Building bridges between communities
form for formerly unheard voices to be heard and untold stories to be told and, in so doing, is building a bridge between and within Cape Town’s diverse communities. Under the editorship of Aneez Salie and ably supported by his deputy, Aziz Hartley, the Cape Times has bucked the trend with a positive growth in circulation compared to the rest of the daily newspapers in the country. Aneez, whose career spans over 40 years, of which 35 years were with the Independent – 20 years of that with the Cape Times – started off as a newspaper street seller, van guard and driver, followed by several positions in the newsroom and subs room. In February 2015, he was appointed the editor of the Cape Times. Hartley also started with the Cape Times over 35 years ago at the lowest rungs as a messenger in the newsroom for many years, before being given his editorial break by longtime Cape Times news editor Colin Howell. After excelling as a reporter and on the Cape Times news desk, he was promoted to the newspaper’s second most senior position as deputy editor in March 2015.
Collectively, these stalwart newsroom heroes and their editorial team have transformed the Cape Times into an agenda-setting, authoritative newspaper that believes diversity of viewpoints is essential to promoting a flourishing, dynamic democracy.
I wish to extend my sincere congratulations to Aneez and his team for achieving this milestone. I have every confidence in you as you prepare for the next phase of the transformation of the Cape Times into a multiplatform publication.
Congratulations.