Behind the scenes at the Indie

September 22nd, 2009

Oh my gosh, the Sunday Independent has what looks like it might be a full-time editor. What accounts for this sudden lavish spending by the Independent group?

For years now, the Sunday Indie has not had a full-time editor. Star deputy editor Jovial Rantoa doubled up in the role in name, but he was hardly ever present and the paper was effectively run by Andrew Walker behind the scenes. The lack of a full-time editor became a symbol for the neglect of the loss-making paper and the parsimoniousnes of the Indie group.

Now they have brought Makhudu Sefara across from City Press.

I hear that it is the shake-up at City Press which led to the shake-up at Indie, indirectly. Khatu Maimela was editor of City Press, having taken over from Mathatha Tsedu not long ago, keeping the paper firmly in its Africanist tradition.

But News24 wanted to take City Press in another direction (See my previous blog on the change of editor there earlier this year). They surprised everyone by bringing in Ferial Hafajee from Mail & Guardian, who comes from a notably different journalistic tradition.

Maimela was booted upstairs to be publisher. He went across town, chatted to his old friend Moegsien Williams at the Star, which has been desperately in need of some experienced old journalistic hands, and turned up there as general manager.

I am told by good sources that Maimela has convinced the Indie bosses that the way to success for the Sunday Indie is to take it into the gap being left by City PRess’ changes - to go for the elite black market with an Africanist tinge. He has brought his man in to do it, pushing Walker and Rantoa aside.

The question is whether management will actually spend some money on the hapless Sunday Indie. They have been choking it off with constant cutbacks to the point where it has about two reporters working on it. Will Maimela change this? Some of those around him have wanted to close it for some time, but O’Reilly, who has an enourmous amount of ego and prestige invested in it, has not let that happen.

Let’s hope they do. Certainly, News24 will be giving Hafajee a war chest. They are a company that knows how to fight a good media war and are not scared of investing in their plans.

If so, the Sunday market will be fascinating to watch: City Press takes on the Sunday Times, Sunday Indie moves into the City Press gap, Rantoa goes back to his knitting …

The Sunday Times, of course, is going through its own internal turmoil. But that will be the subject of a future blog …

Entry Filed under: Anton Harber, Journalism, Print