/ 29 April 2005

Thloloe bids goodbye to e.tv

Free-to-air channel e.tv editor-in-chief Joe Thloloe will be leaving the station at the end of this week, the channel said on Friday. Thloloe was appointed to the top job in 2002.

The channel is owned by owned by Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI).

Thloloe joined e.tv as a media consultant and was instrumental in the establishment of its news and current affairs programme Morning Edition.

HCI chairperson and CEO at Midi TV Marcel Golding noted that with more than 40 years’ experience in journalism, Thloloe brought an integrity and authority to the news programming that, according to Golding, has established the station as the leading independent news source in the country.

The media veteran said: “I’m sad to be leaving e.tv at this crucial juncture in its development, but it is time for me to look at ventures beyond the channel. There are talented people I leave behind and they should be able to catapult e-news to another level.”

Prior to his stint at e.tv, Thloloe held leading positions at the South African Broadcasting Corporation, the Sowetan and others.

The free-to-air channel has no immediate plans to replace him. Debora Patta, the managing editor, will be responsible for the day-to-day management.

The station contributed R21,02-million to HCI’s headline profit during the 2004 financial year after reporting net losses of R90,67-million previously. — I-Net Bridge