a The Media Report 2014 interview. Chris Roper, editor-in-chief of the Mail & Guardian, answers questions about editorial independence, honest information and offers deep insight into the M&G brand and future trajectory.
Tag archives: Chris Roper
Grubstreet: M&G — subtly different for now; dramatic changes to come
by Gill Moodie (@grubstreetSA) The Mail & Guardian did an interesting, off-agenda thing recently — it launched an African news website totally distinct from its own online offering — but then the M&G specialises in doing things differently.
Grubstreet: SA editors recall the day Nelson Mandela died
by Gill Moodie (@grubstreetSA) For the past couple of years — and especially last year as the health of Nelson Mandela health steadily deteriorated — South Africa’s editors waited, prepared and planned for when the father of the nation would pass on. Still, most were dreading it because they knew it would be one of the most challenging, extraordinary stories of our time.
Digital growth for the Mail & Guardian
A short while back Mail & Guardian editor Nic Dawes told Grubstreet that the paper’s website was doing very well – with its traffic up by about 40% over the past year.
“We’re rolling out new products,” Dawes said in February this year. “We’re spending money on growing a digital business and our online traffic was up 40% last year. We sell something like 1500 iPad editions and approaching 3000 Kindle. So we’re growing and things are happening.”
That’s great news from the tough little paper that has gone from strength to strength in recent years. It is, in fact, one of the few in SA to have stable or rising circulation so it’s heart warming to hear that M&G online is also growing – especially in a market dominated by the giant News24. Grubstreet tracked down M&G online editor Chris Roper to find out more the website’s fortunes.
Bafana Bafana belongs to the people
The South African Football Association (SAFA) is investigating a name change for Bafana Bafana. While a lot of talk and opinion is being bandied about regarding the colloquial context of the name, SAFA is on record as to why it is planning to throw out the name three Sowetan sports writers coined in the early 1990s and adopted by the nation. It’s about money, plain and simple.
The trio tasked with bulging SAFA’s pockets even further investigating a name change to the benefit of the team and the country consists of SAFA president Kirsten Nematandani, vice-president Danny Jordaan and chairman of the referees committee Alpha Mchunu.
TV’s world cup, but real growth for online too
TV owned the 2010 FIFA World Cup. There, I said it. While the Internet increasingly owns breaking news and the various South African news portals came up with numerous strategies for making their world cup content as engaging as possible, it could not even attempt to mimic the vibe of families, friends, even communities, gathering together in the real world in front of TV screens to follow the main matches.