Emotional farewell to Letaba Herald and its readers

After 11 years of serving the community of Tzaneen through the dissemination of news, Bertus de Bruyn, Outgoing Group Editor of Herald  Newspapers, finally says his goodbyes.

According to him arriving to the decision of leaving Letaba Herald was one of the hardest things he has ever made, because every single day of the 11 years he lived and breathed news.

He has already started receiving farewell messages from community members who always depended on him for news.

“The kind of a relationship I had  with the readers is that of I belong to you and you belong to me.

“I usually felt as if my community thought they owned me or they had a sense of entitlement to me,” he explained.

Bertus joined the local paper in January of 2008 after working as a stage actor in Pretoria for three years and also 9 years of working  as a front house manager at one of the best hotels in Tzaneen, but after years of doing the same thing he knew he had to live hospitality for print.

When he arrived at Herald, he was mentored by Lukas Groenewald, Former Branch Manager and Minke Slabber, Former Editor taught him most of what he knows.

“My first biggest story happened just weeks of being a journo and it happened in Modjadjiskloof where a farmer lost five of his cattles through poaching, it was a hard story to cover since the connection he had with his cows was sincere.

“But overall in every story that I did I always gave my best,” he said.

In the last decade the newsroom drastically changed because of technology, he says that when he started there was no social media nor website they had to wait for a week to break a story.

After getting used to social media he immediately became ‘addicted’ to online content as a result he was responsible for the herald’s website and social media platforms before becoming editor.

Some of his achievements as an editor includes winning the Forum Community Journalists Excellence Awards as the Best Headline Writer in South Africa and  the paper won Best Community Newspaper in the country in the same event earlier this year.

In the next year he will be taking a gap year, away from print before pursuing one of his life long dream.

“I have given my life for the paper, it was all I lived for.

“This is one of the reasons I decided to take time to find myself again,” he added.

He says he owes the journo he is to the Caxton family from Ingrid Pebbler, Irma Green, Gien Elsas, Karen Watts, Karen Geurtsen,Benno Stander, Letaba Herald’s new Branch Manager, Gerda Snyman and Slabber and Groenewald  for investing in him through workshops and trainings.

He further wished well the new editor for taking over after him.

“The paper was my baby and it is not easy giving your baby to someone else, but I wish the new editor all the best and may they take it to new heights.

“May Letaba Herald prosper and take award after award,” he also added.

He concluded by saying without any doubt he would relive his life at the newspaper if he was a given another chance to, but it is time for him to move on to other ventures.