{"id":4939,"date":"2026-02-10T12:35:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T10:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/?p=177021"},"modified":"2026-02-10T12:35:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T10:35:23","slug":"why-journalists-are-like-electricians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/why-journalists-are-like-electricians\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Journalists are Like Electricians"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Table of Contents<\/p>\n

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I find myself as one involved in both aspects of these trades \u2013 one \u2018keeps the lights on\u2019 and one \u2018sheds light on the truth\u2019.<\/p>\n

Or as my young boys would have a chuckle to: One is a \u2018Story Teller\u2019 and the other is a \u2018Wire Puller\u2019.<\/p>\n

Yes \u2013 I was teased mercilessly in primary school as a \u2018draad trekker\u2019!<\/p>\n

But, to the comparison.<\/p>\n

Both journalists and electricians have to have certain qualifications, follow specific guidelines and adhere to certain ethical considerations. Both are subject to oversight and have to belong to specific organisations in order to protect the public at large.<\/p>\n

Both have certain responsibilities to uphold.<\/p>\n

I have watched over many years the proliferation of DIY electricians \u2013 much the same as DIY journalists. It seems that anyone with a tester and a set of tools feels qualified enough to be an electrician.<\/p>\n

In the same vein we have social media influencers and various other persons who have a computer, keyboard and a Facebook account who style themselves as \u2018social media journalists\u2019.<\/p>\n

Thankfully the electrical trade has not had to contend with rapidly disappearing monetisation as advertisers flee to online ad platforms like Google Ads (formerly known as AdWords).<\/p>\n

What has happened in the electrical trade<\/a> over many years is that we have seen the rise of the \u2018bakkie brigade\u2019 (think of them like \u2018social media influencers\u2019). There has been a distinct move away from the few large electrical contracting businesses to many small ones operating in a hyper local environment.<\/p>\n

Long established Electrical Contractors have since moved into high value areas on the industry that demand additional education and qualification. A case in point is around a specialised boutique company such as BA Systems<\/a> which has sent staff to Australia and Germany to do courses on Building Management and Automation.<\/p>\n

Other areas for savvy electricians are Solar<\/a>, prepaid metering<\/a> and the like<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We see a similar trend with journalists \u2013 complicated by the fact that the medium in which they worked (print) becoming obsolete. Moving online has worked for very few and a bloodbath for the numbers of journalists employed by one publication. Nervous journalists have also \u2018jumped ship\u2019 and gone to the \u2018dark side\u2019 into the Public Relations world<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yes, it is a tough time for the \u201cold guard\u201d of South African media. Over the last decade (2016\u20132026), we\u2019ve witnessed what many in the industry call a \u201cprint bloodbath.\u201d The shift has been driven by a perfect storm of declining ad spend, high distribution costs, and a massive migration of readers to free digital platforms.<\/p>\n

<\/span>The \u201cDigital-First\u201d Transitions That Survived:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Newspaper Title<\/th>\nPrint Closed<\/th>\nReason for Closure<\/th>\nReadership (at Close)<\/th>\nCurrent Online Status<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Daily Sun<\/td>\nDec 2024<\/td>\nCirculation collapse; pivot to digital-only for working-class market.<\/td>\n~14,000 (Down from 270k+)<\/td>\nThriving on SNL24; 3M+ active monthly users.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Beeld<\/td>\nSept 2024<\/td>\nMedia24 restructuring; moving Afrikaans readers to paywall.<\/td>\n~20,000<\/td>\nNetwerk24; shares content with other Afrikaans titles.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
City Press<\/td>\nDec 2024<\/td>\nDecline in Sunday print habits and high overheads.<\/td>\n~12,000 (Down from 118k+)<\/td>\nNews24; functions as premium investigative section.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rapport<\/td>\nDec 2024<\/td>\nStrategic withdrawal by Media24 to protect digital margins.<\/td>\n~55,000 (Down from 175k+)<\/td>\nNetwerk24; maintained as digital Sunday flagship.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Times<\/td>\nNov 2017<\/td>\nUnprofitability as a daily free-to-subscribers model.<\/td>\n~137,000 (Mixed)<\/td>\nTimesLIVE; now 2nd largest news site in SA.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Volksblad<\/td>\n2020<\/td>\nCOVID-19 accelerated the decline of regional dailies.<\/td>\n~13,000<\/td>\nNetwerk24; serves Free State digitally.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/span>The \u201cTotal Shutdowns\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

The New Age (rebranded as Afro Voice):<\/span><\/p>\n