CLIENT: Press Council

After serving South Africa for many years, the Press Ombudsman was retiring. Joe Thloloe had served for decades, helping build the Press Council from the ground up, but now he was leaving to get some well deserved rest.

 

Joe Thloloe had been a journalist since the dark days of Apartheid. He learned to write as a prisoner in detention and while uncovering the iniquities of the apartheid government he gained the title of the most arrested journalist in South African history. Under democracy Joe remained unyielding and continued to speak truth to power and champion press freedom, helping establish the free media that we enjoy today.

 

For his retirement ceremony, the Press Council approached frayintermedia to help produce a tribute that could do justice to his unparalleled career.

 

Our team arranged interviews with giants in the South African media to try and piece together the stories from Joe’s career, from his days as the first black journalist at the Rand Daily Mail, to his presence on every significant media body in the days of democracy.

 

The final video was played for Joe at his retirement ceremony at the Press Council 2018 AGM, surrounded by fellow leaders of the free press.