Traci Mackie
remains an industry secret.
When he realised he had made a mistake in a front page headline – “. . . out for a duck” had somehow become “. . . out for a f***”, he ran the length of what is now Govan Mbeki Avenue trying to gather all the evidence.
One of the Herald’s former
He ended up in St George’s Hospital. Whether or not he was actually on the job and complied for Workman’s Compensation of any sort was debated at length by newspaper management.
Some say that the Herald’s anti-apartheid fight – armed only with pens, cameras and typewriters – will go down in history as one of the paper’s finest moments. Reporters were constantly hounded and detained by security police.
Legendary political editor Patrick Cull stands out. This one-of-a-kind newsman, a former northern areas school teacher, churned out copy nine to the dozen – probably supplying the Herald with more front page stories than any other journalist, among which was the release of Mandela.
Like many other reporters in the 70s and 80s when Cull was not in the newsroom he was in the Markman Hotel - now the Digs - or the Maritime Club.
Politics in the newsroom is now handled by Nwabisa Makunga. Says Nwabisa: "It was never going to be easy stepping into the shoes of Patrick Cull "The Godfather" as I called him. We came in as a team of dynamic young people and our goal was to grow The Herald brand to be the trusted source of political news in this city. We wanted our paper to be the go-to place to find the 'real story' that unfolds in the corridors of power.."
Makunga was one of the lead writers who contributed to the coverage when Mandela died.The Herald editor-in-chief Heather Robertson recalls, with fondness, how the newsroom team pulled together, the day Mandela died: “What was amazing about that night was the unifying effect the spirit of Madiba had on our team, which like newsrooms everywhere can be fractious with big egos clashing for attention.
“All the claws were down that night, and The Herald newsroom acted as one.”