Paddi Clay
Paddi Clay has spent over 45 years in journalism, as a reporter and consultant, manager, editor and trainer in radio, print and online. She was a correspondent for foreign radio networks during the 80s and 90s, has an MA in Digital Journalism Leadership and received the Vodacom National Columnist award in 2007. She spent much of the later part of her career mentoring journalists. Now free to voice her opinions on politics and be an activist,she reads fact as well as fiction, indulges the family dogs, and channels her inner Nigella in the kitchen of her leafy suburban home acquired through hard work not privilege. She values curiosity, humour, and freedom of speech, opinion and choice but has little tolerance for the grossly ignorant encountered on WA groups or X and resents spending time trying to sort out her Johannesburg council billing every month.
Articles By This Author
Media choices, bias, and propaganda
Two minor storms in the local media teacup drew my attention this week and prompt some comment. The Daily Maverick online publication didn’t publish and
Sometimes you have to laugh. Even if these are seriously crucial elections
I received a WhatsApp message from a usually reliable source this week which was an African National Congress graphic notice of a Mini-Rally on 22
How to survive the hustings for our National Election, or The Ship of Fools…
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
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
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
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
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
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*
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
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,