What is the Role of the Social Justice Commentator in Public Interest Journalism?
Channel: SACSIS
Date: 2014-08-07

SACSIS recently hosted a reflection workshop for our team of writers. Prof. Steven Friedman, Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at the University of Johannesburg, was asked to initiate the discussion with a lecture on the question: "What is the role of the social justice commentator in public interest journalism?"

Friedman framed his address around the question, "How do ideas change society?"

His key argument was that change is a complex and incremental process. While this may be disappointing for those of us hoping for a speedy transformation of our unequal society, he was however optimistic that the policy space has opened up to engage more forcefully with the question of South Africa’s inequality.

We hope that sharing this lecture with you inspires your own thoughts on how to fast track building a South Africa that is free from the scourge of inequality.