For the past 50 years, the Northcliff Melville Times has found its way into your home through the dedicated work of the journalists tasked to inform you on what is happening in your community.
As with any line of work, no matter the pressures that come with it, there are moments you’ll remember forever, experiences that teach you resilience and relationships formed that will span years.
Working on a community paper like this one exposes journalists to the many realities faced community members, be it harsh or pleasant.
Though storytelling comes with its own challenges it is also comes with its own great joy. To share on their experiences are former journalists of the paper who each had an awesome time telling your stories and being invited into your community.
Here is what they had to say:
Ashtyn Mackenzie: My favourite story I covered was the #NoToCensorship protest to Constitution Hill in 2016. My feet were covered in blisters having walked from Auckland Park to Con Hill but oh, it was worth it! The Northcliff Melville Times taught me the importance of balanced reporting in an incredibly diverse community. One can tour the huge mansions in Northcliff and walk through the history-filled streets of Brixton and Sophiatown in one day. My heart bursts with pride, here’s to the next 50 years of delivering the best community journalism.Andile Dlodlo: Having been with NMT from 2018–2022, not only did I meet incredible people in our area but I was also blessed to work with some great journos and more importantly, great people. Neo, Roxy, Naledi, Lethu, Nicholas, Bonakele and Aimee made my time at NMT five-star. All the training sessions, covering breaking news as a team, year-end functions, their presence and support made running from story to story and back to the office so much easier.Roxy de Villiers:Roxy de Villiers: Ah yes, Northcliff Melville Times! I don’t think a lot of people realise how hard these journalists work, how many moving parts there are and how much work goes into putting a newspaper together. But when you have great contacts like the good folks over at the Trevor Huddleston Centre in Sophiatown, VIAD over at UJ and the amazing people trying to get the Afrikan Freedom Station up and running again (hopefully we can see Bra Herbie and Bra Sydney on Wednesday nights again), itMari Oosthuizen: I worked for the paper from October 2015 till late 2016. This was my first job, as I started working there two weeks after my final exams. Coming from the Free State and having studied in Potchefstroom, I knew very little about Joburg. I remember my first day on the job. My editor at the time, Nicholas Zaal, sent me to a story in Melville and I remember having to drive on an unknown city road. I will keep telling this story because this experience encouraged me to gain the confidence I needed for the job while recognising the faith my editors had in me. I felt so proud. I worked with such a great team and the paper was the greatest springboard to my career. I am indebted to the editors. Happy 50th, Northcliff Melville Times.Reuven Blignault: Working as a journalist across the Randburg and Northcliff areas during my time at Caxton Local Media was truly a rewarding experience. There is no doubt that you meet a diverse variety of people. Some wish to share the problems going on in the area, seeking to raise awareness and aim for a solution to their water and electricity problems, potholes, and so forth. Others want to showcase the wonders of their community be it an old lady celebrating her 100th birthday, or a local scouts group who has raised money for charity. The Northcliff Melville Times provided the opportunity for me to rub shoulders with some famous faces. I will never forget the time when the Springboks won the 2019 Rugby World Cup. As MTN is one of the main sponsors of the team, they visited the headquarters as part of their victory parade. We were lucky enough to snap a few pictures of them to showcase their victory.Amy Ingram: One of the most memorable moments was when I had the opportunity to document the Guinness record-breaking peanut butter and jam sandwich-making event at King David Victory Park in 2016. I felt like I was involved in a small part of history when they broke the record for the most peanut butter and jam sandwiches made in an hour. It was and still is a lovely and vibrant community. I hope the newspaper continues covering the stories of its people for another 50 years!
