When Ranjeni Munusamy lost her job as senior political journalist at the Sunday Times after handing over her apartheid spy story to rival City Press newspaper in 2003, most of her colleagues believed that she had sent her own career crashing. Now, three years later, she considers herself a “media consultant”, is present at court every time former deputy president Jacob Zuma appears, and drives a car most journalists would envy. Munusamy certainly knows how to play the survivor game.
Mathatha Tsedu, editor at the Sunday Times during the Munusamy saga, was forced out of the country’s leading weekend paper “for failing to edit the newspaper in a manner consistent with his contract of employment”, according to a statement issued by the now former CEO of Johnnic, Connie Molusi (time will tell if he is a survivor). That did not deter Tsedu, who moved on to become editor of the City Press in February 2004, taking over from Vusi Mona and restoring the newspaper’s credibility. Considering how little impact his dismissal had on his reputation, Tsedu seems set to stay in the game for a long time to come.
Our radio survivor has got to be Alex Jay. He seemed to be down and out when 5fm axed him after 17 years of service, but clearly the industry could not let such talent go to waste. Even Jay, who said, “no other station would want to pick me up, given that I’ve been synonymous with 5fm for 17 years”, did not expect to bounce back. But Highveld Stereo offered him a fulltime slot in January 2004, giving him a new lease on radio life and showing that he can adapt to any camp to survive.
Freek Robinson has stoically anchored and produced current affairs programme Focus on SABC 2 since 1994. The biggest event in his broadcasting career probably was when he chaired the public debate between former presidents Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk before the first democratic elections which was broadcast to some 800-million people worldwide. Since then, even though his programme is constantly shifted into different time slots, he has managed to keep it on air. Quite a feat.
It was with great surprise and pleasure to witness former Miss SA organiser and co-owner Doreen Morris return to our television screens. No stranger to the media spotlight, Morris is a true example of how the media survivor game should be played. She still looks good for her age, has not lost her charm and we believe, despite the influx of younger women in the industry, can still hold her own. After all, who can go wrong when using a combination of wits, charm and experience?
Love him or hate him, the taciturn Thami Mazwai, CEO of Mafube Publishing, owners of Enterprise and Sawubona, SAA’s in-flight magazine, is here to stay. The former journalist and survivor has shown what it takes to play the game. He has risen up the ranks from being a journalist in the 1970s to owning a publishing company. His tendency to be outspoken has earned him as much criticism as it has praise and his political connections assured him a place on the SABC board. But who cares, after all, what would this jungle be without the likes of Mazwai?
Veteran advertising journalist John Farquhar (78) has survived three rounds of survivor. From a humble background, he launched advertising agency Farquhar and Amis that crashed unspectacularly in the 1970s. He was salvaged by uber media mogul Terry Moolman and became editor of the now defunct Market Place, a mouthpiece for the CTP / Caxton group. He was fired after upsetting two of the most powerful advertising men in South Africa – John Hunt and Reg Lascaris. Farquhar is currently trotting out his claim of Afrocentrism in advertising as editor of Advantage.
Survivor Media: Winner
There is no question about our Ultimate Media Survivor. Bloggers have named him The New Chuck Norris. Riaan Cruywagen IS the Media Survivor. He did his first news broadcast on SAUK (Suid-Afrikaanse Uitsaai Korporasie) on November 26, 1975 – the year that television arrived in South Africa. And do not forget his star role in those early years in Haas Daas se Nuuskas, the knowledgeable rabbit who read the news to children.
When rumours started doing the rounds in 2003 that the SABC did not plan on renewing his contract as part of an “image revamp”, there was a public outcry. The veteran news reader got his job back in a jiffy. Now he might be nearing retirement age, but he is keeping ahead of times. Cruywagen recently appeared as a rock singer in an Afrikaans music video. Now that deserves respect.