Move aside Barbie and hello Salma

Reuters Multi-media is my new drug. I'm addicted to the tight edit, concise narrations and strong visuals. Their videos are so well packaged that I find myself watching their quick 1.30minute news pieces to get my news updates as oppossesd to watching wires or reading lengthy articles.

Anyway, I found this video this morning about an Indonesian Mother who has created her own version of Barbie - the Salma doll (modelled on barbie but dressed modestly/traditionally) in the hope of instilling and maintaining traditional Muslim values that the American Barbie doll doesn't really inspire with its bikini barbie or rockstar versions

This from Reuters: 28-year-old Sukmawati Suryaman's Barbie-like creation is the latest must-have toy for girls in Indonesia. Head scarfs and ankle-length dresses are in - bikinis and short skirts are out. Suryaman named the doll Salma, which is derived from the Arabic word "salamah", meaning peace.

Salma is apparently a hit in Indonesia and is availaible in 20 different outfits. The doll is currently only available in Indonesia but it is likely to be exported to other Muslim countries.

Is this a great idea? Do children really try and imitate the look and dress of their dolls? Is it about rejecting the values of the West and maintaining traditional ways and ideas - or is it just an innovative and fun way to customise "barbie" and offer an alternative female "role-model" for a different audience? I'm really not sure

Meet Dumpy

It's been busy but fun populating The Times Rugby World Cup page with copy, pics, video and even our own interactive game. But this clip, shot by multi-media reporter Livhuwani Mammburu takes the cake.



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It is without doubt an interesting time to be working in the media industry...

By now, you probably know that Sunday Times Editor, Mondli Makhanya and deputy managing Editor Jocelyn Maker are under "surveillance" and facing a possible arrest on charges of being in illegal possession of medical records relating to a visit to the Cape Town MediClinic by Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang in 2005.

The story is being told and re-told in newspapers and on websites all over the country. Bloggers and columnists are writing and talking about the issue and the impact on press freedom or the lack thereof.

While I have my own opinions on the matter (imagine that) here at The Times, we have been heavily focused on our site's coverage of the issue. Here's a quick breakdown on some of the things we've been up to:


Gregor Rohrig created this time-line that documents how the situation has come to this point - Starting with the expose on the Health Minister published on the 12th of August.


Justin Hartman has used Social Media to track the Mondli arrest and keep track of the debate and coverage of the story online and in the blogosphere. The Mondli channel on Jaiku is aggregating blog posts, comments and articles relating to this pressing story and you can watch the progress as this story unfolds at http://jaiku.com/channel/mondli or on your cellphone at http://m.jaiku.com/channel/mondli.












Gregor also created a very addictive game - "Free Mondli" which Andrew Trench has put on his blog (for a little light relief). Take a look here

We are still watching the developments closely, so stay tuned to our report page for further developments.

Blogging from Captivate

Gregor, Nic and I are down in Grahamstown for the third annual Captivate conference. While I type, John Ancer, Editor of Grocott’s Mail is talking about the type of copy that a community paper covers and the ethics that govern the publication. He says the paper needs to offer a mix of stories that allows the various people in the community – from lecturers to students – to connect with the product

Peter Barlow, conference co-ordinator, gave a plenary session earlier that had a look at the various problems and challenges that are faced and experienced by student publications. So nothing has really changed in the past 3 years – student media is still battling with funding, trying to combat apathy, deal with newsroom management and find a balance in the content they offer


It really is great to be at this conference with Nic and Gregor – the two people I worked so closely with during my days at Activate – Rhodes Student Newspaper.
It’s amazing and scary how things stay the time, very little really changes – despite the constant talk of change and need for it – I guess it’s comforting and sad at the same time

Anyway, Nic will present just before lunch and Gregor and I will do our Times convergence case study afterwards – yes, right during the rugby!

Picturing Ponte

Our chief photographer Thys Dullaart took some amazing pictures for a feature piece on Ponte Tower. Our photographers here at The Times have been incredibley supportive and excited about our multimedia work and are getting involved all the time and have already helped us to produce some great packages.
Watch this slide-show as Thys talks about the Ponte pictures:



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Look at me ma!

This is the presentation I made at The Digital Citizen's Indaba - this is mostly for mom's benefit and anyone else who is interested ;)

Amatomu scoops Highway Africa New Media Award

I saw this on BizCom today

Vincent Maher, blogger and digital strategist at the Mail & Guardian Online, has scooped the Highway Africa New Media Award in the Corporate category for his South African blog aggregator Amatomu.com, it was announced on Tuesday, 11 September 2007, at the awards ceremony in Grahamstown. The other two winning sites were www.sowetouprisings.com in the Individual and Student category, and www.islamonline.co.za in the Non-profit category.

AWESOME! congrats Vin!

Lion King magic!

I went with a group of friends to see The Lion King at Monte Casino Last night. It was spectacular - the music, the costumes and the dancing equated to a truly magical show.

According to co-producer Pieter Toerien, Disney has always included some South Africans in the cast of the show but this is the first all South African cast ever

Watch the video that Jason produced for The Times earlier this year and please go see the show if you haven't already



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