Media Moves… TheMediaOnline’s weekly round up that looks at all the moves in media. Rob Rose now editor of Business Times. Ant Pascoe announced as General Manager of TEAMtalk media. SAS appoints Kroshlen Moodley as head of Public Sector. 2000FM unveils its new programme line-up. Maverick Publishing expands its reach with On the Dot. The Lime Envelope launches specialised project packages.
Who’s moved where
Rob Rose new editor of Business Times
Phylicia Oppelt, editor of the Sunday Times, has announced the appointment of award-winning investigative journalist, Rob Rose, as editor of the Business Times. Rose’s appointment is with immediate effect, and is part of the Sunday Times strategy to invigorate business reporting and deliver unique insights to its readers.
“As one of South Africa’s finest journalists, Rob brings a vast array of skills to Business Times. I am confident that, under his leadership, the section will deliver incisive analysis of SA’s economy and business world,” says Oppelt.
With a Law degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, Rose joined Business Day as a financial journalist in 2002, later moving to Financial Mail in 2007. Rose’s keen nose for ‘following the money’ resulted in some of the most gripping exposés to headline in South African news, earning Rose numerous accolades in the process.
Rose has been awarded the Vodacom Business Journalist of Year Award, the Citadel Business Journalist of the Year Award, as well as the Sanlam Financial Journalist of the Year Award. The prestigious Taco Kuiper Award for Investigative Journalism was won overall by Rose in 2009 for his investigation into fraudster, Barry Tannenbaum, for a series entitled “South Africa’s Madoff”. As part of the Sunday Times investigative team including Stephan Hofstatter and Mzilikazi wa Afrika, and their investigation into “Mac’s Dodgy Millions”, Rose and his colleagues were again recipients of the Taco Kuiper Award in 2011.
Oppelt says the strategic appointment of Rose complements her overall vision for taking the Sunday Times to new circulation heights.
Ant Pascoe announced as General Manager of TEAMtalk media
Digital sports media company, TEAMtalk media, has appointed Ant Pascoe as their new general manager.
Having started his career as a cricket journalist, Pascoe has always had a love for sports and a desire to integrate this passion with his work as a digital media professional. A shift from journalism saw him tackle the commercial side of media and focus his talents on content syndication and data. In 2003, a career opportunity tempted him to relocate from South Africa to the UK, where he joined Opta Sports Data as Product Manager. In 2006 he returned to SA, where he co-founded both sports content agency, Sunday Media and satirical website Hayibo.com.
Sunday Media was acquired by TEAMtalk media in 2011, and taking on a sales and business development role at TEAMtalk media, Pascoe soon established himself as a vital force within the business.
“It’s a very competitive market and I am a naturally competitive person,” said Pascoe, who has also represented South Africa at four Ultimate Frisbee World Cups. “I am looking forward to growing this business aggressively and to establishing it as a major player in the local sports arena,” Pascoe says.
Tim Legg, MD of TEAMtalk media, felt Pascoe was the obvious choice for the position. “As a top sports media company, having someone of Pascoe’s calibre as GM means we can continue to stand above our competitors. His international experience, combined with his passion for sport and digital know-how make him the ideal person to take on the job.”
SAS appoints Kroshlen Moodley as head of Public Sector
SAS has announced the appointment of Kroshlen Moodley as the company’s head of public sector, responsible for driving the company’s government and utilities business strategy within these sectors.
Moodley has extensive experience within the public sector, which spans national government, telecommunications and utilities. Combined with his intimate understanding of the SAS business and its entire ecosystem, he is ideally positioned to further enhance the company’s reputation as the world’s foremost authority within the local public sector analytics market.
His key focus area will be to rebuild the public sector business for SAS by growing sustainable revenue streams, retaining key accounts and positioning the company as a dominant analytics business partner of public sector clients within the SADC region.
“Through a citizen and social centric approach, public sector can make the country a better place to live in for all citizens – and through the use of predictive analytics algorithms and advanced data analysis techniques, governments have the ability to make informed decisions that will make a tangible impact on the lives of taxpayers and ordinary citizens – thereby enhancing the overall citizen experience and enabling ‘smart government,” says Moodley.
2000FM unveils its new programme line-up
The South African Broadcasting Corporation’s public broadcasting service radio station, 2000FM, has announced that Thami Ngubeni, Lupi Ngcayisa, Kia Johnson, Bongani Nxumalo, Kitty Phetla, LindoZici and Kass Naidoo are the new voices that joined the station on 1 May 2013.
