Interview by Remy Raitt

What is your first order of business as deputy editor?

To work closely with the editor in consolidating the newspaper's position as the market leader. Top priority is to ensure that all sections of the Sunday Times produce the kind of content that is interesting and relevant to our readers. Much of my focus is likely to be on the content side of the business.

What do you think you will bring to the role?

First of all my 19 years’ experience in journalism, 15 of which have been at Sunday Times. I first joined the newspaper as a reporter in the Durban office and later moved up to Johannesburg to work as a business reporter at Business Times.  I also spent about a year in the parliamentary office before moving back to Johannesburg to work in the main newsroom. That kind of experience, as well as the years I spent in other newspapers, would come in handy in my new role as I have a good understanding of what our different sections need to deliver in order to produce a great Sunday Times every week. In my last role as political editor, I have been intimately involved with the production of the front section of the paper and in my new role such experience would greatly assist as we consolidate the Sunday Times' position in the market.

What are you most nervous about?

I am taking up this position at a difficult period for the print industry, in particular, and media in general as a result of pressures relating to circulation and advertising revenue. This is therefore a daunting task, and yes I am a bit nervous about that but feel that I am up to the challenge.

How do you feel about working with the newly appointed managing editor, Moshoeshoe Monare come the first of November? Have you had time to chat and plan?

I am excited about the opportunity to work with Monare again. We have been colleagues before, as reporters at the Sunday Times in the early 2000's. We have kept in contact over the years as political correspondents as well as members of the SA National Editors’ Forum. We have not had a chat yet about our new roles as he has been abroad. But I do believe we will have one as soon as he is back in town.

You’ve known the ins and outs of the Sunday Times for years. How will your 15 years’ experience at Times Media affect your work, especially going forward?

The really big challenge for us is to introduce new innovations to excite our loyal readers and hopefully attract new ones, while continuing to do what has been proven to work well for the newspaper over the years. As someone who has spent much of his journalistic career in Sunday newspapers, especially the Sunday Times, I believe that I have a pretty good understanding of what works for us and hope to use this experience to the newspaper's benefit as we introduce new innovations.

You were previously the political editor, are we going to see more politics sneaking into the rest of the paper?

While I do regard myself as a political animal of sorts, I do appreciate that a healthy mix of stories is what makes the Sunday Times such a good newspaper. Yes, politics will still be an important part of our coverage, but it will be part of a mix that ranges from entertainment; sports; personality stories right up to big investigations. What is most important to me is that the stories we cover should be breaking; accurate; balanced and of relevance to our readers.

Where do you see the SA media landscape in five years?

In my view we would still have a robust print media industry in South Africa that would still set the public agenda. Digital platforms would obviously play a greater role than they do now but the most successful would be those linked to established print publications. On the policy front, hopefully co-regulation, rather than regulation by the state.

Why is the Sunday Times a great paper, both to work at and to read?

For me it is its great mix of content; stories that appeal to different tastes and markets. It is its ability to break big stories that matter and, in the process, bring about change or cause the powerful to be held accountable.

For more information, visit www.timeslive.co.za. Alternatively connect with him on Twitter.