The Herald (South Africa)
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Arena Holdings |
| Publisher | Arena Holdings |
| Founded | 1845[1] |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
| Website | www |
The Herald, first printed in 1845, is the oldest newspaper in South Africa. It is based in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape province, as the main local daily newspaper which serves the Nelson Mandela Bay metro area. It covers news, municipal affairs and local politics, the courts, crime and regional business as well as featuring local arts and entertainers. In addition, the sports team provides coverage of local school and club sport.[2]
Apart from its news content, The Herald also offers audience engagement opportunities in the form of events and special activations for readers and the wider public.
The Herald has seen many changes since that first printing day when the paper hit the streets at a cover price of a single penny: from its humble beginnings as a black-and-white four-pager more than 175 years ago to its current forms in print in the Bay and as a digital publication.
The Herald newspaper is printed daily from Monday to Friday. Its online identity is HeraldLIVE
History[]
The Eastern Province Herald was founded by Scotsman John Paterson who had arrived in Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha’s original name) in 1842, at the age of 19, to take up a teaching post in Uitenhage. While still teaching, Paterson decided to start a newspaper in a joint venture with his friend, John Philip, who would be the printer. They first published the Eastern Province Herald at premises in Titterton Lane off what was then Main Street (Govan Mbeki Avenue today). The price was one penny and the date of that first edition was Wednesday May 7, 1845, making The Herald the country’s oldest existing daily newspaper.
Paterson used the Eastern Province Herald to write editorials to try to convince residents of the need for civic responsibility. Among others he blasted readers about the necessity for new roads, an agricultural society, a better post office, a town census, street names, improved harbour conditions and a library. In 1848, urged on by Paterson, work began on the Cape Recife lighthouse and a prison board was elected. A meeting of leading merchants was held in March 1849 to discuss the establishment of a chamber of commerce.
More than 100 years later, in 1952, staff moved into a new five-storey building, Newspaper House, erected at 19 Baakens Street. It remained the centre of operations for nearly seven decades, until the move to the present offices at the Atrium, in Greenacres, in 2019.
It was 92 years after its launch before the EP Herald started publishing news on its front page. On January 4, 1938, with World War 2 just 19 months away, page one became the main news page. Over the decades, The Herald has covered the events and issues which have shaped Port Elizabeth, Nelson Mandela Bay, the Eastern Cape, SA and the world – from Dr Christiaan Barnard’s first heart transplant in December 1967, to the epic floods that hit Port Elizabeth in September 1968 (The Herald’s special picture souvenir of that cataclysm sold 60,000 copies within just a few hours of publication), and the death of Nelson Mandela on December 5, 2013.
Ownership[]
In June 2019, Tiso Blackstar Group, publisher of The Herald, Business Day, Sunday Times and other titles, sold its print, broadcasting and content businesses in SA, Ghana and Kenya to the Lebashe Investment Group. In November 2019, Lebashe chair Tshepo Mahloele unveiled the new company, Arena Holdings, that would house the acquired media assets.
Arena Holdings is one of Africa’s largest English-language news publishers in print (titles include the Sunday Times, Business Day, Financial Mail, The Herald, Sowetan and Daily Dispatch) and online (titles include TimesLIVE, SowetanLIVE, BusinessLIVE, DispatchLIVE, HeraldLIVE and Vrye Weekblad). The company broadcasts on DStv (via Business Day TV, Ignition and The Home Channel) and owns a number of B2B and B2C magazines as well as an events division, among others.
Notable milestone[]
1995 was a special year for The Herald, as it both broke and became the news. The country’s oldest newspaper celebrated its 150th anniversary, the highlight of which was a civic function on September 14 attended by Nelson Mandela, who at the time had been South Africa’s first democratically elected president for only a year.
Recent editors[]
- Rochelle de Kock 2020–present
- Nwabisa Makunga 2018–2020
- Brett Horner 2016–2018
- Heather Robertson 2010–2016
- Jeremy McCabe 2009–2010 (2010 appointed editor of Weekend Post)
- Jethro Goko 2004–2009
- Ric Wilson 1993–2004
- Derek Smith 1987–1993
References[]
- ^ "THE EASTERN PROVINCE HERALD: OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN SOUTH AFRICA". kingstide.co.za. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
- ^ https://www.heraldlive.co.za/pages/about-us/
- https://www.heraldlive.co.za/pages/about-us/
- https://www.timeslive.co.za
- https://www.dispatchlive.co.za
- https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2019-11-06-its-official-arena-holdings-is-the-new-owner-of-sunday-times-business-day-sowetan/
- https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2019-06-27-tiso-blackstar-group-sells-media-business-to-lebashe-for-r1bn/
External links[]
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- Daily newspapers published in South Africa
- Publications established in 1845
- Newspapers published in South Africa stubs