Charlene Leonora Smith
Encyclopedia
Charlene Leonora Smith is a South-African journalist. She began her career at the Johannesberg Star, for which she covered the 1976 Soweto Uprising,. She later reported on politics for The Star, The Sunday Express, Sunday Tribune (where she was also deputy bureau chief), Business Day (where she was also deputy news editor), Sunday Times, Financial Mail (where she was also associate editor) and Finance Week (where she was also assistant editor). She freelanced for the "Mail and Guardian" for many years http://mg.co.za/person/charlene-smith as well as publications in the United Kingdom including the Guardian, the Observor, and in France, Le Monde and Alernative, as well as publications in north America. Awards for her journalism include those from CNN http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/africa/africanawards/winners99.html, as well as the Courageous Journalism award from Rhodes University in South Africa and others.
Smith is a popular public speaker and has twice been invited to the Goteborg Book Fair as a guest of the Swedish government http://www.bok-bibliotek.se/en/about-goteborg-book-fair/nobel-prize-laureates-and-prominent-guests/, and has been invited to present papers or chair sessions at various World Aids Congresses and similar seminars on writing, womens issues - she has twice been a keynote speaker for International Council of Women annual general meetings, as an example, http://www.icw-cif.org/ICW-CIF%20General%20Assembly.pdf or aspects around conflict or violence.
In 1999, she was raped and stabbed in her home and a week later published her account of the event and her quest to obtain anti-viral drugs. Smith began campaigning for rape survivors, as she called them, rejecting the term victim, to receive post exposure prophylaxis after rape. She persistently wrote about South Africa's high rape figures - the worst in the world - for international publications earning the ire of AIDS-denialist, President Thabo Mbeki http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71619?oid=84521&sn=Detail.
The Centers for Disease Control invited her to make an address about her views on post-exposure prophylaxis after sexual assault in August, 2000 - this followed her presentation of papers at the 2000 World AIDS Congress in Durban, South Africa http://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajhivm/article/viewFile/44727/28226, where she shared a platform, among others with Dr. David Holtgrave of the CDC. Immediately after the address she was approached by Dr. Ken Dominguez and Consuelo Beck-Segue of the CDC about assisting in the development of a PEP protocol for sexual assault. Smith aided in the development of this protocol which came into effect in 2004. She received numerous awards for her journalismhttp://pages.interlog.com/~saww/2001Charlene.html, and her voluntary work with those infected or affected by HIV and too, those who had experienced sexual assault http://charlenesmith.net/books_and_awards.asp.
In 2004, Smith published an article about the prevalence of rape in South Africa, earning a personal criticism from President Thabo Mbeki
, a former ally but also an AIDS denialist - in 2008, Harvard University would estimate that his denialism would led to the unnecessary deaths of more than 360,000 HIV-infected South Africans http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/26/world/africa/26aids.html?pagewanted=all. Smith was one of those who consistently sounded the alarm about the consequences of his policies. Her 2004 article touched off a confrontation in Parliament in which "legislators accused Mr. Mbeki of dodging the issues of sexual violence and AIDS, and the president accused them of pretending that racism died with apartheid." Mbeki's criticism of Smith first began in December, 1999, as he resisted her ongoing writing, research and outspoken public position about high levels of HIV and sexual violence in South Africa.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3716004.stm
Smith has been a producer for ABC’s Nightline
(US) under Ted Koppel including a week long broadcast from South Africa in 1985 and for CBS 60 Minutes
with Ed Bradley. She has worked on a number of documentaries for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from 1985 to 2009, including two award winning documentaries on Nelson Mandela http://www.cbc.ca/lifeandtimes/mandela.html and http://www.cogentbenger.com/docs/mandela.php as well as one on South Africa’s democratic transition.
From 1986 to 1992, she wrote opinion and analysis articles for the Los Angeles Times
, and has also written for the Washington Post, The Observer, Guardian, Le Monde http://mondediplo.com/_Charlene-Smith_ and other publications. She is a highly-rated blogger on the Mail & Guardian's Thoughtleader. which she occasionally contributes to.
She has worked for many years as a communications and marketing consultant for organizations including the World Economic Forum, the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup in South Africa, and other international companies and organizations. Smith has authored 14 non-fiction books including Mandela and Robben Islandhttp://www.randomstruik.co.za/about-the-author.php?authorID=3375&imprintID=1, edited and ghost-written others http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1198833.Charlene_Smith. A dual South African, US citizen, Smith is highly respected in the country of her birth and is listed in South Africa's Who's Who http://www.whoswhosa.co.za/charlene-smith-3428
She has worked as Director of Communications and Marketing for Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/12/prweb4901514.htm and presently lives and works in Washington, D.C. as a writer, editor and consultant. She covers the White House for various news outlets in the U.S.A. and abroad including Rhody News http://www.rhodynews.com/category/politics/. She has written extensively on health issues including overmedication and prescription drug addiction http://www.opednews.com/articles/Prescription-drugs-kill-co-by-Charlene-Smith-110902-348.html
, and voted one of the top 10 books of the year by The Star newspaper and Sunday Times. Launched in Sweden as Utan Skuld by Leopard Press in September, 2003). (forthcoming)
Smith is a popular public speaker and has twice been invited to the Goteborg Book Fair as a guest of the Swedish government http://www.bok-bibliotek.se/en/about-goteborg-book-fair/nobel-prize-laureates-and-prominent-guests/, and has been invited to present papers or chair sessions at various World Aids Congresses and similar seminars on writing, womens issues - she has twice been a keynote speaker for International Council of Women annual general meetings, as an example, http://www.icw-cif.org/ICW-CIF%20General%20Assembly.pdf or aspects around conflict or violence.
