Al-Qalam 
Thembisa Fakude attributes much of his journalistic success to the Muslim Youth Movement (MYM) writes Nabeelah Shaikh.
His work has been published extensively in various international media publications as well as academic platforms and now Thembisa Fakude is excited to take on a new role.
Fakude, who is no stranger to the South African media landscape, has been seconded to take up the role of acting chief executive of The Mail & Guardian (M&G) newspaper for six months.
Fakude’s lengthy CV includes being a senior research fellow at Africa Asia Dialogues, a columnist for the Middle East Monitor, London, UK, and a research fellow for the Al Sharq Forum, Istanbul, Turkey. His management experience includes being the former bureau chief at Al Jazeera Media Network in Southern Africa for both Arabic and English. Thereafter, he became the head of external relations and the English unit at the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, in Doha, Qatar.
Fakude attributes much of his journalistic success to the Muslim Youth Movement (MYM) of South Africa which is an arm of Al-Qalam newspaper.
“I joined the Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa in 1993 until I outgrew it. I had been in the executive and I was also the provincial chairperson in the Gauteng region. It did indeed help with my career trajectory. My journalism interest was sparked because of the MYM, and the tharbiyah programmes we had at the time. I would say that I’ve always wanted to be a journalist, but it was mainly shaped by the MYM,” said Fakude. He said during his time at the organisation, he volunteered at The Voice Radio, an MYM project.
“MYM played a major contributing role with regards to what I have become today and my career trajectory. The emphasis within the MYM was often on politics and journalism and this is the path I find myself on today,” said Fakude.
Taking on his new role at the M&G, Fakude is actually no stranger to the publication.
He has been a member of the board for the past five years and understands the dynamics of the publication well.
“It’s a great opportunity and I think the opportunity came at the right time given that we have a few big stories coming up in South Africa including BRICS and the elections. These are two major stories coming up and that makes this journey exciting for me. On the other hand, the company also needs to grow and that means the plan is to make sure it becomes an institution that caters for all in South Africa, expanding to the extent that we are able to be everywhere, and wherever we are needed to be, in terms of covering stories in South Africa and beyond,” said Fakude.
Journalism
He said his plan at the M&G was to move full force into enhancing the publication’s online presence.
“However, we are also cognisant that content is key and content is king so our journalists will always remain important to us. Unlike others who think that journalism should be getting rid of old skills, we still believe those skills are key in terms of content,” said Fakude.
Responding to how Artificial Intelligence (AI) will affect newsrooms of the future, Fakude says he believes there will never be a time when AI can take over newsrooms completely.
“Machines will write essays and opinion pieces but in terms of covering news and stories, that requires some level of intervention. You must be there, you must witness something, you must speak to people and they must respond back to you.” said Fakude.
Given his previous positions, Fakude said he is happy that he has now come full circle in his career.
“I’ve done electronic media for Al Jazeera locally and abroad, and I bring that experience to this newsroom which is now print. But print is now no longer a standalone product, there’s a lot of mixing and crossing over. I’m glad that I’ve had that experience which is proper television experience and now I bring that into the print newsroom. But at the same time, I’ve been an academic and published extensively so even though I haven’t managed a print media business, at least I do have an understanding of what is required for a publication,” said Fakude.
He said his focus for the M&G will not be on the editorial side of things, but rather about managing the business.
“I would like us as the M&G to focus now on visibility. We’ve got a strong brand but I think we need to be more visible in terms of letting people know we are there. I would also be focusing on profitability and new revenue streams to explore for the business,” said Fakude.
