Andrew Trench notes from the revolution

Why I have resigned as Daily Dispatch editor

Today I resigned as editor of the Dispatch and a few minutes ago I broke the news to my team here at the paper. Since I know Twitter et al will be buzzing with news anyway I thought I must write something on my blog.  I have been editor since December 2008. When I was appointed it was a dream come true and deciding to give up this job was the hardest decision I've had to make in my career.

I would have liked to have been here for another couple of years at least I've learned over the years that sometimes opportunities arise at inopportune moments. Sometimes you have to take a breath and make a leap and that's what I'm doing.

I will be joining Media24 who are a persistent lot. They won me over with a vision for journalism, for their titles and for their business that was powerful enough to get me to give up the job that I love and for which I had worked my whole career. I think that says a lot.

I have gone from being terrified at the job they have offered me (details from their side later although I suspect this will already be known on the grapevine), to relishing the challenge.

I must thank my current employers, Avusa, and the many people with whom I have worked over the last 15 years or so. These people have shaped my career and have given me access to amazing opportunities and adventures. Later I will pay tribute to everyone in more detail but I owe them what I have achieved so far and I'm grateful for what they have done for me.

I started my reporting career at the Dispatch 20 years ago and it was here that I was inspired by its history and traditions. People like Donald Woods and my first editor, Glyn Williams, were important role models in my career.
After I left the Dispatch for new adventures in alternative news agencies, radio and, later, the Sunday Times, I set myself a goal that one day I would return and be the Dispatch editor.

Two years ago that dream came true and seems like yesterday that I can remember standing in the newsroom and shedding a tear of pride when the news was announced that I would have the chance to lead this incredible paper.

Over the last two years I have had a wonderful time. It has been the highlight of my career so far. I have relished the relationship I have had with readers who regard this newspaper as something they own (which they do) and of which they are proud defenders (thank you).

At the Dispatch we have experimented with forms of journalism which are rarely used in South Africa like civic journalism (which is now a cornerstone of our newsroom) as well as with GIS-based reporting, we have played with Computer-Aided Reporting, covering stories on Twitter and blogging the news live on our website.

My team has won more reporting awards over the last couple of years than I can count including the biggies in Vodacom, Mondi Shanduka, Taco Kuiper, CNN Africa Journalist of the Year (for online). Over the last couple of years the Dispatch has built a reputation for being a big, little paper and it has built a reputation for pioneering investigative reporting in both print and online. It has been so rewarding to be a part of this.

But it has also been a tough time to be an editor of a newspaper in South Africa, and, I suppose, anywhere in the world. As I became editor the recession was breaking around our ears and one of the first things I had to do was oversee the departure of more than 20% of our editorial staff. It was tough, but it had to be done for the paper to survive and we did survive the recession, winning awards and performing well despite the financial and resource pressure that we faced.

The Dispatch did that because there is a fantastic team here from editorial, to circulation, printing, advertising, marketing and support services, and because we have some quality leaders.

Being an editor is probably one of the best jobs you could possibly want to do. It can be complex, frustrating, tedious and exhilarating. Every day is different and a challenge.

It's going to be hard to say goodbye, but digging up stories, the coal-face of journalism, breaking a scoop... this is why I became a journalist in the first place. These are the things that get me up in the morning. These things are close to my heart and this new challenge takes me closer to doing that than an editorship allows.

I'll be leaving at the end of August to start at Media24 on September 1 so there's plenty of time for goodbyes. After 15 years at Avusa and its predecessors it's like leaving a family.

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