Williams to become editor of The New Age
MOEGSIEN Williams, editor-inchief of the Independent News & Media group which owns The Star, Cape Times and Sunday Independent, is quitting after 21 years to become editor of The New Age.
The move comes at a time when the Independent Group is up for sale, with speculation that the owners of The New Age — the Gupta brothers — are among the potential buyers. Cyril Ramaphosa’s Shanduka Group and Iqbal Survé’s Sekunjalo Investment Holdings have also been mentioned as possible purchasers.
Mr Williams will replace outgoing editor Ryland Fisher. “In Moegsien, we have found an able replacement for Ryland and someone who will build on his success,” said Nazeem Howa, CEO of TNA Media, publishers of The New Age.
Mr Williams will begin his duties on September 1, becoming the fourth editor of The New Age in two years. He previously edited the Cape Argus, the Cape Times and most recently The Star and the Saturday Star.
“I have had an excellent time at Independent but I needed a change. The exciting thing about the New Age is that they work on a different business model and it will be a good challenge for me to work in that environment,” he said.
Media Workers Association of SA general secretary Tuwani Gumani said he could only speculate on why Mr Williams was moving.
“There have been changes at the helm in the Independent Group and perhaps Mr Williams wanted a more stable situation.
“We are not pleased with management for whittling down the asset base, not too long ago we had 5,000 workers or so and now we are down to 1,700. There has to be some level of complicity in the people at the helm,” Mr Gumani said.
“Decisions are taken to please Irish shareholders at the expense of the South African workforce and leadership in the group. But we don’t know whether any of this had to do with Mr Williams’s decision, it is just speculation,” he said.
The other editors of The New Age were Vuyo Mvoko, who quit before the paper’s launch, and Henry Jeffreys, who was appointed in 2010 but quit a few months later.