I met News24's Young Journalist of the Year and we chatted about news and Taylor Swift
As the editor of Die Matie, the University of Stellenbosch’s student newspaper, Aurelia Mouton says she subscribes to News24 because it helps her stay abreast with what is happening in the world around her.
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By: Lwandile Bhengu & Visuals By: Tando Guzana
The pinging sound on her phone, followed by a push notification showing the country’s latest top news story, excites 24-year-old student Aurelia Mouton.
For her, the signal helps her stay abreast with what is happening in the world around her.
“I think the news is important because there's always something happening, especially in our country. I get really excited when I see my little News24 alerts and the little banner coming up on my phone and I'm like, ‘okay, what's happening now?’ I like the fact that you can follow stories live,” she says.
Mouton is one of over 80 000 subscribers who have partnered with News24 as it seeks to bring quality, trusted journalism to South Africa. In this series I Am News24, we get to know some of our loyal subscribers and celebrate them and their shared love of the news.
As the editor of Die Matie, the University of Stellenbosch's independent student-run newspaper, Mouton thinks it’s good for people her age to stay informed.
“You can make informed decisions as a citizen when you read the news. It's sometimes entertaining as well and sometimes sad. So, I think you kind of get the whole gambit of emotions with the news,” she explains.
Mouton enjoys delving into world news and getting in-depth analysis on the kingmakers in the political world. She also believes that the news plays a huge role in active citizenship and holding those in power to account.
She spent an afternoon getting to know one of News24’s Cape Town journalists - Marvin Charles – who is currently News24’s young journalist of the Year.
The budding news hounds bonded over their love of journalism and the current queen of pop Taylor Swift.
“I think that news is very important in terms of getting information out there,” Charles echoes. “I believe people have to be held accountable and someone has to ask the very tough questions and I think I do that,” says Charles.
One thing Charles says the public would be surprised to hear is that journalists also get angry when answers are not forthcoming from those in positions of power.
“It’s very difficult to get answers for the public. We push every single day to get the best type of journalism for them because we don’t want to take their money for granted.”
Charles was recently named News24’s young journalist of the year, an accolade he humbly says he never saw coming.
“For me, journalists should not be in the field for the accolades. If my work makes a bit of a difference outside the corners of the office and people get the satisfaction of reading the stories and reading the exclusives that we put in our subscriber homepage then it’s worth my while,” he says.
Like Charles, Mouton says she sees herself working as a news journalist after she graduates.
“Journalism is always changing and always exciting. There have been moments where I was like do I actually really want to do this? And then I get a really cool interview with a really cool person and I'm like, ‘yeah I definitely want to do this’. The world is always changing, but there's much to change in the world and I think journalists play a really important role in that, and I like to be part of the action,” she says.
News24 is home to some of the country’s most groundbreaking, trusted and quality journalism. These stories are made possible by not only the journalists who write them, but also the subscribers who read them.
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