An involved, dynamic and family-orientated daily newspaper with a strong community identity, aimed at the needs of readers in Cape Town.

Letter from the editor

Anyone who has ever heard a street seller exhorting passers-by to buy the “Argie” will know that the Cape Argus brand has been burnt into the consciousness of the Cape Town community. In fact, the “Argie” is up there with the other attractions of Cape Town such as the Waterfront and Table Mountain.

That strong brand and the publishing of quality, issues-driven newspapers every day have established the Cape Argus as the market leader in the lucrative Cape Peninsula market.

We regularly lend our credibility to initiatives that create a sense of community and get people talking: be it in raising awareness about gender based violence, and sparking debate about racism, education, homelessness or even sport. On any given day the Cape Argus stories are followed on talk radio or other news media.

The Cape Argus is perfectly positioned to play an important role as a bridge that attempts to connect the diverse communities of Cape Town as they set about finding common ground from Khayelitsha to Constantia. It is a meeting place where readers, regardless of their race, sex colour or creed can feel comfortable and interact with their fellow-citizens on an equal footing.

It is a rare privilege to edit a newspaper that essentially writes itself once we have answered the key question: what will the community be talking about today?

Our challenge is to create a newspaper that matches the vibrancy of the colourful community we serve. Such a newspaper always has an element of surprise. It is also loud and proud in capturing every-day life on the southern tip of Africa. The life of the younger readers, entrepreneurs, the sportsmen and women who are drawn to our pages, which offers a relaxing read.

The Cape Argus is a quality daily newspaper unashamedly aimed at Cape Town’s broader middle classes. A typical reader of the newspaper is community focused, pragmatic, concerned about the city and country’s problems but wants solutions. Many Cape Argus readers are independent minded and have an entrepreneurial flair.

The unusual characteristics of politics in Cape Town and the Western Cape and the residual social problems, such as crime and gangsterism, created by social engineering policies of the past have placed an enormous responsibility on our shoulders as we watch the Mothercity develop into one of the world’s greatest.

Our newspaper’s aim is to live up to the dictionary meaning of its name, Argus, by truly being that fabulous being with a hundred eyes, that watchful guardian over people, places and events primarily in the area between Table Mountain and Hottentots-Holland mountains and the two oceans.

Aziz Hartley

Editor