Ferial Haffajee
| Ferial Haffajee | |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 February 1967 |
| Occupation | Journalist, newspaper editor, author |
| Nationality | South African |
| Alma mater | University of the Witwatersrand |
Ferial Haffajee (born 20 February 1967)[1][2] is a South African journalist and newspaper editor. Haffajee has been the editor of the City Press newspaper since July 2009 and was previously the editor of the Mail & Guardian newspaper.
Haffajee was appointed to the board of the International Press Institute in 2011.[3]
Early life and career
Haffajee, an Indian, grew up in Bosmont, a suburb of Johannesburg. Her father was a clothing factory worker. She is an alumnus of the University of the Witwatersrand.[4]
Haffajee was a cub reporter at Mail & Guardian and has acted as its associate editor, media editor and economics writer at various times. Before taking up the editorship she held jobs at state broadcaster SABC, as a radio producer and television reporter,[5] and at the Financial Mail magazine, where she was a senior editor responsible for political coverage and the managing editor.[6]
Mail & Guardian editorship
Haffajee was appointed editor of Mail & Guardian at the age of 36 effective from 1 February 2004,[2][7] two years after control of the paper was acquired by Zimbabwean publisher Trevor Ncube.[8]
In 2005 the paper became one of the few publications, after the regime change of 1994, interdicted from publishing specific stories.[9] In 2006 the paper was again interdicted, and Haffajee threatened, after republishing controversial cartoons depicting Muhammad.[10]
In March 2009 Mail & Guardian announced Haffajee's resignation, saying she would take up the position of editor of City Press in July.[11] Previous speculation had identified her as a potential appointee as head of news at the SABC.[12]
Publication
- Haffajee, Ferial (2015). What If There Were No Whites In South Africa?. Johannesburg: Picador Africa. ISBN 9781770104402. received mixed reviews. One reviewer wrote "the central thrust of the book... argues that black South Africans, especially the new generation of young black, 'born frees', are obsessed with whiteness and white privilege".[13] Haffajee's contention is that if all whites had left South Africa and their wealth divided among the poor, poverty would hardly have been dented. [14] A more critical reviewer has noted that underlying her "pastiche of Bosmont memoir, office gossip, antiwhite resentment and racial econometrics, is the idea that whites should ideally disappear". [15]
References
- ↑ "Board members stay gender linked". Gender Linked. Gender Links (14). February 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- 1 2 Quist-Arcton, Ofeibea (26 January 2004). "South Africa: Ferial Haffajee: South Africa's First Woman Newspaper Editor". AllAfrica. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ↑ Ellis, Steven M (5 October 2011). "IPI Elects New Board Members". IPI. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- ↑ Haffajee, Ferial (2015). What If There Were No Whites In South Africa?. Johannesburg: Picador Africa. ISBN 9781770104402.
- ↑ "The Africa Radio Awards". BBC. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
- ↑ "Biography of Ferial Haffajee". The Globalist. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
- ↑ "New editor for the Mail and Guardian". Independent Online. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
- ↑ "Barrell to leave M&G". News24. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
- ↑ "Fact or fiction, this paper has been pulped". Retrieved 5 July 2008.
- ↑ "SA editor threatened over cartoon". BBC. 6 February 2006. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
- ↑ "Haffajee ready for new challenges". Independent Online. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
- ↑ Newmarch, Jocelyn (31 March 2009). "Mail & Guardian editor Haffajee lands City Press job". Business Day. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- ↑ Snodgrass, Lyn. "What if there were no whites in South Africa?". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- ↑ de Waal, Shaun. "Ferial Haffajee redefines 'blackness' and 'whiteness'". mg.co.za. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
- ↑ Roodt, Dan. "Ferial Haffajee: An Affirmative-Action Princess who lacks Anti-White Courage". praag.org. Retrieved 27 November 2015.