[NewsMaker] Deshnee Subramany

NOW.co.za focuses on local news and perspectives on trending topics, bringing a tabloid flavour and context to mainstream news. Kagiso Digital, a division of Kagiso Media, launched NOW.co.za at the end of 2014 in test phase.

Head of content at Kagiso Digital, Charis Coleman, says visitors to NOW.co.za will see original content produced by a team of experienced journalists for an audience that "moves as fast as the news does".

"The traditional news audience is ageing. We know that younger people still consume news. They just do it differently and from different voices. The challenge is creating a news format that is appealing to millennials and born-frees."

Coleman and her team believe that "Now.co.za is an opportunity for Kagiso Digital to bring together all of the capabilities we have with technology, design, and content". It includes audio and video formats too.

Currently the online news site sees in excess of 50,000 visitors (unique and returning) every month and Kagiso Digital envisages that Now.co.za will see over 500,000 visits in 2015 with an excess of one million page views.

About Deshnee Subramany

Deshnee Subramany is the Editor of NOW.co.za, Kagiso Digital's daily news portal. She is responsible for managing NOW's team of full-time journalists and freelancers, contributing to the voice of the website, and pushing a new publishing agenda for news in South Africa aimed at young people.

Q: Who is NOW.co.za aimed at?
A: Fast-paced, interested, informed, young, busy multitaskers - those are the people we're aiming for. If you have only about 20 minutes to dedicate to news for the morning because you're too busy doing everything else, then NOW.co.za is where you want to spend it.

Q: What is the readership you are aiming for?
A: Usually these impatient and high-energy people fall between the ages of 16 and 28, and want more than just facts. They're interested and want to be informed.

Q: What is your main editorial challenge?
A: Keeping up with the pace at which our audience consumes news - which often means the end product needs to be short, interesting, informative and different. I make it sound easy, don't I?

Q: Unpack your "new news format".
A: Our stories are short, simple, and still give you more than a news update. You will find what you need to know to understand South Africa's news context at the moment.

Q: Most important attribute needed to do your job?
A: Energy and patience - you need to be constantly on top of news, trends, marketing and audiences. And then you need the patience to understand that you can only do three things at once.

Q: The biggest trend to note in your industry?
A: Digital journalism - it's not just about having a website. It's about having news available on different digital platforms with different voices that is easy to absorb while on the move. People are demanding more than a news update, and they want it quickly.

Q: How do millennials consume news?
A: They inhale it - you cannot give millennials enough information. But they want it in the form of a conversation that makes them feel part of it. They're just as interested in what their peers think about what's happening, as they are about the actual event.

Q: How will you serve up different "editions"?
A: We're planning around a publishing schedule that includes news updates, opinion, and analysis in different content forms. You can either read it, listen to it, or watch it, whatever fits your lifestyle at that moment.

Q: What inspires you?
A: Passionate people. When you work in the news, it's easy to get despondent. But passionate people show you there's hope. That, and world peace, of course.

Q: At the top of my 'bucket list' is...
A: Figure out if I really want that tattoo or not, join the gym, and start hosting panels with young writers, journalists and interested public participants.