The Herald – heartbeat of the Bay since 1845
TIMES are tough, but what you are holding in your hands this morning is – apart from a great read – a pretty good deal.
A cup of coffee ordered at your favourite breakfast spot, or a quart of beer from your corner liquor store at sundown, will cost you around R13 or R14 apiece in Nelson Mandela Bay today.
Around 170 years ago, though, these items would generally have carried the price tag of a penny in London. And the price is unlikely to have been that different in Port Elizabeth.
That was exactly the price of The Herald when it was established in 1845, which means your latte or lager is now more than twice the price of what was, back then, the equivalent of a laptop.
But pennies, pounds or rands apart, today we celebrate a milestone that focuses on the value of a currency of an entirely different nature – that of information, views, news and voices which have been aired and shared on these pages for a remarkable 17 decades.
It is a currency which is exchanged among our 194 000 readers and 250 000 unique users on our website every day – and one which continues to be what keeps our diverse society talking to each other and striving towards greater communication and nation-building.
You can read about how it all began – how The Herald got to where it is today and all the fascinating details of what happened in between – in our bumper, jam-packed 24-page 170th anniversary supplement, which we publish today.
It’s our birthday – and all our readers are invited to enjoy it with us.