

Paddi Clay
Paddi Clay spent 40 years in journalism, as a reporter and consultant, manager, editor and trainer in radio, print and online. She was a correspondent for foreign networks during the 80s and 90s and, more recently, a judge on the Alan Paton Book Awards. She has an MA in Digital Journalism Leadership and received the Vodacom National Columnist award in 2007. Now retired she feels she has earned the right to indulge in her hobbies of politics, history, the arts, popular culture and good food. She values curiosity, humour, and freedom of speech, opinion and choice.
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Articles By This Author

How to survive the hustings for our National Election, or The Ship of Fools…
- By Paddi Clay
- . Feb 25, 2024
Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party. Or, in the variant, ‘the country.’ It’s a familiar

A cautious approach to journalism in the age of Gaza-Israeli conflict
- By Paddi Clay
- . Jan 28, 2024
A new assault is under way in the war of words that is as fierce as the air and ground war between Gaza and Israel

The Day Following
- By Paddi Clay
- . Dec 25, 2023
In acknowledgement of the traditional ‘silly season’, inspired by the rereading of a favourite ‘Christmas’ poem by TS Eliot and a recent presentation by former

The ANC’s concerns for South Africans – a *bitterer gelechte
- By Paddi Clay
- . Nov 29, 2023
Recently the ANC government’s romantic notion of itself as a liberation group, fighting for freedom for the people against an implacable, more powerful foe (an

Wars of Words
- By Paddi Clay
- . Oct 22, 2023
One of the many vociferous little wars of words fought on the social medium known as X in the aftermath of the atrocious attack by

The Family Business
- By Paddi Clay
- . Sep 25, 2023
President Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s own Inaction Man, has been striding the world of late, doing what he does best. Uttering platitudes on women empowerment,

Gimme hope, Jo’anna*
- By Paddi Clay
- . Aug 27, 2023
Renovate, renew, repair, restore, revive, reinvigorate: President Cyril Ramaphosa and Secretary-General of the African National Congress, Fikile Mbalula, are flinging these verbs about as if

Down with credentialism
- By Paddi Clay
- . Jun 25, 2023
You’d be hard pushed to find anyone in the developed world today, no matter how libertarian or how entranced by the polemics of Ivan Illich (Deschooling Society,

Standing up to Goliath
- By Paddi Clay
- . May 21, 2023
Anger is a negative, strong emotion. If you Google or Bing it, you will see few words in its favour. It can lead to genocide

Pressure-cooker politics
- By Paddi Clay
- . Apr 23, 2023
My mother had a pressure cooker, the air fryer of its day. It was a boon to working women. It rendered tough meat tender, stewed