Winter for me flew by in a whirl of work. Firstly non-stop around the country conducting courses on corporate writing, newsletter writing and media training which hopefully left those involved with a greater sense of what people want to read as well as how to deal with media – always a tricky issue.

Glorious spring sees no let-up to the flow of work – and interesting work at that. From government to NGO’s to corporate – life is never dull in the world of media and training.

My Sunday Times column continues to offer me unique opportunities to interview great South Africans. This last couple of months I’ve had face to face interviews with legends such as Pik Botha, Hugh Masekela and Paul Slabolepszy – what an adventure.

Being able to ask Pik Botha about his relationship with P.W. Botha and the infamous Rubicon speech as well as discussing Hugh Masekela’s jamming with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrong – there are no words for it.

By far the most important happening in the last month revolves around my time at The Carter Center (http://www.cartercenter.org/health/mental_health/index.html). This was South Africa’s last official visit as part of their involvement in Mrs Rosalyn Carter’s Mental Health Journalism Programme.

Since 2004 we have sent fourteen South African journalists, from print as well as electronic media, to The Carter Center in Atlanta to partake in this programme. Not only have they come back enriched and enthused from their time there exposed to Mrs Carter’s Mental Health Advisory Board, but also able to make valuable contributions to this much needed field of journalism in South Africa.

As always there’s plenty going on at Media Mentors. 

Firstly the judging of our first Pfizer Mental Health Journalism Awards is about to take place in the next few weeks and I can’t wait to see the entries from our wonderful South African journalists. 

And following up on the ‘Responsible Reporting on Mental Health Conference we held earlier this year please go to:

The Carter Center and watch the slide show put together by the very talented photographer T.J. Lemon. Once again, on behalf of myself and Zane Wilson of SADAG I want to thank The Carter Center for their very generous sponsorship of this event.

Training has been hectic with, it seems, more people beginning to understand the importance of being prepared for press interviews, whether print, radio or television. Whether it’s one minute or an hour – you have to learn to take control and get your key points across. Only when you see yourself on camera do you realise the minefield it can be.

I’ve also had the pleasure of talking at some wonderful conferences – this month all for women. Especially interesting was the Conference on Women in Politics, where I spoke on media to government ministers from Botswana, Angola and Namibia, as well as our own members of parliament – what a privilege.

And do check out my latest interviews for my Sunday Times Lifestyle Column ‘What I’ve Learnt’ with P.J. Powers, Gcina Mhlope, John Kani and Moeletsi Mbeki. How blessed am I to spend time with these extraordinary South Africans!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Pfizer Mental Health Journalism Awards for 2011/2012.  These follow on from the Carter Center Mental Health Journalism Fellowships, which have been awarded to South African print and broadcast journalists for the last six years.

Mrs Rosalynn Carter started these Fellowships as she felt journalists had the power to reach the masses and help break down the stigma attached to mental health.  Over the last 15 years she has indeed reached many hundreds of thousands people through her Fellows, many of whom have won major awards, for their work in print, radio, television, documentary and books.

Pfizer and the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) will be awarding two journalists a stipend of R25 000 per person.  Fellows are not required to leave their employment during the fellowship year and are encouraged to choose timely projects that may educate the public and raise awareness about important mental health concerns.

When I was lecturing in journalism I always commented to my students during a class that by the time they walked out of the lecture hall the world could have changed.  Well in the last few months we’ve seen the fall of political despots and the death of the world’s most wanted man.  News changes minute by minute and you have to stay on top to know what’s going on.  What people are saying about you and your business and how you’re communicating your message, whether by release, articles or social media says a lot about you and your organisation.

By now everyone’s forgotten their holidays and are back in the swing of things.

Having a job as varied as mine sees different months throwing up different challenges. Still one of the top ones is finding fascinating interviews for my ‘What I’ve Learnt’ column for the Sunday Times Lifestyle.  In the last week I’ve interviewed the wonderful Raymond Ackerman, about to turn 80 and still a fighter for the consumer.  Sometimes being a journalist is a great privilege.  See my last columns on legendary singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka and the great George Bizos!  Just being in such a presence is awe inspiring.

Firstly I would like to wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year and to thank all my wonderful clients for their support in 2010.  I have a feeling that 2011 will see a turnaround in our slightly besieged economy.  I could already feel a difference in the second half of last year.

My work has suddenly started taking me more into our neighbouring states, meeting such interesting people with the same media problems that occur in South Africa.  Before I migrated for my annual respite under the mountains in Cape Town I worked with people from Nigeria, Botswana, Malawi, Swaziland, Angola, Zimbabwe and beyond - and look forward to spending more time in Africa this coming year.

As well as media training, 2011 holds some exciting challenges for me. I’m kicking off the year with a Public Relations Master Class for PRISA (Public Relations Institute of South Africa) on the 26th January.  This follows my appearance as a guest speaker at their 2010 Conference and I’m flattered to be asked to take this further.