Newspapers are an art, not a science

PUTTING together a newspaper is more of an art than a science.

Every week we start afresh. More often than not, we have no idea what the final product will look like until late on a Saturday night when the final touches are added and the paper is sent for printing.

It’s almost never a perfect piece of art. There’s always something that on hindsight could have been added or subtracted. But it is always the best we could do by deadline.

This week, when I went through the paper, I noticed that it lacked female faces and voices. It was not intentional and, in any event, those who have been profiled are well deserving.

Take Paddy Kearney as an example. His death on Friday has left a void and there has been an outpouring of grief from a diverse section of our society (see page 5).

On page 8 we catch up with David Kramer who has a musical on stage in Cape Town. I will always remember him for the Volksie bus ads that he was a part of in the ‘80s.

On page 10 we reflect on a truly great South African, Pravin Gordhan. He spent the first part of the week giving evidence at the judicial commission of inquiry into state capture that is being chaired by deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo.

Then, later in the week, he became the first South African to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Reading’s Henley Business School.

The dean of the school had some powerful words to say about Gordhan and I believe this is how history will remember him and not what his detractors will have us believe.

On page 18 is an interesting read on how an American missionary was killed by an isolated hunter-gatherer tribe that he had hoped to convert to Christianity.

If you have been following the atrocities being meted out by the authorities in Saudi Arabia, on page 20 we highlight the plight of yet another victim.