Avusa Media editor-in-chief, Mondli Makhanya, says that Mkhabela’s wealth of experience will help Avusa grow its market in the East London region. “He will also raise the bar of investigative and probing journalism in the area,” said Makhanya.



Mkhabela says that he views being appointed as the editor of the The Daily Dispatch as an important development: “Avusa gave me a great and exciting challenge; as a journalist you always wish to one day become an editor. The Daily Dispatch has gone through many changes and it is very influential. I would like to build on this.”



Mkhabela says he wants to implement some changes to the paper, but reassures its loyal readers that the changes they plan to implement will not affect the current structure of the paper. “The changes we plan to implement will not be radical; we will work on what is already here. The paper currently caters for the rich and the poor in the region and we still want it to continue to sit comfortably both at a CEO’s desk and in the coffee table of a house in the township.”



The paper has recently ventured online and Mkhabela says that they aim to attract youthful readers through their online presence. “The youth are part of the digital era and they can access some of the stories on the paper through our website. Those who reside in other provinces and those who want the online version of the paper can subscribe to our e-edition, which is similar to the print edition,” he said. Mkhabela adds that media is definitely moving towards a new digital trend and that they intend to move with this trend by accommodating social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to accompany their stories on the website. “These sites have taken journalism to a new era.”



The Dispatch has broken new ground of civil journalism. It runs regular community dialogues across the Eastern Cape province in collaboration with the University of Fort Hare. Mkhabela explains: “In addition to stimulating debates about a variety of issues, the dialogues have ensured that the newspaper is organically linked to the community that it serves. We are not an island; we are part of the community that we serve. We are working on plans to enhance the dialogues and to get more people involved.”



He says that the Eastern Cape is a strategic province and that the most influential news items which become regional are taken from this region. “It’s a province that one could never underestimate, even key political players in the country come from the province,” Mkhabela said. The former City Press journalist says that through its online presence, he wants the paper to be read by people who are based in Johannesburg. He says that they will seek to balance regional and national stories. “We would like to enhance the newspaper’s outlook as a regionally-based title with a national influence.”

Makhanya says that the Eastern Cape is an all-important region in South Africa, and looks forward to seeing Mkhabela set the agenda in the region. He says that it is the intention that Mkhabela builds an influential hub of relevant and groundbreaking news from this region, which can be fed to the other Avusa Media titles, including the Sunday Times. “The appointment of a strong editor in this area shows Avusa Media’s confidence in The Daily Dispatch brand as a growing one servicing a widening market. The appointment is supported with the trial of delivering news in new formats in the area, to find a recipe that works both for readers and for profitable online news delivery.”