We structure our entire production cycle around our training programme. Here are some of the main features.
Writer’s Guide
Each participating student receives our 44-page training manual, which draws on the teachings of The Economist, The Guardian, the Poynter Institute of Journalism, and Matthew Ricketon’s prodigous Writing Feature Stories: all tailored to the unique challenges of student journalism. (See “Resources”, to the right.) The aim is to introduce students to the theory and praxis of journalism, including technical details, research methods, and ethical conduct. We’re pretty proud of the manual, and equally proud of those who’ve benefitted from it
Writing Workshops
The CTG editorial runs a number of writing workshops throughout the year. These seminars, which are open to the student body, introduce the participants to the main aspects of journalistic writing. They focus on the technical, stylistic and philosophical foundations of journalism. The Cape Town Globalist aims to nurture and produce strong, confident student writers and equip them in the best way possible to go about tackling their topic; our writing workshops are where we start.
Mentoring
One of the integral parts of the training-up of student writers is the relationship developed between the writers and the editorial team. Each writer, once commissioned to do a story, is assigned an editor who will help guide and oversee the story’s progress. By giving continual feedback, The CTG’s first priority lies not in the immediate piece of writing, but rather to help develop the style and depth of each writer’s skills. Since The CTG is a semesterly publication, its longer production cycle ensures the story itself, as well as the magazine’s one-on-one relationship with the writers, is meaningful and productive.
Interested in joining us?
Our team is open to students from all backgrounds and disciplines. We’re on the look-out for writers, designers, photographers, web editors, marketing staff and business managers. If you’d like to be part of The Cape Town Globalist for 2009, email us.