Today we celebrate the 142nd birthday of Grocott's Publishers and Printing, extending our innings as the oldest independent newspaper in South Africa.
Today we celebrate the 142nd birthday of Grocott's Publishers and Printing, extending our innings as the oldest independent newspaper in South Africa.
In celebrating our birthday, we thank our readers, our business partners, our supporters and our critics for contributing to our survival and growth. The newspaper has lived through massive social and environmental changes.
The business has enjoyed surging economic growth and nearly drowned in successive waves of economic hardship. Our readers and reporters have survived wars and enjoyed the benefits of media freedom in the post-1994 era.
Newspapers the world over are grappling with how to survive the information revolution at a time when the global economy is experiencing major challenges. Digital technologies are rapidly transforming the way we learn, the way we do business and the way we interact with other people.
Sadly, the abundance of information on the internet has devalued the role played by professional journalists. Money is tight and businesses are much more cautious about their spending on advertising. At Grocott's Mail, we are also challenged by these processes.
However, we are determined to make a small contribution to shaping the creative responses that will ensure that our citizens have access to the best quality news and analysis. In this, we're very fortunate to have our partnership with Rhodes University.
Nine years ago, they saved Grocott's from either dying or getting swallowed up by a media giant. Now we work closely with the School of Journalism by giving future journalists a practical training ground.
Some of the country's leading media companies are headed up by professionals who spent time in our newsroom. Lecturers and researchers from Rhodes have also provided their invaluable expertise and raised funds for our innovative projects.
One of the world's leading media analysts, Charlie Beckett, recently tweeted that "South Africa's oldest independent paper is also now one of it's most innovative online and on mobile”.
We are enhancing our co-operation with Rhodes so that we can make an even better contribution to the education of journalism students, and to ensure that our media products are the best quality they can be. We like to think that the citizens of Grahamstown and the broader Makana region are the beneficiaries of this partnership.
There is, of course, much room for improvement. We are taking steps to improve our content and design. And we are striving to be more accessible to people of all economic and social groups. We want to create ways for the people of Makana to be a greater part of the news we publish; whether through reporting it, being the subject of it, or reading and talking about it.
It's an ongoing conversation, and we want everyone to be a part of it. We want to be the heart and soul of Grahamstown.
