"This appointment is a real coup for Independent," says Nazeem Howa, executive director: operations for Independent Newspapers. "Journalists with Barney's experience, integrity, academic qualifications and exceptional track record are rare indeed. We look forward to the contribution of this outstanding editor and the positive impact his stewardship will have on the newspaper."
Mthombothi's academic successes include a notable double Fellowship - he became a Reuters Fellow at Oxford in 1986 and more recently, in 1994, a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.
Starting as a cadet at SAAN in 1978, he spent time at the Rand Daily Mail, Eastern Province Herald and Sunday Express, before joining The Sunday Tribune for his first five-year stint: "so this will be something of a homecoming for me," he says.
A spell in London with the BBC World Service was followed by a period of intensive travel throughout Africa with Argus Africa News Service, until his appointment as day editor of Sowetan in 1993. It was here that he secured his Nieman fellowship, returning to Sowetan in July 1994. By November of that year, he had attained the powerful position of head of radio news at the SABC, the first of two stints at the Corporation. In between came a period as featured columnist at Financial Mail when he left to return to the SABC in November 2000.
Mthombothi says: "I believe the Sunday Tribune has huge potential, but it's not my style to shoot from the hip. I need first to listen to the people on the staff, then together with them come up with plans to grasp opportunities and solve such problems as may exist to grow our dominance of readership in that market.
Howa says he owes a debt of thanks to Shami Harichunder, who had acted as editor for the past few months. He says Mthombothi and Harichunder would make a formidable team in growing the Tribune.
"The Tribune showed real gains in readership in AMPS 2002B," concludes Howa, "growing by 15 000 to no less than 686 000. We fully expect that Barney's mature hand on the tiller will ensure this flagship steams even further ahead of its Sunday market competitors in KZN."
Mthombothi assumes the editorship on May 1st.
