Trevor Ncube, CEO of Johannesburg-based M&G Media, which publishes the Mail & Guardian and M&G Online, has been elected, for the second time, as president of Print Media South Africa (PMSA) by its incoming board, the association said in a statement released on Thursday following its 12th annual general meeting.
Ncube take over the reins after the previous president, Connie Molusi, submitted his official resignation.
PMSA is an association representing the interests of 677 newspapers and magazine publishers in South Africa.
Ncube was also elected as chairperson of the Newspaper Association of South Africa (Nasa), an association representing the interests of all metropolitan national daily and weekly newspapers.
Ncube said: “Naturally I am saddened by the circumstances surrounding Connie Molusi’s resignation as president of PMSA and chairman of Nasa. I wish to pay tribute to his dedication to the industry and wish him well in his future professional endeavours.
Media and entertainment group Johnnic Communications (Johncom) announced at the end of July that it had terminated the employment of Molusi — who was already suspended as Johncom CEO at the time — saying it had lost confidence in him.
Johncom and Molusi could not reach agreement on the reasons for the “board’s loss of confidence in Molusi and his ability to lead the company”, Johncom said.
“I am humbled and feel honoured by the industry’s decision to elect me to fill this position,” Ncube said on Thursday. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in the industry to deal with the many challenges currently facing us.
“Apart from hosting the prestigious WAN [World Association of Newspapers] 2007 conference in Cape Town, the industry faces a lot of threats from proposed legislation. We need to work with the authorities to ensure that any proposed legislation does not erode the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
“We also need to move with deliberate speed to address increasing concerns about transformation issues in our industry.”