Herald's legacy of serving readers with credibility continues, says news executive
Woefully, too often the failings of service delivery have long been the most pressing of these issues — but the work of the newspaper has helped people to understand that accountability is imperative.
And most importantly, it is in their hands. This is what has made The Herald what it is today, says former editor Nwabisa Makunga, who was earlier this year appointed managing director of News and Media at Arena Holdings after serving at the helm of The Sowetan for five years, following a lengthy association with The Herald.
With a stint as news editor of Business Day, The Herald remained, for a large part of Makunga's early career, a mainstay of her journalistic roots, working her way from reporter and news editor, to politics editor, deputy editor and, ultimately, editor from 2018 to 2020.
Having started her career at The Herald as a young reporter in 2004, there can be few journalists who are so well versed in the workings and political life of Nelson Mandela Bay.
Makunga, a former chair of the South African National Editors' Forum, believes The Herald's 180-year legacy is one that shows it has navigated itself with credibility in its role of news gathering and reporting.
'The Herald is synonymous with Nelson Mandela Bay and remains a credible brand,' she says.
'It has been able to weave itself into the fabric of the society it serves.
'In my experience, y ou woke up with The Herald, you were able to think about and digest its content and in that way, it became an integral part of life for anyone who lives in Nelson Mandela Bay.
'To inform, to engage, to provide a voice, to entertain. In that respect, i t has done incredibly well in fulfilling that role.'
Makunga said that in years gone by, The Herald might often have been perceived as catering to only particular areas of the metro but that in more recent times, its focus had shifted to one of serving a far wider readership with a much greater multicultural and multiracial approach and reach.
'So I think over time it has become a really credible voice . I t has become much stronger in terms of its diversity and it continues to head in the right direction.'
When it comes to highlights, Makunga said that what stood out for her was not a particular story or issue.
'It's more a body of work that stands out. As politics editor, my job entailed ensuring we reported on local government not only in Nelson Mandela Bay but the rest of SA.
'I think what we did was vital in helping people understand what was going on in SA. Who was making the decisions. That for me was a highlight — and so it's not just one story.
'When the street lights are not working, we would find out that information of why they're not working.
'When you have no water, we would tell you why you have no water and whose fault it is that you have no water.
'And then w e would go about trying to establish the potential solutions of what should be done.'
Makunga said the results may not have been immediate — if there were any at all.
But empowering people to raise the questions and ask for answers was in itself, progress.
In this, The Herald had managed to take a weakness in the system and transform it into a strength .
'I do think it's a pity that local government never ever really improved. But I think in the work that we did, we were able to sensitise people to become a lot more involved.'
Of the future of journalism, news and the media in an ever-changing and evolving digital age, Makunga said she believed the fundamental functions of a news medium like The Herald remained the same.
'Globally, people and their consumption patterns have changed drastically.
'Whereas people woke up and where the majority maybe went to a petrol station to get the newspaper, now people want to see the news on their phone or on their screens, so that transition has been so rapid.
'It's a digital leap, yes. But The Herald is still filling the gap — we are still the people who help you understand the world around you.
'By positioning ourselves correctly, we should build up our consumer. P ublications like The Herald have a unique opportunity to serve their local constituency. We have that advantage of t aking it and allowing it to grow stronger,' she said.
'Despite the difficult terrain, it has a legacy and our promise to our readers is that we will serve you to the best of our ability.'
Makunga said she wanted to acknowledge and pay homage to the generations of journalists who had gone before her and those who were serving the newspaper today for their contribution to the publication over many years and during which she, in her tenure of recent times, had been supported immeasurably by her colleagues.
'The Herald is my home,' she said with a touch of pride in her voice.
'I really want to congratulate the generations and the teams who have worked to build it into what it is.
'I know how hard they have worked — I've seen it and I've experienced it. And so have our readers.'
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