Books and news, diluted with music and wine
Mich Atagana is Google’s head of communications and public affairs for South Africa. A renowned tech journalist before she joined Google, Atagana is also a published poet. She has a long-standing interest in the African tech start-up sector and spent 18 months travelling the continent to study one of the most exciting digital ecosystems in Africa. Ferial Haffajee asked Atagana about her media habits.
What is your first morning read?
I read The New York Times first.
What is the first news site you visit?
I don’t go to sites. I use the Google News app to curate all my news, except for sites I subscribe to.
Are you site-loyal or do you browse?
I am not really site loyal. I am a browser but I do go to my staples.
Do you read newspapers? Yes.
Which ones?
I read The New York Times and The Citizen.
Name your three essential apps?
They are WhatsApp, The New York Times app, and the Discovery app.
Why?
WhatsApp is mostly for connection and the news apps are so I can keep up with what is happening in the world. And obviously I am getting healthy so I am currently obsessed with how Discovery thinks I am doing. What is your leisure read?
I read The New Yorker, The Atlantic and fantasy books.
Which books are on your beside table? Many books are currently on my nightstand: No Filter by Sarah Frier, Pablo Neruda’s Ode
to Common Things and Eloquent Rage by
Brittney Cooper, as well as The Binding by
Bridget Collins.
Which SABC channel do you watch?
I watch SABC 3.
Streaming. Netflix? Showmax? Something else? What did you watch most recently?
Netflix – The Social Dilemma
Showmax – Lovecraft Country
Disney Plus – Phineas and Ferb
Hulu – Woke
Podcasts or radio?
Podcast all day! Modern Love is one of my favourite – and Vox’s Explained.
What is your media downtime – what do you consume for the pure pleasure and joy of the experience?
Mostly music and wine is my downtime.