The'' Sunday Times'' is South Africa's biggest Sunday newspaper. Established in 1906, the ''Sunday Times'' is distributed all over South Africa and in neighbouring countries such as Lesotho, Botswana, and Eswatini.
History
The ''Sunday Times'' was first published on 4 February 1906 as a weekly, sister publication of the ''
Rand Daily Mail
''The Rand Daily Mail'' was a South African newspaper published from 1902 until it was controversially closed in 1985 after adopting an outspoken anti-apartheid stance in the midst of a massive clampdown on activists by the security forces. The ...
'' which at the time was "standing alone" against its rival ''Transvaal Leader''.
Founding editor George Herbert Kingswell introduced the slogan "A Paper for the People". It was later changed to "The Paper for the People", a slogan that is still in use today. For the first edition of the paper, published on 4 February 1906, 11,600 copies were printed and soon sold out, forcing the paper to print an additional 5000 copies. By November 1909 the paper sales had risen to 35,000.
In 1992, the former columnist
Jani Allan
Jani Allan (born 11 September 1952) is a South African journalist, columnist, writer and broadcaster. She became one of the country's first media celebrities in the 1980s and 1990s.
In 1980, Allan became a columnist for the centrist newspaper, ...
sued the British broadcaster
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
for libel over affair allegations involving her and
Eugene Terre'Blanche
Eugene may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...
. Allan had interviewed the AWB leader for the ''Sunday Times''.
Allan had already settled out of court with the ''
London Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
'' and ''Options'' magazine over similar allegations. The then-news editor of the newspaper, the late Marlene Burger and newspaper astrologer Linda Shaw testified against Allan. Prior to the libel suit, Allan had published articles for the newspaper dismissing the affair allegations. Allan also allowed the newspaper to publish answerphone messages left by Terre'Blanche as well as her threats of taking legal action against Terre'Blanche for nuisance contact. Allan lost the case; the judge ruled that she had not been defamed but did not conclude whether or not an affair had taken place.
The case became notorious for violence and a dirty tricks campaign.
[Nick Cohen, David Connett and Chris McGreal]
"Four dirty tricks they played during the Jani Allan case: Nick Cohen and David Connett in London and Chris McGreal in Johannesburg peer into the murky background surrounding last week's Jani Allan libel case"
''The Independent'', 9 August 1992. Publications such as the ''
Financial Mail
''Financial Mail'' (or the ''FM'', as it is also known), is a South African business publication focused on reaching the country's leading business people. This weekly publication, which was launched in 1959, underwent a major "look and feel" ch ...
'' and Allan herself speculated that the defence witnesses were paid by the De Klerk regime in an attempt to destabilise the far-right in South Africa. Shaw recounted her editor,
Ken Owen
Kenneth Malcolm Owen (born 23 April 1970) is an English drummer. He was born in Billinge and grew up in Gayton, Merseyside. He is best known as one of the founding members of extreme metal band Carcass, for which he also handled some of the ...
's reaction to the case: "When I came back from London. Owen stood in the middle of the newsroom and said: 'You have single-handedly destroyed the reputation of every journalist in the country and we have become the laughing stock."
On 13 November 2005, the ''Sunday Times'' broke the story that the
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...
(ANC) leader
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...
was being investigated on rape charges. It was reported that Zuma considered legal action against the publication, although it later emerged that an investigation was in fact under way. On 6 December 2005, official rape charges were filed against Zuma. He would later be acquitted of rape.
On 5 November 2007, it was reported that a consortium containing some senior government figures had launched a bid to purchase 100% of
Avusa
Arena Holdings, formerly known as Tiso Blackstar Group, Johnnic Communications, Avusa and Times Media Group, is a media company in South Africa. Avusa means "to rouse feelings, to revive and evoke action". The name was changed in 2007 in order to ...
(previously Johncom), the company that owned the ''Sunday Times''.
In March 2007, Zuma sued the paper for 6 million Rand over two columns by popular columnist
David Bullard
David Bullard (born 1952, London) is a British-born and South African naturalized columnist, author, TV presenter and celebrity public speaker known for his controversial satire and sharp wit.
Early career
Bullard studied English and Drama at ...
