24 Nov 2020

Life as we know it has been upended during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Various industries have been thwarted, the education sector has been disrupted with classes either cancelled or moved online in the face of campus COVID-19 outbreaks across the country, with a smaller number of schools continuing in-person classes.

Meanwhile, most people are experiencing the economic and mental health toll of the pandemic with many entry-level jobs having disappeared, families are struggling to pay bills, and the imperative to social distancing and minimize contact has thrown a wrench in what is typically an intensely social period of life.

Most disheartening is the impact of the pandemic on the media industry as it is being felt intensely in all sectors.

Constrained by loss of advertising revenue and low sales, newsrooms across the world have announced staff layoffs, suspended or cancelled their print operations and downsized significantly, the industry is under immense strain and Botswana has not been spared.

BOPA interviewed fellow comrade in the industry, Mr Thabo Kgosiemang, on his experience of the pandemic.

Citing the challenges he had faced so far, Mr Kgosiemang who is a general news writer and social media extraordinar, said increased workload was one of the most strenuous tasks that he had to deal with.  

“The work load has augmented due to the number of staff allowed in offices during lockdowns was reduced. Unfortunately, I was chosen as skeletal staff for all the back-to-back lockdowns, and that meant more work,” he explained.

Not one to back down from a challenge, Mr Kgosiemang, relentlessly dove into his new and increased workload however his body and mental state suffered a huge knock as a result.

He also said reporting on the impacts of COVID-19 on an ordinary Motswana was both emotionally draining and at times disheartening as he witnessed the hardships that people went through due to the severity of the virus.

“We learnt how deprived societies were hard hit by the pandemic, and the amount of poverty that ultimately rose was devastating,”

Also adding that not being psychologically skilled to react to all of these heart-breaking situations worsened the situation.

Mr Kgosiemang revealed that the pandemic also exposed the low level of technology use amongst journalists.

The use of Zoom platforms was not really the case before the pandemic came, he said, and as a result he found it difficult to adapt to this “new normal”.

He also observed that the surge of increased COVID-19 cases also saw the growth of fake news concerning the pandemic.

“At one point I felt confused on what to believe, what to absorb from the internet in terms of health information shared by the World Health Organization, as the mother body that dealt with COVID-19 information sharing” he said.

Likewise, the COVID-19 crisis was clouded by misconceptions, and saw the emerging of citizen journalists that overclouded reliable content produced, that was at times perceived as fake, he commented.

He said at one point he felt confused on what to believe and what to absorb from the internet in terms of health information shared by the World Health Organization, as the mother body, which dealt with COVID-19 information sharing.

Seeing a silver lining in the dark clouds, nevertheless, Mr Kgosiemang did admit that all was not lost concerning the pandemic, as with everything else in life, one has to readjust and adapt to a given situation.

“I felt this is a new pandemic that no one really prepared for it. I engaged my editors a lot on some of the challenges we come across and they assisted us with what we needed to be on the right position to continue,” he said.

Mr Kgosiemang explained further that attending regular counseling sessions really helped him and his colleagues and urged the public to do the same as mental issues were on the rise.

Defining the new normal, Mr Kgosiemang said it meant doing away with the usual and traditional way of doing things.

“This means redefining our agendas, ways of news reporting and taking new risks. As previously mentioned, the COVID-19 attacked all systems but the bottom line is, we ought to survive nonetheless.

It is time we figure a way out of surviving, he elaborated.

As our interview came to a close and readied to part ways, Mr Kgosiemang reflected on the urgent need to prioritise the use of technology.

“Journalists have to be trained on the use of new technology and they should be provided with resources to compliment that,” he said.

The pandemic has posed numerous challenges but, in the long run we are going to be a much better society from the consequences of this.ENDS