In the end – JDD-CMP review

By Divia Padayachee



The last two terms have been a whirlwind of experiences both within our production groups and the communities we have explored. In the beginning I did not know how to approach the concept of public journalism and having to go into a new environment and conduct this public philosophy was an intimidating experience. Nevertheless we have come to the end of our public journalism stint.

After three terms of working on my own I had to become a member of a group, share ideas and produce media which was to be used to communicate with either people within our given community or to show to those who would be able to assist or help deal with problems in our area. Speaking as a communications designer, part of the WEPD group, I believe we have accomplished this task. Our first product was a wallpaper highlighting one of the major concerns in both wards 7 and 8 which was a lack of recreational activities for the youth. It looked at the waste problem which lead to children playing in rubbish heaps which are unhygienic and dangerous. This was distributed in public meeting spots in both areas such as community halls and the public library. It generated great response by the public and was read by passersby.

This wallpaper has now been transformed into two pages which will be published in Grocott’s Mail shortly. Instead of a second wallpaper a further two pages have been designed, also for Grocott’s Mail, based on the youth soccer tournament held by our group with the help of key community members. This tournament brought together the youth of wards 7 and 8 in a friendly game of football as a way to get the youth of the streets and out of the rubbish heaps.

Despite my misapprehension of the JDD-CMP course, this was an experience that won’t be forgotten. There have been times when I was quite unhappy about having to work in a group and go out into the wards but I guess the outcome was worth it. With regards to CMP it has been an adjustment, for me as a design student, to work with three other people. Although there are more ideas being passed around, it proves difficult to agree on a design concept or create two pages that look as if they were created by the same person for example. Also, deciding on a time which is convenient to all becomes another hurdle or setback as everyone has different responsibilities outside of the JDD-CMP course. Apart from this, the WEPD group that I was a part of did what was required of them and I am grateful for their efforts and the bonding that occurred within the design and writing labs :)

The other thing I did not like was that there were often a million things to do in a week or maybe it just felt that way. At times I would get confused about what was due when and what was expected of me. Understandably, this course requires a lot of one’s time especially in the light of public journalism as we need to interact with the public in order to turn out our stories but I think it must be remembered that we are studying other majors. If this course was a type of specialisation then the time spent on it would be suitable. Our group was lucky enough to be given wards that were fairly close by; however, other groups in our class were not as fortunate and this must be kept in mind in future.

In wrapping up my thoughts on the JDD-CMP course I think that it was an interesting change to what we usually do in the JMS course. Instead of reading up on theories and submitting assignments or essays based on them I was able to experience a form of journalism first-hand so to speak and I am looking forward to viewing the productions of our group as well as the rest of our JMS 3 class.