The myth of impartiality…
Journalists, one widely accepted wisdom goes, are supposed to remain detached; impartial observers of, and reporters on society, in all its’ flawed, fascinating, unusual, wonderful and sometimes horrifying manifestations. Always get both sides, don’t become the story, we were urged as over-zealous youngsters. All great touchstones that serve the commonweal. Except that we’re are ‘a part of’. We’re human. While we can temper our innate leanings and prejudices and perhaps even sometimes partially remove the tinted lenses of our life experiences, we cannot escape being in and of society. I’ve come to tentatively believe that this is most true of our physiology. We can hit Diamond or Gold Vitality fitness status, but we cannot escape our cellular programming and/or what Douglas Adams calls, “the Random Improbability Drive.” More generally, Shit happens; biologically, physiologically, psychologically, psychically. Events change us, we change events. My cancer diagnosis in November 2019, was one such, handing me back my utter humanity, vulnerability, compassion and ironically, gratitude. Grace comes wrapped in strange packages. I found myself unconsciously prepared, a realization that bolstered my belief in a nurturing, supportive universal power that inexorably leads us to evolve in myriad ways. Five months earlier, before my own diagnosis, one of my commissions as a freelancer was to interview 20 cancer survivors, their oncologists, physicians, psychologists, palliative care specialists – you get the picture. It wasn’t unfamiliar territory. As news editor at the SA Medical Journal, I’d attended several cancer survivor forums, but this job helped prepare me for my own imminent journey as I spoke to survivor friends of mine and befriended many other amazing, courageous people. Like the coronavirus; nobody’s totally immune. I’m starting to understand the term, ‘humanitarian.’ Empathy really helps. Hopefully, by sharing my journey on these podcasts, I can support others as they, and the Universe, continue to support me.
Chris Bateman
I served at The Natal Witness (3 years) and the Cape Times (17 years), covering every beat except health. I was posted for two-years as a London correspondent for the-then South African Morning Group of Newspapers, returning to help cover the historic 1994 elections before joining the Cape Times parliamentary reporting team. I left the Cape Times in 2000, having built a reputation with my township coverage during the late 80’s struggle years, to join the South African Medical Journal where I became News Editor. In 2016 I resigned from the SAMJ, having won six annual Discovery Health journalism awards while doubling up as editor of the Healthcare Gazette for two years, to go freelance, full-time. Today, my clients include Discovery Health, EthiQal (the medico-legal arm of Constantia Insurance), several weekly newspapers and cyber news sites, and the Hospital Association of South Africa, (HASA).