2006 September Woman in Media: Karien Jonckheere

One of South Africa’s best-loved sports journalists is off to Dubai to pursue her dreams there.

Over the years, while women sports reporters in South Africa have been scarce, the name Karien Jonckheere has often cropped up, bringing us heartwarming stories from the Olympics, medal winning moments from swimming meets, and the lowdown on women’s sport.

Karien is intensely passionate about what she does and we wish her all the best with her journey to Dubai.
Introducing our Woman in Media for September: Karien Jonckheere.

I have always loved sport and have had a thing about the Olympics, from a very young age.

When I realised I would never get there as a swimmer (I was nowhere near even starting to be good enough) I wondered how else I could get there one day and decided on journalism.

I studied journalism at Rhodes and was extremely fortunate to get my first proper job at an athletics magazine in England.

I was there for a year before deciding to head back home and that’s when I joined The Star.

I am working part time for Swimming South Africa, writing for them and have just come back from a tour with the swimming teams in Canada and Brazil.

I am freelancing with the rest of my time although I will be moving to Dubai next month where I am hoping to get a job with one of the papers there.

Without a doubt the Athens Olympics – the dream come true! I have never worked so hard in my life but the experience was incredible.

I think if you can cover an Olympics, you can cover anything! And being on the edge of the pool when our “awesome foursome” won gold in world record time was the cherry on top of course.

I think for me the biggest challenge has not really been working with men but rather getting the men to take women’s sport seriously – and sexy photos of Maria Sharapova don’t count.

Sports editors tend to think they’re giving women’s sport great coverage when they have a few pics of pretty tennis players on the back page.

The challenge has been to try and change that mind-set.

Most of them are my friends really and people I can share frustrations with, people like Jane Bramley from sapa (she’s been doing this for years), Liryn de Jager from Rapport (for her perfectionism and refusal to give anything but the best) and Marjolein van der Stad from Beeld (for putting up with so much for so many years and still hanging in there).

Go for it – it’s the best job in the world! Make sure you know what you’re talking about when it comes to the sports you cover so people take you seriously but at the same time, don’t be afraid to ask questions.

I remember covering bowls and badminton tournaments where I didn’t have a clue, but the people involved were so excited to teach me everything.

Also, don’t be intimidated by anyone. Stand up for what you’re writing and fight for that space in the paper.

I think it’s more a case of improving the coverage of women’s sport in South Africa.

I think it’s a matter of changing the mindsets of sports editors to convince them that there are sports other than rugby, soccer and cricket in this country.

The more exposure women’s sport gets, the more role models there will be for aspiring sportswomen and the more young girls will stick to the sports in which they take part.

There’s a huge problem with girls who reach their teens and drop out of sport (it happened to me too) but if they see top sportswomen getting the attention they deserve, I think it will have a ripple effect.

This is my ideal job – I love it.

That’s a difficult one. I don’t think I can only pick a few because in the sports I cover the people are generally really great to work with (not like some of the major egos you have to deal with in the bigger sports).

I think I would have to go with the MCG. Wow, what an incredible place.

And of course the Olympic stadium in Athens.

In SA I have a bit of a soft spot for St George’s Park – lots of happy memories of watching cricket games there in my varsity days and the vibe there is amazing.

Corny, I know, but I’ve always liked Nike’s “Just do it!”

I think my inspiration comes from the fact that I want to live life to the full.

That’s a massive cliché, but I don’t want to look back and regret anything that I had an opportunity to do and didn’t.

Sometimes that’s scary and takes you way out of your comfort zone (and to strange places like Dubai) but it’s worth it.

The Bible talks about God giving us “abundant life” and I love that – that’s what I want.