The revamped line-up will also feature Gavin Koppel, the father of singer/songwriter Danny K, who will be a contributor on the weekend show driving issues of Social Cohesion. Koppel is currently a breakfast host at Chai FM – a Jewish community based radio station in Johannesburg.
“2000FM is proud of its current presenter line-up and modest achievements thus far. The station is stable with more than 100 000 new listeners listening to the station this year as opposed to last year,” said 2000FM station manager Carlito Sheik. “The station will continue to increase its brand awareness and relevancy through continuous improvement and innovation when it comes to covering all the action as it happens for its listeners and advertisers. The station’s new rejuvenated sound will appeal more to 35+ adult female mature audiences across all races that are not being catered for on the national and regional radio competitive landscape”.
New non-executive directors, staff for Topco Media
Shirley Zinn and Ryland Fischer have been appointed as non-executive directors of Topco Media in a move to expand the company’s leadership.
Their appointments are strategically aligned with Topco Media’s efforts to continuously grow and develop. Zinn and Fisher will mentor existing employees and generate new avenues of business. This will augment Topco Media’s transformation from a family-run business to a market leader in the publishing industry.
“We are honoured to have them on board. Their expertise and experience will help steer Topco Media to greater heights. The additional skill base and expertise that Shirley and Ryland bring to the table will be put to use in the mentorship programme as well as the publishing arena – thereby adding more than just editorial to the business landscape of South Africa,” says Ralf Fletcher, CEO, Topco Media.
Topco Media have also appointed Raina Julies (group editor), Wendy Viljoen (managing editor for the annual publications) and Hayley Fletcher (head of research). The acquisition of new broad-based skills and industry expertise will not only strengthen the workforce but cement the Topco Media brand’s leading position in South Africa.
Who’s won what
Maverick Publishing expands its reach with On the Dot
Maverick Publishing have appointed On the Dot to handle the national and international magazine distribution for all three of its titles: Fitness Mag, Fitness His Edition and Muscle Evolution.
On the Dot has significantly expanded the footprint of all three titles by listing the magazines at retailers, which previously did not stock Maverick’s titles
“On the Dot is excited about bringing Maverick Publishing on board and with the commitment from the publisher to increase their print orders to supply the new footprint, we look forward to increasing the sales of all three titles” says Chris McGirr, commercial manager for magazines.
Maverick Publishing increased the print order for Muscle Evolution by 21% to 17 000 copies, Fitness His Edition by 35% to 19 000 copies and Fitness Magazine by 18.5% to 33 000 copies.
Tribeca Public Relations appointed by Orange Business Services
Tribeca Public Relations has been appointed as Orange Business Services’ public relations agency in South Africa.
Orange Business Services is the global B2B arm of the France Telecom-Orange group and provides integrated IT and telecoms solutions for businesses. Its African operation is headquartered in Johannesburg, with a growing presence throughout Africa.
Tribeca PR will be responsible for driving awareness of the Orange Business Services brand across sub-Saharan Africa, enhancing its reputation as a global thought leader in IT and telecoms solutions.
“Tribeca PR has a wealth of experience working with multinational corporations that are active in Africa,” says Cian Mac Eochaidh, co-owner and director of Tribeca PR. “We look forward to drawing on our knowledge of the region to work with the Orange Business Services’ team in helping them achieve their business objectives.”
Who’s making moves
The Lime Envelope launches specialised project packages for expo, event and conference sector
The Lime Envelope, a Johannesburg based boutique public relations agency, has announced the addition of a focused PR and media liaison offering specifically for the exhibition, expo and events sector.
After successfully engaging in pro-active PR campaigns for many such events and housing a specialised event management service arranging press conferences to launches and conferences, the agency now offers project based PR packages for the marketing of individual events.
“Public relations plays an essential role in maximising exposure and message delivery for both trade and consumer events in a highly competitive environment. Project-based packages tailored to the specific needs of the organiser will not only afford clients the opportunity to increase awareness of their expos and events within distinct target markets, it will also assist in generating event growth through a directed, time sensitive campaign with defined results in mind.” says Sarah Martin, agency director.
Services include a focused PR campaign targeting visitors, exhibitors and conference delegates, pre-event communication, pre and post-show bulletins, e-shots, at show event and media management (including press office management), social media engagement, production of show pocket guide and post event communication.
Note: TheMediaOnline has a job advertising service. The site is read by media professionals across South Africa. A job posting on the Media Online Costs R342 (incl VAT) and appears for 30 days. It appears both on the Media Online site and Memejobs.com.
