Anchoring the news

Editorial Comment
THE OTHER day I tuned into the ANN7 and bumped into Aubriel Mpofu. I was pleasantly surprised to see him as the last time I had seen or heard him was on ZBC. This got me reminiscing about the news anchors of the yesteryear.

THE OTHER day I tuned into the ANN7 and bumped into Aubriel Mpofu. I was pleasantly surprised to see him as the last time I had seen or heard him was on ZBC. This got me reminiscing about the news anchors of the yesteryear.

Who could forget the suave and polished presence of Colin Harvey? Nor the powerful tag team of female anchors Tsitsi Vera and Noreen Welch? What I will never forget is that infamous giggling incident as they read the evening news.

Then, of course, there was the stoic and serious Joseph Madimba. I probably started watching news long before I could understand the bulletins.

The reason being it was the last programme I could watch on television during the week. My father would not negotiate staying up after the news.

Even with the advent of satellite TV he would not compromise on missing out on ZBC eight o’clock news much to our annoyance.

However, I reckon that it’s this early exposure to news broadcasts that has made me appreciate the importance of current affairs and keeping abreast with what is taking place not just locally, but globally.

Now I will trawl through news channels from Al Jazeera, BBC, and CNN all the way to SABCN. With over 10 news channels available, I reckon we are now spoilt for choice. Moreover, we get to see the diversity of reporting — the biases and thrusts of different channels.

Never before has the role of a news anchor been more important. Some have even earned celebrity status with a cult-like following if you think of Christiane Amanpour, Isha Sessay, Jim Clancy. It’s not just about reading the news, but also the on-screen presence, charisma and the interaction with the audience.

These news anchors become our interface to what’s happening with the rest of the world which is why news of their passing can leave a dent in our lives. After waking up to Vuyo Mbuli’s face for five years in succession on SABC’s Morning Live broadcast, the news of his demise on May 19 2013 was heartbreaking. I did not know him personally, but every morning for three hours we commiserated over the airwaves.

We had seen him through his weight loss and cheered him on as he pursued marathon running. His presence in many of our homes made him feel like he was part of us.

Death robbed us of Mbuli at the ripe age of 46 when he succumbed to a heart attack while he was watching a rugby match at a Free State Stadium. A similar fate befell Komla Dumor who passed away on January 18.

Many will remember him as the face of Africa as he steered us through Focus on Africa on BBC. In his suited elegance, he graced our screens to deliver to us an enlightened and inspirational broadcast on all things African happening on this continent.

Ghanian by birth, he died at the ripe age of 41 at the prime of his broadcasting career. Incidentally, Dumor stumbled into the profession by accident while studying medicine at the University of Ghana in 1998.

During a university strike he responded to a job advert with Joy FM hoping to earn extra cash as a traffic news reporter and that’s where it all began.

A career which he did wear with ease as he brought greater understanding of African issues which he delivered with passion and finesse. He undoubtedly stands on the list of sterling African news anchors alongside the likes of Alyce Chavunduka. Like Mbuli, Chavunduka died at the ripe age of 46 after she suffered an epileptic seizure in her home in Johannesburg on January 6 .

Zimbabwe-born Chavunduka began her career in broadcasting at the tender age of 12 on ZBC where she presented a children’s programme becoming the youngest presenter on the station. She made history by becoming the first black female news anchor on South African television network channel TV 1 at the tender age of 23.

In that same year, she also became the first black female presenter of Good Morning South Africa which was a major coup for not just a black female, but one of foreign origin.

For many years she was a regular feature on SABC before migrating to Summit TV and later Studio 53. Although she disappeared from our television screens in the later years of her life, she will forever remain an inspiration for many black women in broadcasting. She was indeed a pioneer in this sphere.

It is with sadness we bid goodbye to these news anchors who have graced our television screens and brought us newsworthy broadcasts.

 Sukoluhle Nyathi is the author of the novel The Polygamist. You can follow her on Twitter @SueNyathi