The Rand Daily Mail
Encyclopedia
The Rand Daily Mail was a Johannesburg
daily newspaper with an anti-apartheid bias that broke the news about the apartheid state's Muldergate Scandal
in 1979.
.
During the apartheid years, journalists like Benjamin Pogrund
reported on political and economic issues affecting black South Africans about which whites were largely ignorant. Pogrund, for example, reported on the Sharpeville massacre
of 1960.
In 1963 journalists at the paper wrote about prison conditions, and were the first to report on forced removals.http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:SNfmrsljMrEJ:www.journalism.co.za/content/view/323/+%22Mervyn+Rees%22%2Brand+daily+mail&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=8&gl=us&client=firefox-a
On 3 November 1978 Rand Daily Mail journalists Mervyn Rees and Chris Day reported on the use of public funds since 1973 to set up a disinformation network in South Africa and abroad. The money was used in attempts to buy The Washington Star, and to set up The Citizen
as a government-controlled counter to The Rand Daily Mail.
Hounded by the state, the paper's board decided to moderate its content for the sake of attracting more affluent white readers. This strategy led to financial losses and the newspaper was forced to close in 1985, eighty-three years after it was founded.
After its closure, the black newspaper The Sowetan
described The Rand Daily Mail as the first white newspaper to regard blacks as human beings. Yet for most of the apartheid period (1948–1990) the paper suffered from poor management, government infiltration, and state censorship. The management often tried to replace more liberal editors with conservative ones.
After the closure of The Rand Daily Mail, some of its journalists (like Anton Harber and Irwin Manoim) pooled their severance pay to start the Weekly Mail (now Mail & Guardian
), which carried on the anti-apartheid stance of its predecessor.
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
daily newspaper with an anti-apartheid bias that broke the news about the apartheid state's Muldergate Scandal
Muldergate Scandal
The Muldergate scandal, also known as the Information Scandal, was a South African political scandal involving the Department of Information.South African Prime Minister BJ Vorster, Dr. Connie Mulder and Dr...
in 1979.
History
Soon after it was founded, The Rand Daily Mail was bought by mining magnate Abe BaileyAbe Bailey
Sir Abraham "Abe" Bailey, 1st Baronet, KCMG , was a South African diamond tycoon, politician, financier and cricketer.-Early years:...
.
During the apartheid years, journalists like Benjamin Pogrund
Benjamin Pogrund
Benjamin Pogrund is a South African-born author currently living in Israel.Brought up in Cape Town, he began a career as a journalist in 1958, writing for the Rand Daily Mail in Johannesburg, where he eventually became deputy-editor. The Rand Daily Mail was the only newspaper in South Africa at...
reported on political and economic issues affecting black South Africans about which whites were largely ignorant. Pogrund, for example, reported on the Sharpeville massacre
Sharpeville massacre
The Sharpeville Massacre occurred on 21 March 1960, at the police station in the South African township of Sharpeville in the Transvaal . After a day of demonstrations, at which a crowd of black protesters far outnumbered the police, the South African police opened fire on the crowd, killing 69...
of 1960.
In 1963 journalists at the paper wrote about prison conditions, and were the first to report on forced removals.http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:SNfmrsljMrEJ:www.journalism.co.za/content/view/323/+%22Mervyn+Rees%22%2Brand+daily+mail&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=8&gl=us&client=firefox-a
On 3 November 1978 Rand Daily Mail journalists Mervyn Rees and Chris Day reported on the use of public funds since 1973 to set up a disinformation network in South Africa and abroad. The money was used in attempts to buy The Washington Star, and to set up The Citizen
The Citizen (South Africa)
The Citizen is a tabloid style newspaper that is distributed nationally in South Africa.In 1998, The Citizen was acquired by CTP/Caxton. Its core readership is now black middle-class men.- See also :* List of newspapers in South Africa...
as a government-controlled counter to The Rand Daily Mail.
Hounded by the state, the paper's board decided to moderate its content for the sake of attracting more affluent white readers. This strategy led to financial losses and the newspaper was forced to close in 1985, eighty-three years after it was founded.
After its closure, the black newspaper The Sowetan
The Sowetan
The Sowetan is an English language, South African newspaper that started in 1981 as a liberation struggle newspaper and was freely distributed to households in the black township of Soweto, Johannesburg, Gauteng Province....
described The Rand Daily Mail as the first white newspaper to regard blacks as human beings. Yet for most of the apartheid period (1948–1990) the paper suffered from poor management, government infiltration, and state censorship. The management often tried to replace more liberal editors with conservative ones.
After the closure of The Rand Daily Mail, some of its journalists (like Anton Harber and Irwin Manoim) pooled their severance pay to start the Weekly Mail (now Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
The Mail & Guardian is a South African weekly newspaper, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa, with a strong focus on politics, government, the environment, civil society and business.- The Mail & Guardian newspaper :...
), which carried on the anti-apartheid stance of its predecessor.
Editors
- 1957-1965: Laurence Gandar 1915-1998
- 1965-1977: Raymond LouwRaymond LouwRaymond Louw is a leading South African journalist, editor, and media commentator in South Africa.Born in 1926, Louw attended Parktown Boys' High School in Johannesburg. He was the second editor of the influential Rand Daily Mail and has received numerous awards and accolades for his services to...
- 1977-1981: Allister SparksAllister SparksAllister Haddon Sparks is a South African writer, journalist and political commentator. He was the editor of The Rand Daily Mail when it broke Muldergate, the story of how the apartheid government secretly funded information projects.Sparks later wrote a number of critically acclaimed books on...
External links
- Harber, Anton. 2007. "Great South African Investigative Stories." Journalism.co.za.
- Knight, Robin. 2000. "Journalist Benjamin Pogrund let the facts speak for themselves, no easy task in apartheid South Africa." Time Europe, June 12, Vol. 155, No. 23.