The race among the big media players for a chunk of the community press pie is on. The turf war is heating up and the old gentlemen’s agreements between the conglomerates seem to be forgotten. Meanwhile more than 200 smaller, independent publishers are struggling to keep their heads above water, writes Fienie Grobler.

It is common industry knowledge that SAARF and TGI do not sit around the same campfire. But how do media strategists view the value of their products? Fienie Grobler investigates.

Media research veteran Barbara Cooke has been honoured as Lifetime Achiever in the MTN Women in <i>The Media</i> awards. Fienie Grobler looks at her illustrious career and speaks to her colleagues and friends about the woman who is regarded as a leader in her field.

She loves the spirituality of trees and interviewing ordinary people. She is a fierce protector of privacy and does not believe in mentors. Fienie Grobler speaks to <i>Carte Blanche</i> anchor Ruda Landman.

She is a no-nonsense woman known for her fearless coverage of Aids issues. Fienie Grobler speaks to freelance journalist Sue Valentine.

Ferial Haffajee is the first woman editor of the leading <i>Mail & Guardian</i> newspaper. Under her editorship, the weekly has tackled ground-breaking stories. But that is not the sole reason for her winning the MTN Women in The Media award. She has also become a powerfully persuasive and authoritative voice on the media, writes Fienie Grobler.

A new generation of working mothers and stressed parents has opened the door for niche parenting magazines. They are hungry for information and devour advertising, writes Fienie Grobler.

Primedia Unlimited, the advertising arm of Primedia, is spreading its wings into the United Arab Emirates in November, launching washroom adverts and kids’ shopping carts in Dubai malls in a first for the shopping mecca of the world.

Financial Mail</i> has appointed advertising agency rmg: connect/JWT Johannesburg in an exercise to build its brand and increase readership as rival Finweek’s circulation figures near <i>FM</i>’s 30,889.<