Grocott’s Mail is the heart and soul of Makhanda (that’s Grahamstown renamed). If it’s happening in or around our town, you’ll read about it in the Grocott’s.
It’s the oldest independent newspaper in South Africa, with the first edition hitting the streets on 11 May 1870 as a free advertising sheet. Grocott’s Mail now comes out weekly on Fridays and is free. Grahamstown’s favourite community news source. It has a weekly readership of 10 500 (print and digital replica) and 30 000 pageviews per month (website)
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Grocott’s Mail has undergone many changes in its long history (read a detailed history of Grocott’s Mail). In 2003, Rhodes University bought the newspaper to set up the David Rabkin Project for Experiential Journalism Training. Rhodes University is the sole shareholder of this Limited Liability company and any profits made go to student bursaries at the university. The broad objective of the initiative is to ensure the growth and vibrancy of Grocott’s Mail and to use it as a vehicle for the teaching experience in the School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes.
Vision: To produce viable and high-quality independent media that serve the community of Grahamstown as well as the training interests of the School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University.
Mission: To simultaneously serve the community and to develop new ways in which journalism is taught at university level in South Africa.