By Stuart Dickinson
The Wits Centre for Journalism recently celebrated the most recent publications of its staff and students, recognising the hours of hard work put towards crafting important and engaging South African narratives. The event also highlighted the critical role played by the WCJ’s academic curriculum in developing some of these book projects.
The publications included Domestic Terror by Dr Nechama Brodie, Prof Lesley Cowling’s Babel Unbound, WCJ project coordinator Lerato Makate’s contributions to We Were Always Here, Dr Collen Chambwera’s chapter contribution to Streaming Video: Storytelling Across Borders, and the work of doctoral students Lebogang Seale, (Hundred Years of Dispossession: My Family’s Quest to Reclaim our Land), and Lesley Mofokeng, (The Man Who Shook Mountains).
Seale and Mofokeng’s books were born from the WCJ’s master’s program in journalism and media studies, which includes a longform non-fiction narrative research project that equips and guides students to tell impactful stories like these as the equivalent to a thesis submission.
“The Man Who Shook Mountains looks at the life of my grandfather, Mongangane Wilfred Mofokeng, a prominent Dutch Reformed Church evangelist. It’s a story I had often recognised as one that was slowly fading to time. As African people we find that our stories are forgotten; there is an erasure that happens over the years, and we find ourselves rootless. We don’t know where we come from, or know much beyond our grandparents,” says Mofokeng, currently a sessional lecturer in feature writing at the WCJ.
“This is what the WCJ is focused on now – we are uncovering these stories, excavating history, and immortalising important characters who might otherwise be forgotten. In completing the master’s programme, the WCJ gave me the confidence and guidance necessary to bring the book to life. I don’t think it would exist had I not completed this program,” says Mofokeng.
In creating his title, Hundred Years of Dispossession: My Family’s Quest to Reclaim our Land, Seale explains that for a long time, he had a burning desire to write a book about the story of his family and its wider community; to tell their experiences of working and living on white-owned farms and in barren villages.
“Whenever there were family gatherings, whether for celebrations or funerals, our elders never missed the opportunity to reminisce about their past, fuelling my desire to write a book. I even had a book title in mind, something around ‘Harvesting in Shame’, because most of the stories they told were harrowing tales of suffering and pain, although they were laced with lighter moments,” says Seale.
Seale says the breakthrough came when he enrolled for the WCJ’s master’s program, where his supervisors, Kevin Davie and Professor Lesley Cowling, helped with the framing of the book, as well as the development of the plot and the narrative.
Like Mofokeng, Seale says he does not think he would have succeeded in publishing the book without the WCJ’s guidance and mentorship.
“Today, I consider myself a successful author thanks to the WCJ and its excellent team of lecturers and supervisors. It is my wish to see the school being supported so that it can grow further and continue to produce successful scholars and authors,” he says.
The WCJ has long praised the power of longform journalism in crafting engaging, in-depth, and meaningful narratives, which is why many of our master’s students adopt this style when working on thesis projects born from a strong story idea.
“Many journalists have a yen to be more creative, to dive into more substantial projects, to be writers rather than reporters,” says Cowling. “But they often feel ill-equipped and not sure where to start. I think the most important thing our longform programme does is to give our writers permission to be creative, to explore, to draw on their own experiences if necessary.”
Along with Seale and Mofokeng, WCJ master’s graduate and prominent journalist Shanthini Naidoo produced a book called Women in Solitary from her MA thesis. “All three writers became seized with a passion for their projects, and this helped drive them through the challenging process of writing,” says Cowling.
From a broader perspective, investigative journalism especially is experiencing a revival through longform storytelling, as readers increasingly value in-depth reporting that addresses societal issues and holds power accountable, countering the traditional media focus on click-driven metrics.
This shift towards measuring success through audience engagement and content impact, rather than mere clicks and views, shows that readers still demand more substantive and meaningful content. The WCJ’s longform non-fiction narrative research option, an offering which sits alongside the traditional academic research project, equips students with the ability to skilfully balance depth and creativity to produce engaging, rich and disruptive narratives.
