Christi van der Westhuizen is an award-winning political journalist and the author of White Power & the Rise and Fall of the National Party (2007). She has worked at Vrye Weekblad, Beeld and ThisDay and has regular columns in The Star, Cape Times, The Mercury and Pretoria News. She has been interviewed for political comment on the BBC, Radio New Zealand, Radio Adelaide (Australia), SAfm, SABC3, e-tv and M-Net. In 2005, she edited the book Gender Instruments in Africa: Critical Perspectives, Future Strategies while working as senior researcher in International Relations. She worked as Inter Press Service’s trade editor for Africa and Europe between 2007-2011. She holds an MPhil in political economy and South African politics
In a piece published by Amandla she says: “I recently resigned as monthly columnist at Media24’s daily newspapers after one of my columns was censored. The offence that led to the censorship? As a proponent of the position that the media’s allergic reaction to self-criticism is to its own detriment, I had dared to do exactly that: employ critical examination of the media.”
In the piece, she attacks newsroom juniorisation, the practice of purging qualified staff and hiring inexperienced juniors in order to prevent the formation of professional echelons that could be in a position to criticise the manner in which the company conducts its business. Media24 has been taken to task by Noseweek Magazine for producing cram-collage journalists via Damelin College and City Varsity, both of which are owned by the company, and which allow uncritical hacks to bypass University Journalism departments.
“The effect of the continuous personnel cutbacks in newsrooms is obviously that there are not enough people to do the work properly, which leads to errors.” says van der Westerhuizen.
http://www.communitymedia.org.za/alt-media-resources/242-what-some-media-dont-want-you-to-think-about
