Johannesburg - At midnight on Tuesday, the SA Press Association (Sapa) will send out the last few sentences of its 76 years-worth of news copy.
It’s an organisation that has helped out minimally staffed newsrooms, calmed numerous stressed news editors and saved those reporters who simply did not have enough hours in the day to make it to all the important assignments.
Independent Media announced earlier this month that it had won Sapa’s assets, including its brand name and its news and picture archives, after its bid was approved by the newswire’s board and members.
African News Agency – or ANA – will publish its first content in text, video, picture and audio on Wednesday through an initial investment of $20 million (about R233m).
News outlets around the world will be able to pay a subscription fee to ANA and receive access to view and use content produced all over Africa.
ANA has secured feeds from international news agencies that will be available to its subscribers. These include Germany’s dpa and China’s Xinhua, the largest news agency in the world with a bureau and content presence in 38 African countries.
Many newspaper and online readers may not realise the impact the Sapa newswire has had on their lives, but a big percentage of the news South Africans consume was written by dedicated Sapa staff.
Financial woes have led to the newswire’s closure, but this hasn’t damped the fond memories of those who worked there.
Dozens of former employees are part of the Facebook group page “I once worked for Sapa”, with many sharing their sadness at the historic wire’s closure.
Veteran journalist Raymond Faure, wrote: “Over the past 40 or so years, I worked for Sapa three times and came to regard it as a home from home and its many staff members I worked with over the years as something akin to family.
“Some of the biggest stories I broke or covered during my lengthy journalistic career occurred during my tenure at Sapa.
“Like many veteran journalists in this country, I can attribute much of what I learned in this field to Sapa. I think that those who have taken the decision to close Sapa instead of helping to build it up are shortsighted and will rue their decision.”
“It is a terribly sad thing,” wrote Jacaranda’s Maryke Vermaak. “Only once it is gone, I think, will everyone realise how much they actually relied on and trusted Sapa… as everyone has said, if Sapa was there, other newsrooms knew it was covered.”
Charmaine Pretorius posted: “I will always fondly remember my time there; the laughs, the friends, the sad days, the happy days, the crazy days, the slow days, the special Christmas lunches, the midnight shifts, the opportunities, the disappointments – it helped me grow!”
The Star