After 15 years in the editor’s chair, Chantel Erfort is taking on a new challenge.
Fifteen years after being appointed editor of Cape Community Newspapers – now called Cape Community Media (CCM) - Chantel Erfort has been promoted to a national editorship.
Specialising in hyperlocal news, CCM publishes Athlone News, Atlantic Sun, Bolander, CapeTowner, Constantiaberg Bulletin, False Bay Echo, Plainsman, three editions of Northern News, Sentinel News, Southern Mail, Southern Suburbs Tatler, Tabletalk, Vukani.
Her recent appointment to editor-in-chief of Africa Community Media, publishers of CCM, will have Chantel overseeing and managing the digital and national expansion of ACM’s community titles. The group currently includes the 15 CCM titles in the Western Cape, the Diamond Fields Advertiser in the Northern Cape, Isolezwe lesiXhosa in the Eastern Cape, and YOUR eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal which was launched in August.
A veteran of community media, Chantel joined the team at CCM 21 years ago after having worked at the Cape Argus, and as a communications officer in the NGO sector. After having served as a reporter and reporter/sub-editor on numerous CCM titles, Chantel was appointed to the position of team leader, then assistant editor, and eventually editor in 2007. At the time she was the youngest editor appointed by Independent Media and also the company’s first black woman editor.
Reaffirming her passion for, and commitment to the growth of the sector, Chantel focused her postgraduate studies on community media, and graduated from Stellenbosch University with a Master of Philosophy in Journalism, in 2017.
“I am delighted by Chantel’s appointment as Editor-in-Chief of Africa Community Media,” said CEO Sandy Naude.
“We are indeed fortunate to have her specialist knowledge of community media. Her commitment to ensuring the diversity of our market voices are huge contributors to her success.”
Chantel, who is a runner and currently studying to be a yoga instructor, strives to be a health advocate who also promotes healthy, holistic living through her work in the media.
With Chantel’s departure from the CCM newsroom, Simoneh de Bruin, another stalwart of community journalism, has been appointed acting editor of Cape Community Media.