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For more than a decade and a half, they shaped the future editors of South Africa. Both were editors themselves. And speaking to professors Piet Cillié and Johannes Grosskopf, the first two heads of the Department of Journalism at Stellenbosch University, SJI discovered that journalists never retire. |
alumni
A grand old man of journalism
Piet Cillié, founder of the Department of Journalism,
calls his time there, from 1978 until 1983, one long highlight in a life full of "a
bunch" of them. He spoke to Jeanne Venter about that bunch
of memorable moments, and his career as accidental journalist, achiever-in-general and his
former position as chairman of Nasionale Pers’s board of directors.
He spoke amongst a muddle of books, magazines and newspapers, with Cape Town stretching out below his window. How he started out with a cum laude Natural Sciences degree, and how he came to preside in his office on the fifteenth floor of the Naspers building. And he spoke about the network of people that surround and sustain you.
When Cillié started out at Die Burger the paper didn’t believe in formal training for its young journalists - it was sink or swim. Cillié bobbed his way from cub reporter to foreign editor, and ultimately to editor of Die Burger in virtually one deep breath.
Yet, after serving as editor from 1954 to 1977, he was inspired to launch a degree in journalism at his alma mater, the University of Stellenbosch. Ebbe Dommisse, then news editor at Die Burger, proposed the idea of a post-graduate course in journalism, based on the one presented at Columbia University in New York.
He aimed to broaden students’ knowledge, "not to create specialists, as in most honours courses." For him "a specialist is a man who knows a great deal more about a great deal less." He wanted to train aspiring journalists in the necessary skills, allowing them to command relatively high salaries as they entered the field.
He highlights another important aspect of the course: it also builds a strong network of people in the industry. "A person is not an atom; we are bound to one another." He settles further into the worn brown couch, and says, "it feels good to think that I’ve had a part in the success of today’s journalists."
He says a journalist has a "stir-fry" of characteristics: including lots of spirit, a dose of reality, a touch of idealism, love for your work, and a need to write a story.
Speaking of idealism and realism, a curious dichotomy emerges when he refers to Die Burger and its acclimatisation to a changed political milieu. He feels the paper, regarded as the flagship of the National Party, played a "progressive role" in the apartheid years. He cites an example: when the paper moved to its current premises in 1982, all signs of petty apartheid left by the previous occupants were removed. He was even labelled a "commie" by some of the "verkramptes".
To Cillié, it is important for a newspaper to adapt to changing political climates without alienating its readers. He describes Die Burger as "with it" in assuming a more liberal stance - while keeping its finger on the pulse of its readership.
Cillié ascribes a large portion of the NP’s "coloured vote" in last year’s election to reportage in Die Burger. A newspaper is primarily an economic venture, he says, and secondly it should be "a careful little prophet." Die Burger, Cillié believes, fulfilled this role in its "critical attitude towards the NP."
Reconciling the paper’s role as flagship of the NP and this critical stance he speaks of, Cillié quotes NP van Wyk Louw, who said a person should practise "loyal protest". Criticism is important, as is the way in which it is done, he says. A paper’s opinions are formed by a group of people - a process that’s part of its own internal checks and balances.
A multi-media society is one that gives voice to all viewpoints. Cillié regrets the virtual demise of the South African alternative press. Aggressive investigative journalism has an important function, he believes. The watchdog aspect of the press is, to him, its most important role.
About papers owned by the state, he shrugs and quotes: "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." He adds that the press must be equally aware of the illusion of power. Add humility to the list of a journalist’s essential ingredients, he says.
The network he talks of extends to the many graduates from Stellenbosch who today work in the same building as he does. Evidently Die Burger is as much a part of his life as he is a part of the scenery on Strand Street. Although he emphasises that his present role at Naspers is a passive one - his time devoted largely to writing his memoirs - many of his colleagues regard him as a central part of the web. People frequently pop into his office for a quick consultation. Once again Cillié pulls himself up short, saying he has to be careful about becoming a "back-seat-driver".
However, his interests are not limited to the confines of his Naspers office, or to journalism. The one thing he would change if he could live his life over would be to devote more time to his music and painting. But, he is quick to add, he would follow the same career path.
His interest in the sciences has not been shelved either: The Scientific American is one of his favourite magazines. He regularly reads the regional papers, and others belonging to the Naspers stable, as well as Time and The Economist - the latter being, he believes, more reliable.
Cillié lights his cigarette as his chat comes to an end. We had walked into the office knowing of his ability to sketch stories for hours, his empathy and understanding, and his formidable career. We got all that - and more: "And now you’ll go home and misquote me, I suppose," he pretends to grumble.
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