Cape Times bucks staffing trend

HAILED as historic, eight staff appointments were made at the Cape Times on Thursday, many being senior posts.

It was the second time this year that the paper has announced a raft of appointments and bucked the trend where, in a troubled newspaper industry, retrenchments have increased alarmingly.

In April, six young journalists were recruited – a move unprecedented in the industry.

“I would like to thank our loyal readers, subscribers and advertisers for their support of the Cape Times. The appointments are a direct result of a change in ownership, leadership and ethos at the Cape Times. This is indeed a historic day in the life of the Cape Times, established in 1876 and still going strong,” editor Aneez Salie said.

Independent Media executive chairman Dr Iqbal Survé met the paper’s editorial and business staff to make the announcements yesterday.

The appointments were:

l Mandy Eachells as chief sub-editor. Eachells has 25 years’ experience in media, with an MPhil in journalism under her belt. Her career has included stints at Cape Community Newspapers, Cape Argus, Cape Times and Weekend Argus before she left to pursue other opportunities in the media industry.

l Lynette Johns as news editor. Johns is no newcomer to the Cape Times, having started her career at the publication in 1994. During her 20-year experience in media, she worked at several titles, including the Cape Argus and popular community newspaper The Plainsman.

l Roland Adams as revise sub-editor. Adams is a seasoned journalist, having worked at Cape Community Newspapers before he left to become head of the journalism department at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology for seven years.

l Quinton Mtyala as online media reporter. Mtyala’s return to the Cape Times has been welcomed. He has extensive experience in communications and has had stints at the Cape Times and Daily Voice.

l Mugamad Jacobs as layout sub-editor. Jacobs has been the key DTP, layout and graphic design artist at the Cape Times.

l Dougie Oakes as senior reporter. Oakes is a veteran journalist and author, and has been contracted to bring his wealth of journalistic experience back to the Cape Times.

l Louis Neethling and Liesl van der Schyff as online content producers. They bring special skills and together will be responsible for the Cape Times’s social media platforms and content production.

Dr Survé congratulated all the appointees and commended them on their commitment to helping to transform the Cape Times.

“The fact that the Cape Times has been able to hold its own in spite of its detractors, who have gone to great lengths to ensure its demise, is admirable. This, of course, says a lot about our readers, current and new, and about the editorial offering which has received positive feedback from many quarters,” Dr Survé said.

Johns said: “I’ve come full circle. I started my career at the Cape Times in 1994. I worked with the now deputy editor Aziz Hartley, who looked out for me. After many years, I have returned to work with Aneez Salie, an editor who pushes us to deliver the truth at all costs. I am happy to be back at a time when integrity is so crucial to the country’s journalism.”

Thursday’s occasion included the celebration of Cape Times reporter Francesca Villette’s award as winner in the Editor’s Choice category at the regional finals of this year’s Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards.

Villette’s colleague, Carlo Petersen, was commended for his reports on the removal of the Rhodes statue at UCT, while Cape Times arts writer Terri Dunbar-Curran had also reached the regional finals.

The newspaper’s 34 000 increase in readership year- on-year added flavour to yesterday’s celebrations. – Staff Writer