Business Report turns ten

Celebrating the milestone, Business Report editor Alide Dasnois reminded both readers and advertisers that, "The unique strength of the paper lies in our method of distribution: we are carried by the country's leading morning newspapers, reaching readers in all key commercial and financial centers; The Star throughout Gauteng, Pretoria News, Cape Times and The Mercury in KwaZulu-Natal. Our goal is to inform our 650 000 daily readers by providing them with authoritative and accessible news and analysis which they cannot get elsewhere, and which they need in order to participate in a rapidly changing and often confusing economy."

Dasnois also referred to the key themes underpinning much of Business Report's editorial decision making. These include the obvious corporate reporting, one of the title's strengths since its inception, but also the focus on black economic empowerment, on economic policy (industrial, monetary, trade and fiscal), and on corporate governance and financial markets.

Dasnois said that a bevy of thought-provoking columnists add to the paper's readability, including staffers Lynda Loxton, the redoubtable Ann Crotty and the newly-returned Jabulani Sikhakhane, and outside experts Terry Bell and Bert Chanetsa together with long-time contributor Pali Lehohla.

In its ten years of publication, Business Report covered and commented on some of the most important events in South African business and economic history. The first time the JSE stocks page appeared in the paper, there were 638 listed companies. Ten years later, that number has shrunk no less than 37 percent to 400. Only about sixty of the companies featuring in Business Report's current stocks page actually survived the decade intact, or largely intact.

One of several new benefits offered to readers to celebrate the anniversary is a facelift to the website www.businessreport.co.za. The site now has more content to view at a glance and also streamlined navigation, so the desired news and opinion is just one click away. Users are able to get a free synopsis of Business Report content on a daily basis, or to opt for a weekly eMail summary.