ENCA’s KwaZulu – Natal based journalist Dasen Thathiah, says the journalism calling was far too strong for him to ignore, despite him initially enrolling for an Information Technology (IT) programme after matric.
Thathiah shared his fascinating journey following his conferment with a BTech in Journalism from the Durban University of Technology (DUT), today, (Thursday,09 May 2019) at the Fred Crookes Sports Centre, Steve Biko Campus in Durban.
“Although I didn’t get to journalism immediately, but I became obsessed with the idea of learning about journalism while studying IT. So much so, I talked my way into a journalism entrance assessment at DUT while accompanying a friend to his registration in 2003. I had no form of ID on me, no matric results, no pen. All I had was this hunger to learn about this fascinating thing called journalism. I used a payphone and called my mother to tell her about my plans – and, despite her confusion and hesitation, she bent over backwards to ensure my documents were sent to DUT. Obviously, I passed the assessment – and with some borrowed registration money, I was soon part of DUT’s journalism class. I didn’t know how we were going to pay the fees, since I still had a pending loan from my first year. But, despite their limited income, my parents somehow made a miracle happen,” he said.
We quizzed Thathiah further to find out when did the Journalism bug initially caught him. “I started writing very early in life, and I was enamoured by an old typewriter my mother gave to me when I was around 7 or 8. It was thrown out by her employer, but it was gold to me. It was the tool I used to type my first story. I’m not sure how good it really was, but my parents told me it was great and that’s what I will go with,” he said.
The multi-award winning Journalist said even though the accomplishment of this degree has been pending for some time, he is ecstatic to have finally achieved it despite his hectic schedule.
“It was no easy feat. 2018 was one of the busiest years of my career. I travelled a lot, covered some really taxing stories and had extremely long days. BTech classes are full-time and there was no way I could attend every lesson. My lecturers understood this, and made concessions around attendance where they could. I was very fortunate that my editors supported this, and I was able to shuffle my days around in this way. I used the allocated study leave for any presentations and when tests were scheduled. I still don’t know how I survived the year. It excites me, but it still feels surreal when I think about the juggling act I pulled off last year. I owe this degree to my family, my partner, friends and editors who supported me on this journey and put up with me during an extremely busy year,” enlightened Thathiah.
Fast – forward to 2019, and Thathiah is now a reputable and multi – award winning journalist, who is admired by his peers within the media industry. He has won the Vodacom Journalist of the Year Award on eight occasions. His illustrious career has seen him being featured on many international broadcasting platforms such as the BBC in London and the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation.
This hardworking newsman cut his journalism teeth in 2005 at DUT’s student online platform where he was a writer. He has worked as reporter for the Daily News and has been with eNCA since 2011.
He said he is determined to continue doing what he loves the most, which to tell people’s stories to the masses. “Maybe I’ll get to make documentaries one day in the near future. There’ll never be a shortage of stories, and my passion for the craft won’t allow me to stop doing this just yet. One thing is certain – I want to keep people glued to their phones, laptops and TV screens by providing informative and entertaining content for as long as I am able to,” he said.
Pictured: Dasen Thathiah
Nduduzo Ndlovu
