopia to South Africa,
and Liberia to Zimbabwe, among others – the focus of the reflections in this article were on
his two stints in war-torn Somalia in 1991 and 1992, shortly after the fall of the government
of Siad Barre. Barre’s overthrow had left the country in the hands of rival tribal groups who
warred with each other, and even splintered and fought each other within the tribal groups
themselves. The demarcations of loyalties were unclear, and for foreign journalists and aid
workers, navigating the labyrinth of authorities and their unruly militias which held sway in
different regions of the country was a headache which could so easily become a death trap
– and did, for a number of journalists and aid workers. The challenges of reaching such a
population are manifold. In the course of working in such a lawless environment, the ethical
dictates of operation related to use of sources, the filming of human suffering, keeping an
objective mind, parting with money to secure access, and keeping a watchdog’s oversight over
how foreign and local players transacted their affairs were sorely tested, and for the purposes
of prompting feedback and discussion, I presented these ethical conundrums to 20 assembled
Southern African journalists at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) and
African Peacebuilding Network (APN) workshop held in Windhoek, Namibia. The ensuing
article captures the responses of the journalists, together with a snapshot of the horrors that
Alagiah experienced and at least one ethical dilemma he encountered as he tried to be true to
his profession, his audience, and the various stakeholders working in Somalia.
Keywords: aid; Alagiah; Africa; BBC; conflict reporting; correspondent; donor funds; ethics;
Key words: Social media, new media, non-governmental organizations, traditional media, beneficiaries, social networking sites, Maarifa (knowledge hub) centres.
… Read more
KEYWORDS: ODL, HEIs, 4IR, learning management systems