Journey of passion, purpose maintained

I started at Vista 37 years ago as a young aspirant journalist who was truly convinced that she could change the world with her words, not yet fully appreciating the power of the phrase: “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

What we write as journalists can change things, for better or for worse. We impact the world with our words. We have influence and our opinions count more than we sometimes realise.

I reported on the political turmoil of the 1990s.

One memory that stands out is the day 30 000 angry Civics marched down Stateway, and I weaved through the side streets in a tiny Uno to get ahead of the masses. That was the day the Civics and the AWB came head-to-head in the circle at Thabong, khaki on khaki divided by the men in blue with their bright yellow vehicles.

I have experienced bomb threats and the thrill of riding in a Nyala whilst an angry mob pelted it with rocks.

I have covered gruesome murders – the Graveyard Murder instantly sears my brain.

I have covered and experienced the G Hostel police raids, the illegal immigrant saga and the zama-zamas which plague the Goldfields, the service delivery riots over the years and the taxi wars that shaped that industry locally.

I have seen the devastation of a tornado, the agony of the Merriespruit disaster, and I have analysed the earthquakes big and small.

I penned the articles on the great excitement and the hope that the Phakisa Freeway and the Grand Prix fleetingly brought to the Goldfields.

I wrote about the rise and demise of the once mighty Anglo American in the Goldfields.

Vista is embedded in the hearts of the people we write about, their weddings and births and funerals, the glitz and the glamour. I have met many faces and forgotten many more.

I grew up at Vista and learnt from the best. With grinding teeth I have become a member of the “brotherhood of the story behind the story” – the thrill of the scoop.

Journalism is a calling, not a job. I can say with full confidence that I am working where I need to be. I find my work very satisfying, exciting and inspirational. I deal with the bad of the Goldfields community, but I also see the absolute gold that is in our community.