Congratulations on 170 years of news

DEAR Editor,

I know that you are humble and will never take the praise that is jointly deserved for yourself and your team.

I do, however, wish to congratulate you personally on the 170th anniversary of the establishment of the Eastern Province Herald.

Over the years many major international print and media companies, newspapers and magazines have come under intense pressure, specifically from online or media technology.

Many have closed as more and more readers go “online”, leading to a drop in readership and subscription numbers. The result being that many media houses have gone under – simply folded overnight.

The fact that The Herald is still standing and is still a bastion of free speech in today’s highly politicised and money-orientated world, is testament to strong guiding principles.

These principles mean that modern editors need to have not just a knowledge of language and journalism, but also on business management, technology, human resources, law, the constitution (freedom of speech and press is a basic tenet) and internet advances.

In short, an editor’s job is wide ranging and not for the fainthearted. Most importantly, a good unbiased editor needs to have one other key characteristic – integrity.

At no time can any person, party or company point a finger at a media house and say that they had their facts wrong, are biased or not reporting fairly.

At no single time has this been evident at The Herald and this is due to the leadership exerted by its quiet and studious editor, yet an editor who has bucket loads of humility and integrity.

Congratulations to Heather Robertson and her team on 170 years of publication. I wish you many more.