Johannesburg - The Pretoria News is no more. As reported earlier this week, it will be merged into The Star, as part of a range of austerity measures announced by the publishers of this newspaper.
It’s always like this: the survival of the fittest, and the devil take the hindmost. Newspapers are no different nor any less vulnerable than anyone else.
The Pretoria News was a great paper, punching well above its weight and an incredible nursery of talent. Some alumni like Alan Dunn, who began his career there and would later have the privilege of editing the paper, would have brilliant careers, rising to the very top in their field. One of his predecessors, Deon du Plessis, launched the Daily Sun. Others like the late Val Boje would spend their entire lives at the paper – and have professional lives that in truth were just as fulfilled.
You only have to look at the National Press Club, which hosted its highly successful Journalist of the Year Awards last week, to get a glimpse of the scope and scale of the ‘News’s influence: Graeme Hosken, former ace crime reporter at the ‘News now head of the Sunday Times investigative Unit and runner up in this year’s Taco Kuiper awards, the country’s premier award for investigative journalism; Masi Losi former chief photographer now picture editor at Arena Holdings which publishes the Sunday Times; and, Zelda Venter, news editor of the Pretoria News, but also possibly the greatest court reporter of her generation never to win Legal Journalist of the Year – a travesty in and of itself.
The NPC executive is a roll call of other ‘News luminaries; deputy chair Willem van de Putte, Lali van Zuydam and Magdel du Preez and none dare forget the yeoman service of the late Jos Charle, himself a former deputy editor of the ‘News.
And that’s just the current generation. There are so many more who passed through the ‘News: Thabo Leshilo, Zingisa Mkhuma, Clyde Bawden, all previous editors. Deputy editors Tom Roy, Pippa Green and Dennis Cruywagen; assistant editors Sej Motau and Gerald Shaw; and, photographers Walter Pitso and Peter Morey.
Let’s not forget the journalists who owed their start to the ‘News either, like Moshoeshoe Monare, head of SABC News and award-winning author and former newspaper editor Janet Smith. Then there’s JJ Cornish, Patrick Hlahla, Philane Motale, Rich Mkhondo, Gary Lemke and Sol Plaatje.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg from the editorial side. There were legends in the press room, in management and in marketing, with none coming close to Elaine Ash for the work she did promoting the paper.
The ‘News was so much more than the Decuplets Disaster. Sadly. That’s probably all that most people will remember of the paper. Not me. I was very proud to be associated with the ‘News and extremely privileged to have known many of these people – as friends and colleagues.
Pretoria will be a lot poorer without ‘the capital’s daily’.