Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
23 June 2022 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Rulanzen Martin
Ivor Price and Nelleke de Jager
Ivor Price (left) and Nelleke de Jager during the discussion session in the Senate Hall of the Centenary Building.

  Click to view documentLees: Groot name praat oor stand van media- en uitgewerswese in SA

Ivor Price, seasoned journalist and media man, and Nèlleke de Jager, fiction publisher at Human & Rousseau, are two of the big names serving on the advisory panel of the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French. On 27 May 2022, Price and De Jager presented a discussion on the state of the media and publishing industry in the country. 


Students and lecturers from the department who attended the discussion had the privilege of witnessing the expertise and experience of the advisory panel first hand. The other two members of the advisory panel are Mariska van der Merwe, a teacher at the Meisieskool Oranje, and Wyno Simes, Curator of the National Afrikaans Literature Museum and Research Centre (NALN) in Bloemfontein. The University of the Free State (UFS) has introduced the concept of practice panels in its faculties and academic departments to provide practice-based expertise to students as well as advice to lecturers.

Two prestige bursaries were also presented to two postgraduate students. Lynthia Julius, author of the award-winning book Uit die Kroes, is the first recipient of the JC Steyn Prize, and Corné Richter received the Marius Jooste Prize from the SA Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns. 

Important role of the media threatened 

Price – who worked as a journalist at Die Burger and made a name for himself in media and television circles, and who is also the owner of the online news publication Food for Mzanzi – said “a democracy is nothing without the media”.  He referred to some of the biggest news events in recent times where the media has played an important role in exposing crime and corruption in the highest circles of executive government. 

Examples of this are the Gupta/state capture scandal, the Zuma corruption, as well as the asbestos fraud by Ace Magashule and the Free State government. “This says something about a country where people steal money to implement idleness,” Price said. 

He also warned that things were not ‘going well’ with the media in SA and that the media – also internationally – are in danger. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the media will be with us for a long time. “The circulation figures of daily newspapers fell by about 40% of the total sales.” Sunday papers can, to some extent, keep their heads above water thanks to government advertisements.  Price also believes that niche markets are the future.

Publishing industry changing in SA 

In turn, Nelleke de Jager talked about the challenges that publishers must overcome today. “Educational publishers are publishing the largest number of outputs in SA,” she said. She also mentioned that retail publishers such as Penguin Random House and Pan Macmillan are changing the landscape for the better. “The South African publishing industry is changing, not waning,” said De Jager. 

From the left Lynthia Julius; Prof Heidi Hudson, Dean of Faculty of the Humanities and Corné Richter.
(Photo: Rulanzen Martin) 

Book lovers will remember with great nostalgia that Leserskring/Leisure Books was the leader in terms of book sales a decade ago. “The closure of Leisure Books damaged the outputs and turnover of NB Publishers,” said De Jager.  

De Jager also told students about the skills that are needed to survive in the industry. “It is important to master a variety of skills, such as writing and reading skills, project management, and editorial know-how.” She also jokingly said that anyone interested in the publishing industry should first work as a waiter, since it teaches one to be humble.

News Archive

Andrew Mellon Foundation renews ongoing support for UFS projects
2017-04-10

Description: ' Andrew Mellon Foundation - Badat Tags: Andrew Mellon Foundation - Badat

Dr Saleem Badat and Annemia van der Heever.

The University of the Free State (UFS) was first awarded a grant by the Andrew W Mellon Foundation (AWMF) in 2015 to fund several projects between 2015 and 2016 under the International Higher Education Strategic projects fund. The programme’s director, Dr Saleem Badat, visited the UFS on 23 March 2017 as part of his annual first-quarter feedback sessions, with not only the UFS but other universities around the country that benefited from the programme. Top of the agenda was a meeting with principal investigators of projects funded by the foundation, to discuss the UFS’s institutional priorities for funding, alongside the university’s management, to discuss possible intra-institutional projects to be undertaken with other universities.

During his visit, Dr Badat met with Prof Nicky Morgan, UFS Acting Vice-Chancellor and Rector, as well as the AWMF representative, Annamia van der Heever, Director: Institutional Advancement. He discussed future plans with managers of the Programme for Innovation in the Artform Development, #Movements project, Inclusive Professoriate Grant and the Curriculum reform programme which involved seven other universities.  

The AWMF, through its projects, is instrumental in developing and maintaining strong higher education institutions that produce knowledge and high-quality graduates, and advances social justice. The projects further aim to deepen and broaden public understanding and support for the arts and humanities, diversity and inclusion. “The Foundation each year presents universities with wonderful opportunities to improve teaching, learning and research in the humanities. We are working hard with the Faculty of Humanities on possible submissions for 2017,” said Van der Heever.

During 2017 between $10.8 million and $12 million will be available for grants by the Foundation’s International Higher Education and Strategic Projects programme. The Vice-Chancellor’s Office will continue to serve as a contact point and administrative support for UFS projects currently funded by AWMF. Institutional Advancement will assist project leaders to draft submissions to the Foundation this year and in the future. In 2018 AWMF will celebrate 30 years of involvement in supporting higher education in South Africa. 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept