A Tribute to the past, enhancing the present - publisher

"As many changes have taken place in our country, those who are now in senior positions tend to believe that they have made it. Therefore, they tend to ignore what the country went through and the people who made sacrifices to position this nation where it is today," Modise says.

"These people's achievements were forgotten and their honour trashed, replaced by new-found glory and fame and egos. This is a title with serious content that seeks to break that barrier, bring back the old excellence and celebrate the icons' achievements in the freedom struggle in order to inspire the new generation."

Apart from targeting and inspiring these middle and high-income African earners, Tribute will feature leadership themes on a social, community and business level and compete in the consumer-lifestyle magazine sector.

Identity

Modise emphasised that the stories of the past will definitely give people a sense of self-belief and arm them with a strong sense of identity, vital to face challenges emanating from this fast-changing and globalised world. "A new generation of African professionals will again have a magazine that focuses on them and their need to fulfill their purpose in a changing country, continent and world.

"With our citizenship and dignity restored, we need to be the best we can be," he added.

Modise warns fellow South Africans not to make superficial judgments and [hold] pre-conceived ideas about other African people. He explains: "Most of us have negative perceptions of other African nations, which we see as poor and underachievers. It is a dangerous conception that does not help the spirit of African Renaissance. We definitely need an in-depth knowledge of African and global politics to help us understand the dynamics of international issues that have a direct correlation with what is happening in our country."

That is why the editorial team of Tribute, beginning from its launch edition, has sourced articles from African News Dimension (AND) and US magazine Fortune, which Modise claims to have fallen in love with since 1982.

However, so many things have changed since the once-exciting Tribute "disappeared", competition is much tougher now and titles that cannot the stand the heat end up being filed in the memories of the past. Many wonder what strategies or tactics Tribute has in store to re-attract readers and ensure that this time around it survives the dangerous waves of the media industry.

Tactics

Modise is quick to point that their research has shown that there are no readers who religiously stick to one title. "Therefore," he says, "Tribute has come to position as the only publication that truly raises issues pertaining to the daily lives of black professionals. Competition is healthy, but our strategies, vision and tactics are unique and we are confident that our competitors are far from equaling what we are offering our readers. So it is only us all the way."

Tribute's content and styling is crafted with a high-gloss quality, in-depth editorial content, distinctive photography and illustration. The lifestyle of the magazine contains features pertinent to the mindset of prospective readers. It is created to support readers with managing, growing and balancing their professional, social and home lives. It also has interesting pieces of African excellence and investigative journalism.

In conclusion, Modise said that the downfall of the magazine had nothing to do with its contents, but with the strategy used by its former publishing house. "Tribute was only used to support four or five other titles owned by the company. So nothing was used to invest in the magazine itself," he said.