In her spare time, she says, she eats (a lot) with her family. The statement infers that Ferial Haffajee does have time to spare, when in fact, the first woman editor of the weekly Mail & Guardian newspaper is constantly on the go.
She arrives at a photo shoot for the MTN Women in The Media awards with one thing on her mind – finishing in time to attend an SABC press conference about the controversial canning of a documentary on President Thabo Mbeki.
“I think as a media body— we are still victims of our past, in a way. We’re too careful, too respectful,” says Haffajee, who was appointed Mail & Guardian editor in February 2004.
“For me, you’ve got to push and push and push. We have an internal ombudsman who hopefully yanks us back when we push too far. But I’d rather push too hard and be pulled back than to self-sensor.”
And she has pushed. Facing several lawsuits including the so-called Oilgate exposé on oil company Imvume allegedly diverting taxpayer’s money to the ruling African National Congress (ANC), Haffajee says her worst moment since assuming editorship was a gag order against the newspaper.
The Johannesburg High Court later lifted the gag order which had prevented the Mail & Guardian from running a follow-up story in May to a report that Imvume had paid R11-million in public funds to the ANC. At the time the entire print run of 45,000 had to be recalled.
“It was heart-stopping when he (the judge) said those words— but in the end we got a lot of support and I would do it exactly the same way again,” says Haffajee, who has increased the newspaper’s circulation from around 39,600 in the first half of 2004 to over 42,000.
Oilgate is one of many delicate issues Haffajee has had to deal with. Another saga of note was the Prophet Mohamed cartoon row in February when the Mail & Guardian published one of these cartoons. It appeared alongside a story on the worldwide outrage sparked by the publishing in a Danish newspaper of 12 cartoons regarded as offensive to Muslims.
Sunday newspapers in South Africa were gagged from printing the cartoons, and Haffajee at the time said even her mother had to field phone calls about it – “a pressure I did not anticipate,” she told the Sunday Independent.
Haffajee (39) before becoming the Mail & Guardian‘s fifth editor, worked at the Financial Mail as senior editor responsible for political reporting and covered the presidency and tripartite alliance. So when former deputy president Jacob Zuma’s rape trial came up earlier this year, she was no stranger to the intricate politics behind the case. And she is quick to point out that his “trial by media” accusations were unfounded.
“Trial by media, I find, is becoming the easiest defence for a lot of scoundrels these days, so any time you do a piece of investigative journalism, you get told that there is a conspiracy and this is trial by media,” says Haffajee, who is often quoted on radio and television for her views on affairs affecting the media.
“The latest example of it was the Jacob Zuma affair where we were all told that in the course of the rape trial, we had already found him guilty. Actually when some of the finest minds in the ethics business looked at the coverage, we had been very fair and very balanced in our coverage.”
Haffajee, who has worked as media editor, economics writer and associated editor at the Mail & Guardian, also enjoyed a stint at the SABC as radio producer and television reporter.
She has notched up a string of awards including the Sanlam financial journalism award, she was named as one of the 10 Shoprite/Checkers women of the year in 2004 and was also one of the Top 10 MTN Women in the The Media that year.
One day, she would not mind returning to the public broadcaster. But for now Haffajee is set on staying at the Mail & Guardian with its two-thirds women newsroom for at least another three-year term.
“The newspaper started out as a crisp and young voice and I am trying to revisit that culture. I want it to be on the pulse of things. It has to be young and unpredictable and daring.”
Ferial’s most memorable story
Fighting between ANC and Inkatha Freedom Party members in Alexandra township in the early 90s – “We were on the brink of freedom and emotions were conflicted between violence and hope.”
Worst story
The gag order against the Mail & Guardian.
Who would you most like to interview?
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinajad.
Who do you regard as your mentor?
Zimbabwean journalist Pat Made, the first person who taught me the intricacies of bringing women’s voices into this world.
Career Highlights
- Editor-in-chief of Mail & Guardian in February 2004.
- Senior Editor, Financial Mail.
- SABC radio and television producer.
- Media editor, economics writer and associate editor at Mail & Guardian.
- Winner: Sanlam Award for Excellence in Financial Journalism.
- Named as one of 10 Shoprite/Checkers women of the year in 2004.
- Named as one of 10 top MTN Women in the The Media in 2004.
- Judge for Mondi awards for magazine journalism.
- Judge for annual Inter-Press Service global correspondent competition.
- Board member of M&G Publishing and GenderLinks.
- Member of Africa Leadership Initiative.