Both Hartley and Oppelt will report to Makhanya, as will all other editors of Avusa Media newspapers.
Announcing the promotion, Avusa CEO Prakash Desai said that in his new position, Makhanya would be charged with setting up and running centres of excellence that will produce unique, original and compelling content for all of the group's newspapers and websites. In this new role, he would also represent the interests of editors on the Avusa Media management committee.
The editorial promotions, according to Desai, are part of a holistic strategic review of the Avusa newspaper operations, aimed at ensuring the continued growth of the group's print titles and its online news operations.
Avusa Media MD Mike Robertson said a key challenge for the group's newspaper titles was to deepen and sustain South Africa's still young democracy.
“Individually our titles do not have the resources to systematically monitor developments at a provincial and local level, but as a group we are able to put together a team that will be able to do so. In Mondli we have an editor-in-chief who has both the experience and talent to lead such a team.
“Succeeded in laying a successful foundation”
“Ray has succeeded in laying a successful foundation for The Times. It is already the best quality daily in the country. We have no doubt that with Phylicia as editor it will grow quickly to become South Africa's biggest quality daily title,” he added.
Oppelt has edited Business Times since 2008. Prior to that, she was editor of the Daily Dispatch, during which time the paper won all of the country's leading awards for investigative journalism.
“Makhanya has been an outstanding editor of our flagship title and has grown the readership of the Sunday Times from 3.2 million to almost four million,” said Desai.
Commenting on his appointment, Makhanya said, “The media industry, and particularly the newspaper industry, is changing at a rapid pace. Avusa has to be at the cutting edge of this transformation. South Africans are news hungry and they are consuming information in different and exciting ways. Our newspapers and digital platforms have always been the sparks that lit SA's conversations every hour, every day and every week. With the focus on centres of excellence, we plan to own the SA conversation and use our reach to enrich the lives of this country's citizens.”
"It is a great honour to be entrusted with editing a national institution such as the Sunday Times and I look forward to leading it at a time of great excitement and change in the media industry," said Hartley.
Commented Oppelt, "Ray and his team have created a vibrant and energetic newspaper that I am privileged to help build on. It is a challenging and exciting time for South African media and a quality daily newspaper such as The Times is an ideal space in which to reflect and examine the shifts and changes within our society."
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