. The two columns, "Stupidity a mitigating circumstance for Zuma", published on 16 April 2006, and "Visit the Zuma website to see what was meant" (7 May 2006) were cited by Zuma as defamatory and an "impairment of his dignity". Although David Bullard was found to be operating within the ethical bounds of ''The Sunday Times'' regarding the two columns, he would later fall out of favour with Editor Mondli Makhanya.
On 10 April 2008, Bullard was fired from the ''Sunday Times'' after the publication of a column on 6 April 2008
Uncolonised Africa wouldn't know what it was missing received stern protest from several political parties. The editor apologised for the column, saying "by publishing him (Bullard) we were complicit in disseminating his Stone Age philosophies".
In September 2008, the ''Sunday Times'' was again vigorously attacked for publishing a highly controversial piece, this time in the form of a cartoon by critically acclaimed cartoonist Jonathon Shapiro (
Zapiro
Jonathan Shapiro (born 27 October 1958) is a South African cartoonist, known as Zapiro, whose work appears in numerous South African publications and has been exhibited internationally on many occasions. He is the nephew of British magician ...
). The cartoon depicted Jacob Zuma getting ready to rape the Justice System while being assisted by the leaders of various ANC and political factions and parties. Zapiro denied any ambiguity between Jacob Zuma's depiction as a rapist in the cartoon and his earlier rape trial. the ''Sunday Times'' and its editor were slated by various ANC officials. A joint press release by the ANC, the
South African Communist Party
The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing Na ...
and the
ANC Youth League
The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) is the youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC). As set out in its constitution, the ANC Youth League is led by a National Executive Committee (NEC) and a National Working Committee (NW ...
lambasted the ''Sunday Times'' editor, describing him as a ''dictator'', and called for his replacement: "We can only hope that the newspaper will find a suitable leadership other than the ranting dictator who finds joy in manipulating the truth."
In 2015 the former editor of the newspaper,
Tertius Myburgh
Albert Tertius Myburgh (26 December 1936 – 2 December 1990) was a South African journalist and editor, best known as editor of the '' Sunday Times'' between 1975-1990.[John Matisonn
John Matisonn is a South African political journalist and author. He was one of the founding councillors of South Africa's Independent Broadcasting Authority and from 1986 to 1991 was the South Africa correspondent for National Public Radio in t ...]
in his book, God, Spies and Lies: Finding South Africa's Future Through its Past. In the same year, Jani Allan supported the allegations made against her former editor in an opinion piece published by the ''
Daily Maverick
''Daily Maverick'' is a South African daily online publication and weekly print newspaper, with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Its readership is spread across South Africa and the world, with approximately 8 million readers per month. I ...
''.
Editors
1906–1909: Founding editor George Herbert Kingswell launched the ''Sunday Times'' and ''
Rand Daily Mail
''The Rand Daily Mail'' was a South African newspaper published from 1902 until it was controversially closed in 1985 after adopting an outspoken anti-apartheid stance in the midst of a massive clampdown on activists by the security forces. The ...
'' for owner
Sir Abe Bailey.
Kingswell was initially offered the job at The Rand Daily Mail
The Fourth Estate, Joel Mervis, but instead looked to create a weekly paper.
1909–1910: Lewis Rose Macleod named editor.
1910–1942: Joseph Langley Levy, a drama critic and leading cultural figure in Johannesburg, was born in Liverpool, England on 25 May 1887. He was editor of the ''Sunday Times'' for 32 years, during which circulation rose from 35,000 to 150,000, penetrating every province and reaching towns and villages scattered over an area of almost half-a-million square miles. He died in Johannesburg on 11 May 1945.
1942–1947: E.B ‘Chook’ Dawson - remembered as the first of the paper'
'shirtsleeves editors' a journalist who hated ostentation in either people or prose. At the time of his death in 1957 he was also remembered as a hero of Delville Wood who saved a comrade's life during the epic battle in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
1947–1958: N. A. G. Caley named editor
1959–1975: Joel Mervis has been credited as transforming the Sunday Times it into the most widely read and powerful weekly in South Africa during his tenure as editor.
1975–1990: Albert
Tertius Myburgh
Albert Tertius Myburgh (26 December 1936 – 2 December 1990) was a South African journalist and editor, best known as editor of the '' Sunday Times'' between 1975-1990.[Ken Owen
Kenneth Malcolm Owen (born 23 April 1970) is an English drummer. He was born in Billinge and grew up in Gayton, Merseyside. He is best known as one of the founding members of extreme metal band Carcass, for which he also handled some of the ...]
named editor.
