Warning on McKinney: "This Time We Got Lucky"

S. Dakota Newspaper Association Challenged on Race

"Many newspaper editors in South Dakota and North Dakota sort of shrink back into themselves when it comes to discussing the race relations between Indians and whites in their respective states," the Native Sun News editorialized on Friday. "The newspaper associations are no different.

"The problem lies there like an open wound that the news media is afraid to examine. Several years ago the South Dakota Newspaper Convention had Billy Mills as the keynote speaker, but he did not speak about race relations, but instead talked entirely about his Olympic Gold Medal. And that is fine because we are sure the SDNA would not have invited Mills if he wanted to talk race relations.

"Tim Giago was a member of SDNA for 30 years and asked several times, including this year, his final year, if he could speak to the gathering of newspaper editors, publishers and journalists of South Dakota about the race problems of the state. He was denied that opportunity several times including this year. What are they afraid of and why? . . ."

David Bordewyk, general manager of the association, did not respond to a request for comment.

Drones Offer Africans New Perspectives on Old Problems

"Less than two miles from the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, the Dandora Dump is both a blessing and a curse to the communities which surround it,"Abigail Edge wrote Monday for journalism.co.uk.

"Up to 10,000 people make their living from the 850 tonnes of rubbish that arrives at the dump daily, sorting through it for anything which might be useful to sell or keep, and risking their health — and their lives — in the process.

"The dump, established as a temporary waste site in the 1970s and officially declared full in 2001, has been covered many times by journalists.

"However, a team of journalists in Africa decided the story needed to be told from a different angle: with drones.

"'When it comes to drone journalism I always talk about all old stories, new perspectives,' explained Dickens Olewe, founder of African SkyCAM, at the World News Media Congress in Washington DC.

"'This story has been told all the time, but people have just never brought this kind of shot of "OK, what are we actually talking about? What are the challenges that these people face?"'

"Together with journalism technologist Ben Kreimer, Olewe visited Nairobi in November 2014 and flew a video drone over the Dandora Dump to show an aerial perspective of the site.

"The pair also used the footage to produce a 3D model of the dump to offer audiences 'a massive experience' of its 30-acre scale, as well as its proximity to schools and houses.

"'I thought it was really important to inspire the imagination of not just our readers, but also the government, who I knew at some point would want to regulate this space,' said Olewe.

"SkyCAM was one of 20 projects awarded funding by the inaugural African News Innovation Challenge in 2012, which invited African journalists to come up with digital solutions to address hurdles faced by media across the world's second-largest continent. . . ."

• Tafara Shumba, the Herald, Zimbabwe: Sahara TV Crew Put Its Foot in the Mouth
  
  
• Marianne Thamm, Daily Maverick, South Africa: Adeola Fayehun: Nigeria's online satirical 'it' girl goes global after ambushing Mugabe
  
  
• Alexandra Wexler, Wall Street Journal: African Journalists Go Undercover, With Official Blessing