Comments on: Gissa Job

By: Danny

Danny — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:54:05 +0000

Good and interesting blog Rob but you need to rein in your ego just a wee bit.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 08:45:47 +0000

Thanks for the thoughts all. Ingrid, this will disappoint you immensely but I just don’t think I could hack Juba for long periods of time. You’re right that there are lots of opportunities there right now and there is money to be made by people who take them. But life is just too tough there right now for a wimp like me

By: Toaf

Toaf — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 06:10:57 +0000

That’s a very good point about Sudan. I’ve been trying to research Sudan’s pipelineistan – gas, oil, war, politics, business – and the amount of reliable information in english is piss-weak.

By: Ingrid

Ingrid — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:47:48 +0000

Rob, no doubt you are aware of the potential growth of commercial activities and developments in Southern Sudan. Surely there are opportunities for British journalists on the ground in South Sudan to report to an international audience on the latest developments, commmerical opportunities, future growth, property issues, upcoming elections and the security situation, especially relating to international investors' point of view. It seems to me Juba would be a good place for a journalist such as yourself to establish a base, with the aim of becoming fluent in Arabic and, if possible, Chinese. Many visitors at my blog Sudan Watch regularly search for business news from South Sudan, Juba in particular, and any news about oil in Chad and Sudan and its borders. In my experience, such news is hard to come by, especially from an English born journalist with a credible background and track record such as yours. If you haven't already seen it, check out this link to BBC World Trust and see how radio is expanding in South Sudan. Also, in my sidebar at Sudan Watch are links to the latest opportunities in Sudan via the UN that attract a lot of visitors at Sudan Watch and sister site Congo Watch. Stay positive and strong, your great experience, qualities and skills are definitely needed in many places, especially ones like Juba where reporting restrictions aren't so heavy. Best of luck and keep us posted as to how you're getting on. Let me know if I can be of help on anything.

http://www.k2-media.org/jubapost/go/advert.php?recordID=23

By: Nick Wadhams

Nick Wadhams — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:11:37 +0000

I resent your jibe at us Americans. After all, wasn't it Hunter S. Thompson who wrote: "Journalism is not a profession or a trade. It is a cheap catch-all for fuck-offs and misfits--a false doorway to the backside of life, a filthy piss-ridden little hole nailed off by the building inspector, but just deep enough for a wino to curl up from the sidewalk and masturbate like a chimp in a zoo-cage."

That'll cheer you up!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:29:46 +0000

This kind of thing makes me think I got out at the right time. From one of my old stomping grounds...
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=42283&c=1

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:53:43 +0000

Oh, I’m cynical about everything other than journalism. Then I get very romantic. Like all hard-bitten hacks. Sometimes after a sherbet or two

By: Scarlett Lion

Scarlett Lion — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:48:56 +0000

Cynicism: the new guise of romanticism.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:31:33 +0000

I’m not a failure. I’m f@*!ing good at what I do. Didn’t come here to change anything – except for my bank balance and profile. No, the point is that I need to change my view of what journalism is. I still set my store by what gets in a newspaper. And that’s an out of date view. I’m a newspaper romantic at heart and I need to get less sentimental.

By: Scarlett Lion

Scarlett Lion — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:20:23 +0000

Your job is not to change things. If it were, you’d be a failure. But so would every journalist here. And I would say that you are very far from a failure. You’ve been at this twice as long as me in Africa specifically, and in general, well, let’s not talk age… But I guess if you don’t like what you’re doing that’s more salient than if you’re changing anything.

I don’t know much about the future of journalism, but I do know the Uganda shilling has been about 1550/1600 = $1 for a long time, and now all of the sudden it’s 1780/1800 = $1 so I’m off to buy some more beer.