City Press editor-in-chief, Ferial Haffajee, to step down

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“My seven years with the company have been a joy and a life highlight,” said Haffajee. “I move on to writing again in fast, fresh and data-driven journalism.”
Haffajee revealed she will be joining Bloomberg in Johannesburg as a writer in September. Prior to this she will moderate at the Aspen Institute's action forum in July and work on her next book proposal.

Haffajee’s resignation was “a huge loss” to City Press and Media24, said Media24 CEO Esmaré Weideman. “She is an extraordinary editor – brave, bold, fair, connected and in touch with her market. She was a fantastic brand ambassador for her newspaper and for Media24 as a company. We are very sad to see her go.

“Ferial indicated a few months ago already that she felt her work at City Press was done and that she wanted to go learn and do something new. We can only hope she will return at some stage,” Weideman added.

Haffajee has been an editor for the past 12 years. Before joining Media24 as the editor of City Press, she edited the Mail and Guardian. In 2014 she was awarded the International Press Freedom Award by the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists. She is a former chairperson of the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF).

A successor will be announced in due course.