Afrikaans editor for New Age

Johannesburg - Henry Jeffreys, former editor of the Cape Town Afrikaans daily Die Burger, has been appointed editor of The New Age with effect from December 1.

This follows the walk-out by first editor Vuyo Mvoko, deputy editor Karima Brown and three senior staff members the day before the first issue was due to be published.

As a result, the launch of the newspaper was postponed. Their reasons have not yet been made public.

The New Age is intended to be a government-supporting newspaper that will adopt a more positive approach to the news than is current in the newspaper industry.

In his 30-year working life, Jeffreys was at various times both deputy and political editor of the Johannesburg daily Beeld, where he started his career in the 1980s.

In between journalistic jobs he worked in the development field for the Urban Foundation and the National Business Initiative, serving on the board as executive director for both organisations.

He also worked as executive director for the Funda Centre in Soweto, Johannesburg. He is a director of among others, the Institute for Global Dialogue.
 
In 2004 he was awarded a prestigious Nieman Fellowship and spent a year at Harvard University in the United States.

In prepared comments obviously approved by the TNA board (which includes former Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad), he came out strongly in support of press freedom.
 
“I believe The New Age does have a unique and independent view to offer daily newspaper readers and I'm excited about joining the paper,” he said.

“I am passionate about the journalistic media. It is a cornerstone of our constitutional democracy and a custodian of the right to freedom of speech – in my view the most basic and important of entrenched rights we enjoy as citizens. It gives a voice to millions of citizens who are often ignored by the influential and powerful elites.

“The New Age will generate excitement, as it brings a new voice to a new audience. Much has been said about the end of the printed newspaper but in emerging markets like South Africa, the newspaper is very much alive and kicking,” says Jeffreys.

“The New Age is bound to unlock new audiences, giving consumers a new and fresh voice, and promoting the much-needed diversification of the media market.”

Jeffreys says he will have no problem making the switch from Afrikaans to English-language journalism.

 - Fin24