Avusa Media appoints public editor

Veteran journalist and editor Thabo Leshilo has been appointed public editor for Avusa Media's stable of print titles, including Sowetan, Sunday World and Sunday Times. Announcing Leshilo's appointment Avusa media MD, Mike Robertson, said the public editor would act as the readers' advocate on all Avusa newspapers.

"The public editor will ensure that readers' concerns are adequately addressed and he will publicly assess the credibility of Avusa's journalism," says Robertson.

Commitment to credible journalism

“With Leshilo's appointment Avusa Media affirmed its commitment to credible journalism. We believe the reader is king and this appointment of Thabo Leshilo seeks to reinforce that statement."

Leshilo's appointment comes at a time when newspapers in South Africa, and around the world, seek to distinguish themselves as providers of credible news, opinion and analysis as well as investigative journalism. Leshilo is the first public editor to be appointed by Avusa Media and will report directly to Robertson.

Leshilo has just returned from the United States, where he spent 10 months completing a Nieman Fellowship in Journalism at Harvard University. Prior to his time in the US he was editor-in-chief of Sowetan and Sunday World, a position he has held since August 2004. Leshilo's career in journalism spans more than two decades, including ventures such as editor of Business Times and Pretoria News. He holds a BA degree, with majors in politics and public administration, from the University of Limpopo.

In addition to Sowetan, Sunday World and Sunday Times, Avusa Media is also the publisher of The Times and Eastern Cape titles Daily Dispatch, The Herald and the Weekend Post.