Ferial Haffajee

Last updated

Ferial Haffajee
Born (1967-02-20) 20 February 1967 (age 56)
Occupation
  • Journalist
  • newspaper editor
  • author
NationalitySouth African
Alma mater University of the Witwatersrand

Ferial Haffajee (born 20 February 1967) [1] [2] is a South African journalist and newspaper editor. Haffajee was editor of City Press newspaper from July 2009 until July 2016 and was previously the editor of the Mail & Guardian newspaper.

Contents

Haffajee was awarded the 2014 International Press Freedom Award by the Committee to Protect Journalists [3] and was appointed to the board of the International Press Institute in 2011. [4]

Haffajee is currently Associate Editor at the Daily Maverick, [5] and was previously editor-at-large at HuffPost South Africa until it ended its partnership with Media24 in 2018. [6]

Early life and career

Haffajee, an Indian, grew up in Bosmont, a suburb of Johannesburg. Her father was a clothing factory worker. She is an alumna of the University of the Witwatersrand. [7]

Haffajee was a cub reporter at Mail & Guardian and has acted as its associate editor, media editor and economics writer at various times. Before taking up the editorship she held jobs at state broadcaster SABC, as a radio producer and television reporter, [8] and at the Financial Mail magazine, where she was a senior editor responsible for political coverage and the managing editor. [9]

Mail & Guardian editorship

Haffajee was appointed editor of Mail & Guardian at the age of 36 effective from 1 February 2004, [2] [10] two years after control of the paper was acquired by Zimbabwean publisher Trevor Ncube. [11]

In 2005 the paper became one of the few publications, after the regime change of 1994, interdicted from publishing specific stories. [12] In 2006 the paper was again interdicted, and Haffajee threatened, after republishing controversial cartoons depicting Muhammad. [13]

In March 2009 Mail & Guardian announced Haffajee's resignation, saying she would take up the position of editor of City Press in July. [14] Previous speculation had identified her as a potential appointee as head of news at the SABC. [15]

Publication

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References

  1. ↑ "Board members stay gender linked". Gender Linked. Gender Links (14). February 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 Quist-Arcton, Ofeibea (26 January 2004). "South Africa: Ferial Haffajee: South Africa's First Woman Newspaper Editor". AllAfrica. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Ferial Haffajee, South Africa - Awards - Committee to Protect Journalists". cpj.org. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  4. ↑ Ellis, Steven M (5 October 2011). "IPI Elects New Board Members". IPI. Archived from the original on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "Spin does business no favours – why we need an educated media". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  6. ↑ "Media24 and HuffPost to end SA partnership". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  7. ↑ Haffajee, Ferial (2015). What If There Were No Whites In South Africa?. Johannesburg: Picador Africa. ISBN   9781770104402.
  8. ↑ "The Africa Radio Awards". BBC. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
  9. ↑ "Biography of Ferial Haffajee". The Globalist. Retrieved 5 July 2008.[ dead link ]
  10. ↑ "New editor for the Mail and Guardian". Independent Online. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
  11. ↑ "Barrell to leave M&G". News24. Archived from the original on 27 June 2008. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
  12. ↑ "Fact or fiction, this paper has been pulped" . Retrieved 5 July 2008.
  13. ↑ "SA editor threatened over cartoon". BBC. 6 February 2006. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
  14. ↑ "Haffajee ready for new challenges". Independent Online. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
  15. ↑ Newmarch, Jocelyn (31 March 2009). "Mail & Guardian editor Haffajee lands City Press job". Business Day. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  16. ↑ Snodgrass, Lyn. "What if there were no whites in South Africa?". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  17. ↑ de Waal, Shaun. "Ferial Haffajee redefines 'blackness' and 'whiteness'". mg.co.za. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  18. ↑ Roodt, Dan. "Ferial Haffajee: An Affirmative-Action Princess who lacks Anti-White Courage". praag.org. Archived from the original on 13 December 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
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