The Department of Marketing and Communications has launched a new initiative to form a dedicated cohort of staff members and students to draft informative opinion pieces for public media outlets. Aligning with the University’s overarching goal to empower local and broader communities through accessible knowledge, the department has already begun engaging staff and offering guidance on writing effective opinions, also called op-eds, for mainstream newspapers.
Senior Director of Marketing and Communications, Mbali Mkhize, emphasized that the initiative aims to shine a spotlight on critical topics often overlooked by traditional newsrooms. “Some of the planned areas of coverage will be lifestyle; the importance of connecting with others at all levels, including institutions and people beyond South Africa’s borders; the rights of others, particularly vulnerable groups; etc,” Mkhize explained.
However, Mkhize noted the realities of media publishing and the importance of respecting editorial independence. “I must hasten to add that while we will do our best to achieve this goal, as a rule, we can only submit our work to the media, and it will be upon them to publish our work. This is the standard procedure; those that want their work to be published are not supposed to put pressure on the media. You bring your work in, and then step back. As long as you have done your work well, you always have a chance,” Mkhize said.
The project is already seeing early success, with two University-crafted opinion pieces recently published by mainstream media outlets. Staff and students that are interested may like to contact the Department of Marketing and Communications directly to discuss topic ideas and receive writing guidance.