Moegsien Williams Q&A: The New Age business model, the business breakfasts and Helen Zille

by Gill Moodie (@GrubstreetSA) Is The New Age the Great Evil or just another newspaper trying to get off the ground?

Ever since it launched two years ago, controversy has swirled around the paper because its main shareholders – the Gupta family – are close associates with the family of our controversial president, Jacob Zuma.

The paper has always said its intention is to tell the good-news stories of South Africa and give the government credit where it’s due but not to be the mouthpiece of the ruling party.

But its detractors – especially since the latest controversy around parastatal funding for its SABC business breakfasts – say the paper is nothing more than another Citizen of the infamous Info scandal of the 1970s.

Grubstreet interviewed The New Age’s editor, Moegsien Williams, last week to find out more about how The New Age operates, its emerging business model and what kind of paper he wants it to be.

Magazine covers we love (Mr Pistorius, geeks and Idols)

MarkLives.com runs a regular slot featuring the best local and international magazine covers every week. We recognise well thought out, powerful and interesting (and hopefully all three in one) magazine covers and celebrate the mix of pragmatism, creativity and personal taste that created each of them. By media blogger MediaSlutZA.   INTERNATIONAL FT Weekend Magazine, 26 May 2012 …

What the POI Bill says about the gradual erosion of our democracy

The Protection of Information Bill has just been steamrolled through and rubber-stamped by Parliament – a body tasked with balancing the demands of the executive with the best interests of their constituents – something it has consistently failed to do. In favour – and seeking the favour of – the executive.

Now for a no-nonsense DoC?

The Department of Communications (DoC) was upended today when President Jacob Zuma announced his Cabinet reshuffle, with both Minister Roy Padayachie and his deputy hopping Ministries. But their replacements are both no-nonsense women, writes ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK.

Cartoonist vs. President

Last week, Jacob Zuma obtained a court date for his defamation lawsuit against Jonathan Shapiro, aka Zapiro, thus paving the way for history’s first civil court battle between a president and a cartoonist. Carlos Amato spoke to Zapiro, whose 16th annual collection, The Last Sushi, hits the streets this month. Interview by Carlos Amato, illustration by Zapiro

Reasons for ANC media clampdown becoming clearer

To see why the ANC wants to clamp down on media freedom and effectively squash investigative journalism through its Protection of Information Bill, the proposed state-funded media appeals tribunal and a number of other legislative efforts, you simply had to open up a newspaper over the past week.

‘Bring me my machine gun’ and other favourites down under

MarkLives recently featured a couple of ads by ad agency FoxP2 that originally ran in 2008 to promote the use of dairy yet still remains eerily relevant (they ‘feature’ both Malema and Mugabe). Here are three more ads, from the same agency but this time for Frisco, that could as well have been made today. One features the prez singing Julius’s favourite song, another feature that word favoured by the ruling party to tar any opposition with and the third celebrates the national treasure we have in Eskom.

ProJourn supports walk outs

Press statement: The Professional Journalists’ Association condemns ANC Youth League (ANCYL) president Julius Malema’s recent inexcusable behaviour towards BBC journalist Jonah Fisher, whom he had evicted from a news conference, calling him “a bastard” and “a bloody agent”. [Watch the video here]

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