Dr Iqbal Survé is being secretive about his consortium’s purchase of Independent News and Media, and this is starting to sour his arrival in the news industry. Dr Survé has declined to identify the shareholders in his Sekunjalo Independent Media consortium, which is acquiring one of the country’s biggest news … 
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Category Archives: Anton Harber
Simpson report: Not worthy of the BBC
I am appalled that a seasoned journalist like BBC world affairs editor John Simpson should produce – in his piece “Is there a future for whites in South Africa?” – such a half-arsed, skewed view of reality. He appears to have fallen victim to the voice of a few paranoids, … Continue reading
Celebrate a victory
WE NEED to learn to celebrate the big victories, and not dwell on the small defeats. The Protection of State Information Bill currently awaiting President Jacob Zuma’s signature is a victory for organised citizens’ power. It is so much better than the original version the securocrats tabled a couple of … Continue reading
Change. For the better? Maybe
Who would have thought the Mail & Guardian would be the most stable player in the South African newspaper market? With ownership changing at both Independent newspapers and BDFM, editorships and publishing jobs up for grabs in that group, new editors at Sunday Times and the Times and the Times … Continue reading
Time to talk, Mr Independent
Dr Iqbal Survé, leader of the consortium buying the Independent newspapers group in South Africa, has gone notably quiet. It has been announced that he has signed the deal for R2-bn and it now awaits regulatory approval, but there is no word on who the members of his consortium are … Continue reading
New Age, old tricks
The New Age has finally released some sales figures, though they are of dubious credibility. The 20-month old paper says they have “commenced a process of circulation auditing and verification”, but still do not talk of joining the Audit Bureau of Circulation, the industry verification body, and therefore one has … Continue reading
A festival of muckraking
Judging the Taco Kuiper Awards is one of the highlights of my year, I said at this year’s event, at the Rand Club on Friday. I get to survey some of the most interesting reporting of the previous 12 months, and it reinvigorates my faith in our journalism. I am … Continue reading
Remember when newspapers boasted of their sales figures? So why were they so quiet last week?
Remember the time when newspapers used to crow about their quarterly circulation figures? They had a way of finding good news even when their circulation was down: if you compare streets sales with the last quarter of 1934, you will see that our circulation has shot up in Benoni – … Continue reading
The winds of change blast through Times Media
A very different media group is going to emerge from what was Avusa, and has now reverted to the Times Media Group under new CEO Andrew Bonamour. Bonamour is going to ditch the group’s entertainment and retail assets. You can expect Exclusive Books to be sold, probably to another retail … Continue reading
Campus sex pests and the power of the media
The work of my journalism students this week will, I think, do more to address the problems of staff-student relationships on Wits campus than all the measures announced by the university. Our new crop of students have only been with us four weeks when – assisted by some of last … Continue reading
Justice for those who are not Oscar Pistorius
We can pontificate on whether Oscar Pistorius gets special treatment in our courts, or whether his access to wealth and influence gets him a better quality of justice. Or we can listen to the story of another disabled accused, Prisoner A, a real person who I have to protect because … Continue reading
Peter Bruce takes the crown – or is it a three-cornered hat?
The milliners, at least, will be celebrating. Peter Bruce has emerged from the turmoil in the BDFM group as the wearer of many hats. He is now publisher, editor-in-chief and Business Day editor – an extraordinary breach in newspaper tradition. Bruce wanted this when they first asked him late last … Continue reading
Is Oscar Pistorius being treated fairly by the media?
The media has had a field day with leaked details about what happened on the night Oscar Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp and we have all consumed it voraciously. It is the most fascinating tale to have emerged in a long time (or at least since the fall of the last … Continue reading