In 1999, she was raped and stabbed in her home and a week later published her account of the event and her quest to obtain anti-viral drugs. Smith began campaigning for rape survivors, as she called them, rejecting the term victim, to receive post exposure prophylaxis after rape. She persistently wrote about South Africa's high rape figures - the worst in the world - for international publications earning the ire of AIDS-denialist, President Thabo Mbeki http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71619?oid=84521&sn=Detail.
The Centers for Disease Control invited her to make an address about her views on post-exposure prophylaxis after sexual assault in August, 2000 - this followed her presentation of papers at the 2000 World AIDS Congress in Durban, South Africa http://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajhivm/article/viewFile/44727/28226, where she shared a platform, among others with Dr. David Holtgrave of the CDC. Immediately after the address she was approached by Dr. Ken Dominguez and Consuelo Beck-Segue of the CDC about assisting in the development of a PEP protocol for sexual assault. Smith aided in the development of this protocol which came into effect in 2004. She received numerous awards for her journalismhttp://pages.interlog.com/~saww/2001Charlene.html, and her voluntary work with those infected or affected by HIV and too, those who had experienced sexual assault http://charlenesmith.net/books_and_awards.asp.
In 2004, Smith published an article about the prevalence of rape in South Africa, earning a personal criticism from President Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a South African politician who served two terms as the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He is also the brother of Moeletsi Mbeki...
, a former ally but also an AIDS denialist - in 2008, Harvard University would estimate that his denialism would led to the unnecessary deaths of more than 360,000 HIV-infected South Africans http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/26/world/africa/26aids.html?pagewanted=all. Smith was one of those who consistently sounded the alarm about the consequences of his policies. Her 2004 article touched off a confrontation in Parliament in which "legislators accused Mr. Mbeki of dodging the issues of sexual violence and AIDS, and the president accused them of pretending that racism died with apartheid." Mbeki's criticism of Smith first began in December, 1999, as he resisted her ongoing writing, research and outspoken public position about high levels of HIV and sexual violence in South Africa.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3716004.stm
Smith has been a producer for ABC’s Nightline
Nightline
Nightline, or ABC News Nightline is a late-night news program broadcast by ABC in the United States, and has a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. It airs weeknights, usually for 31 minutes. Created by Roone Arledge, the program featured Ted Koppel as its main...
(US) under Ted Koppel including a week long broadcast from South Africa in 1985 and for CBS 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
with Ed Bradley. She has worked on a number of documentaries for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from 1985 to 2009, including two award winning documentaries on Nelson Mandela http://www.cbc.ca/lifeandtimes/mandela.html and http://www.cogentbenger.com/docs/mandela.php as well as one on South Africa’s democratic transition.
From 1986 to 1992, she wrote opinion and analysis articles for the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, and has also written for the Washington Post, The Observer, Guardian, Le Monde http://mondediplo.com/_Charlene-Smith_ and other publications. She is a highly-rated blogger on the Mail & Guardian's Thoughtleader. which she occasionally contributes to.
She has worked for many years as a communications and marketing consultant for organizations including the World Economic Forum, the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup in South Africa, and other international companies and organizations. Smith has authored 14 non-fiction books including Mandela and Robben Islandhttp://www.randomstruik.co.za/about-the-author.php?authorID=3375&imprintID=1, edited and ghost-written others http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1198833.Charlene_Smith. A dual South African, US citizen, Smith is highly respected in the country of her birth and is listed in South Africa's Who's Who http://www.whoswhosa.co.za/charlene-smith-3428
She has worked as Director of Communications and Marketing for Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/12/prweb4901514.htm and presently lives and works in Washington, D.C. as a writer, editor and consultant. She covers the White House for various news outlets in the U.S.A. and abroad including Rhody News http://www.rhodynews.com/category/politics/. She has written extensively on health issues including overmedication and prescription drug addiction http://www.opednews.com/articles/Prescription-drugs-kill-co-by-Charlene-Smith-110902-348.html
Books
(Text by Charlene Smith) (Nominated for the Alan Paton AwardAlan Paton Award
The Alan Paton Award is a South African literary award that been conferred annually since 1989 for meritorious works of non-fiction. Sponsored by the Johannesburg weekly the Sunday Times, recipients represent the cream of contemporary South African writers who produce works that are judged to...
, and voted one of the top 10 books of the year by The Star newspaper and Sunday Times. Launched in Sweden as Utan Skuld by Leopard Press in September, 2003). (forthcoming)
Chapters in books
- 1992: Patterns of Violence, edited A Minnaar, HSRC, chapter conflict in Natal.
- 1995: Robben Island, edited Jurgen Schadeberg, chapter on escapes.
- 2004: How South Africans Looked the Beast in the Eye: HIV in SA edited by head of SA HIV Clinicians Society, Dr Des Martin, Jonathan Ball
- 2004: The Closest of Strangers: South African Women’s Life Writing edited by Judith Lutge Coullie, Wits University Press
- 2005: Media in South Africa by William Mervin Gumede, Kwa Zulu Natal University Press (chapter on broadcasting)
- 2006: Articlulations: A Harold Wolpe Memorial Lecture Collection, Africa World Press and University of KwaZulu Natal Press. 2006: 1956: The Woman’s March edited and published by Mothobi Mutloatse.
- 2009: AIDS published by Leopard Forlag, Sweden.
External links
- Charlene Smith - writers-and-the-fallacy-of-fame, Mail and Guardian online - Jan 2008
- Speakout.org - survivors - Charlenes story
- http://pages.interlog.com/~saww/2001Charlene.html
- National Public Radio