The Chapter We Wrote: The City Press Story looks back at the rich history of the City Press through the eyes of its former editor Len Kalane.

Kalane chatted to Jeremy Maggs on his show Maggs on Media about the book.

In The Chapter We Wrote, Kalane tells not only the story of the newspaper, but also the stories and events that shaped contemporary South Africa.

The book is written in memory of legendary journalist Percy Qoboza, and also incorporates a selection of his columns.

Qoboza was editor of The World newspaper in Soweto from 1974 until the late 1970s. After a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University in the United States, he returned to South Africa and became the editor of City Press in 1984.

Maggs calls Qoboza the ‘life force’ of the book.

Kalane agrees: ‘Percy changed the face of black journalism … Percy had an agenda. He shaped a certain agenda among black journalists and he brought some respectability.’

Kalane says Qoboza was interesting to work with.

‘He was quite unpredictable, very colourful and exuberant,’ he says. ‘I never really knew when Percy went to bed, I can’t tell you when he even read, but he was well read up. He would know stuff. He was an early riser and a heavy drinker …’

Qoboza died on 17 January 1988, on his 50th birthday.

Watch the video:

Categories Non-fiction South Africa South African Current Affairs

Tags ENCA Jeremy Maggs Jonathan Ball Publishers Len Kalane Percy Qoboza The Chapter We Wrote Videos