The Mail and Guardian is Africa’s first online paper and its Editor in Chief, Ferial Haffajee said that this year their paper is going to start the process in integrating their newspaper.  Haffajee is firmly of the view that what will work “to secure quality is an integrated newsroom with pockets of individual print and online excellence.” 

Mondli Makhanya, Editor in Chief of the 100-year-old Sunday Times, South Africa’s leading Sunday newspaper, announced the coming of the country’s first product of a fully interactive newsroom.

 The Times will be a result of “a fully interactive newsroom;  the journalists are trained to be multimedia and multi -platform journalists.  We are not reconditioning a paper; it is as an interactive paper from  the start. We use digital media to drive people to the print version and the print version to drive people to the online version,” said Makhanya

The Times are conscious of the reality of the digital gap and that a small very proportion of South African citizens are online. “There is also opportunity in the underdeveloped world where cell phone use is very high and we can use that medium” to reach readers, said Makhanya.

Makhanya closed off by recognising the dangers of rushing headlong into the digital age, like the lack of depth of knowledge and on the surface reporting and information.

Makhanya said that the newspaper and publishing industry would be shooting themselves in the head foot and heart  the industry took the despondency about the digital age to heart. “People trust us - that is not something we should throw away.”

Ergun Babahan, Editor in chief of the Sabah in Turkey, said that although internet use is not widely available in his country “it is not a threat because we will be ready when it comes, we are trying to be ready for the new age.”

By Kim Hawkey and Judy Lelliott, Wits Journalism