Blogger covers another side of ANC Polokwane conference

Of all the news reports I’ve read on the African National Congress (ANC) Polokwane conference so far, the live coverage from our blogger Ndumiso Ngcobo, who is at the event, has honestly been the most interesting. The ANC conference is a major event for South Africa, set to determine the next leader of the country’s ruling party and perhaps the political future of the country.

Ndumiso was a natural choice to be our blogger at the conference. His brilliant writing on our Thought Leader platform has had us in stitches constantly for the past three months. We were keen to send a blogger to capture something different to the usual coverage you see in mainstream media, trying to get a sense of the behind-the-scenes drama and general colour.

We are excited that this is a watershed event for media — we are aware that this is the first time a blogger is being accredited to cover a major political event in this country, much like bloggers were accredited in the US for the first time during the elections there.

Ndumiso’s blog post A blogger in Polokwane … an experiment gone wrong and Smut, sheep and airplanes in Polokwane are hilarious and great reads.

Err,and I hope the ANC allows bloggers back to their next conference

UPDATE: Steven Friedman has also been blogging political coverage from the conference. Mail & Guardian editor, Ferial Haffajee, is also blogging the conference here and here.

Also worth looking at:

• International correspondent (and blogger) Simon Barber has weighed in with this excellent view from Washington.
• Ivo Vegter’s Zuma: Reap the Whirlwind
• Today is the first day of our democracy, by Charlene Smith.
• Jonty Fisher: Zuma: What now?
• And this philosophical take by Bert Olivier in Alea iacta est …

and others on Thought Leader…