1996–1998: Brian Pottinger was also the deputy chair of the
South African National Editor's Forum
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
during this time. He became the managing director of Times Newspapers Limited and in 2000 would be appointed at publisher of the ''Sunday Times''. From 2003 to 2007 he was the chief executive officer of the Africa Division for Johnnic Communications Limited.
1998–2000: Mike Robertson was the editor and associate publisher for the ''Sunday Times'' during this period. He used to be the deputy editor, chief assistant editor, assistant editor and political correspondent for the newspaper. He is the publisher of the ''Sunday Times'' and managing director of Times Media Group's media operations.
2002–2003: Mathatha Tsedu was the deputy editor of the ''Sunday Independent'', the deputy editor of the Star then the Deputy Chief executive of the SABC news, before becoming editor of the ''Sunday Times'' in 2002. In 2003 he was dismissed as editor of the ''Sunday Times''. In 2014, the SA National Editors’ Forum announced Mathatha Tsedu would serve as its executive director.
2004–2010: Mondli Makhanya was appointed as editor of ''Sunday Times''. A political writer and editor, he became the Mail & Guardian editor in 2002 before joining the ''Sunday Times'' in 2004. In 2010 Makhanya was promoted to Editor in Chief of Avusa Media newspapers (including The Times and Sowetan, Sunday World).
2010–2013: Ray Hartley was the founding editor of daily newspaper ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' in 2007, before taking over the reins as Editor of the ''Sunday Times'' in 2010 after Makhanya left. During Hartley's tenure as editor, ''Sunday Times'' journalists won virtually all the awards on offer, including the prestigious Standard Bank Sivukile and Taco Kuiper awards for investigative journalism. He is currently editor at large for the Times Media Group and launched th
Rand Daily Mail websitein 2014.
2013–2015: Phylicia Oppelt became the first female editor of the Sunday Times. Oppelt was the editor of the Daily Dispatch from 2005 to 2008, and as editor of ''Business Times'' from 2008 to 2010. In 2010, she was appointed editor of ''The Times'', which had entered the market in June 2007 under Hartley's editorship.
2016–2020: Bongani Siqoko is the former editor of the award-winning ''Daily Dispatch'', ''Saturday Dispatch'' and DispatchLIVE. He has been with the ''Daily Dispatch'' since November 2004, having held many positions at the newspaper — news editor, managing editor, and deputy editor — prior to his appointment as editor in June 2013. He holds an MA in International Journalism from City University London, United Kingdom.
2020 to present: S’thembiso Msomi became the new editor in the first quarter of 2020. Msomi has 24 years of journalism experience and was editor of the ''Sowetan'' for two years prior to his most recent appointment. Msomi returns to the ''Sunday Times'' as he was previously deputy editor. He also held the position of political editor of the ''Sunday Times'' and ''City Press''. He is the author of the unauthorised biography of the previous DA leader, Mmusi Maimane.
Bibliography
* (Collection of Just Jani columns originally published in the ''Sunday Times''.)
* (First edition of Out To Lunch columns originally published in the ''Sunday Times''.)
* (Second edition of Out To Lunch columns originally published in the ''Sunday Times''.)
* (Third edition of Out To Lunch columns originally published in the ''Sunday Times''.)
* (Centenary special edition compilation)
*
Distribution areas
Distribution figures
Readership figures
See also
*
List of newspapers in South Africa
This is a list of newspapers in South Africa.
In 2017, there were 22 daily and 25 weekly major urban newspapers in South Africa, mostly published in English or Afrikaans. According to a survey of the South African Audience Research Foundation ...
*
''Sunday Times'' Literary Awards
References
''The Fourth Estate'', Joel Mervis, 1989''A Century of Sundays: 100 Years of Breaking News in the Sunday Times, 1906–2006''
External links
''Sunday Times'' WebsiteSAARF Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunday Times
Weekly newspapers published in South Africa
Mass media in Johannesburg
Publications established in 1906
Sunday Times (South Africa)
1906 establishments in South Africa
Online newspapers published in South Africa