Daily Maverick inspires change through courageous journalism and community engagement

Daily Maverick was founded in 2009, now 16 years ago – so you would be forgiven for thinking of us as a precocious teenager!

These annual gatherings have become a ritual of sorts.

It serves as a space for celebrating our work, for bonding with our very valued supporters. It’s an annual stock taking, a pragmatic and spiritual affirming of our goals and as a collective learning space as we spend a day listening to important and diverse voices.

This year’s Gathering and its theme also offer us a reminder that change, when rooted in integrity and action, is still the most powerful tool we have to shape the future — not only of our nation, but of our place in a rapidly changing world.

Our work, our country, the world, life… is so very complex.

We face immense challenges as a society.

• Brutal wars and a diminishing of respect for human rights;
• The destruction of our Earth;
• The chaos of fake news and the disinformation monster machine; and
• Artificial intelligence and digital transformation.

And so much more.

South Africa and all countries in the world are at the mercy of these factors, which present both opportunity and risk.

How boldly and courageously will we meet these challenges?

How will we adapt and transition with our values intact, with human rights at the centre of our decisions, with our eyes on the prize of equality, freedom and prosperity for all, rather than greed, exploitation and dominance?

As hard as our work is in making sense of these complexities, there is a kind of supreme simplicity to be found in the essence of journalism and in our reason for existing as a news organisation.

Journalism is a force for good, of truth-telling and accountability against power, censorship and brutality.

Telling the truth is a mammoth undertaking that is intensely difficult, increasingly dangerous, but absolutely and profoundly important.

Its destruction is a major threat to democracy, to peace and to a stable world order.

Journalist, political commentator and author Walter Lippmann said it well: “There can be no higher law in journalism than to tell the truth and shame the devil.”

This moral imperative of truthfulness has never in the history of the modern world been more dangerous.

We are at present in the midst of the deadliest period for journalists in recorded history.

In 2022, 88 journalists were killed, 129 the following year. And in Gaza alone, since the war started, 247 journalists have been killed.

Our colleagues are being murdered, often in circumstances where they are the last witnesses to unspeakable horrors that are brought to bear on often helpless civilians, including thousands and thousands of defenceless children.

Our ship is sailing in extremely dangerous waters and it requires considered, value-driven and morally inspired navigation if we are to survive.

Challenging these complexities and shining a light in the darkness that threatens… requires a spirit that seeks positive change for humanity.

It is a spirit that stands on the side of human rights, no matter the situation.

And so we trim our sails with truth-telling that can shift the trajectory.

This is the WHY of our work.

This is what we strive for, sweat for and suffer for.

Our promise at Daily Maverick and our commitment to you is to continue the work.

As Mavericks, we are wilfully independent and have an unbreakable spirit to achieve our goals, despite opposition.

We will do so in memory of our fallen colleagues around the globe and alongside you and so many in our beautiful country who continue to try to make things better… for themselves, their communities and the environment.

We suspect you share this view. You also hear this voice that says change is possible and important.

This is why you become our supporters. For the cost of four capuccinos a month, you become Insiders.

When we launched our Maverick Insider membership seven years ago, we promised you community and today I am proud to announce the public launch of Daily Maverick Connect. This is your space to network, to connect, to talk, to listen and to pitch in.

We believe that Daily Maverick Connect will provide the connection that social media promised, but failed dismally to deliver.

It’s your platform to drive the change you would like to see around you.

The change we speak of is never abstract. At its best, it positively alters the lives of ordinary people, making them safer, freer and more hopeful. It demands courage.

The South African people are often powerful agents of transformation.

How proud we stand in the world when we find our courage, our spirit.

This Gathering is an opportunity for change-making. It is dialogue-anchored action.

It is a witnessing of powerful stories of real change makers, living examples of what courage, innovation and resilience can achieve.

These must serve as a catalyst, a spark that connects citizens to ideas, leaders to accountability and individuals to the possibility of agency.

We hope the gathering will bring new momentum to drive impactful change, not as a luxury, but as a dire need.

Our challenges are urgent, but so too is our capacity to innovate, to resist and to lead.

The stories we produce are often, as the saying goes, a very rough draft of history. It can be messy, often imperfect, yet has an unquestionable impact.

Just last week we faced a gag order, an urgent interdict in the Johannesburg high court for the work of our journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh.

It aimed to silence us, to stop our investigation and publication of allegations of irregularities worth millions relating to contracts with the Independent Development Trust.

It even sought to stop us from speaking about this at this very Gathering. I am happy to say it was unsuccessful.

While legal action and threats (even death threats) against us are not uncommon, it is an affair that can cost millions and is exhausting for our limited financial and human resources.

To land such a story takes enormous skill, courage, commitment and time.

It brings home the notion that journalism is a calling, a service to the greater good.

And it’s but one example of the power of robust journalism.

Other work resulted in finding a water pump that a municipality lost, feeding children during a school holiday who otherwise would have gone hungry, and reporting that led to the Karpowership cancellation.

Many of our stories, done with the help of brave, ordinary citizens, often become the spark that lights a fire which draws attention from other players whose action (alongside our own) burns change into the lived realities of our people.

Our industry has saved our nation billions in recovered and halted corruption.

And yet the corruption continues. It is most acutely felt in our municipalities. And it is no coincidence that with the decline of local journalism, so too came the decline of our cities.

Daily Maverick is changing that.

In May this year, we launched our first dedicated local bureau in Nelson Mandela Bay, providing its residents with the aptly titled “Baywatch” newsletter.

Joburg, my city, is crumbling. Streets are potholed, water leaks are commonplace. We must bring accountability back.

And so, we are. It is my great pleasure to announce today that our next metro bureau will be in Johannesburg and will launch by October.

Our vision is to open similar bureaus in the 10 largest metros in South Africa. We can do it with your help.

But today, we invite you to listen deeply, to challenge assumptions, to bring new ideas into the public square and to leave this Gathering with the courage to act.

Change will come from the collective energy of all who gather.

My thanks to you all for your involvement and continued support, your constructive criticism, which makes us stronger and your support that keeps us steady.

I ask you to put your hands together in applause for the Daily Maverick team and journalists who bring South Africa to life.

Let’s applaud them in acknowledgement of their courage and to show them our gratitude for their work.

Let’s applaud the insiders and friends of journalism nationally and internationally. Each one of you.

And the citizens in this country and elsewhere who bring the truth of their experiences to our attention.

The multitude of people across our spheres who have the courage to do good, to spend their days serving the community and uplifting our nation.

These are the human bearers of the spirit we speak of.

The team at Daily Maverick acknowledges, thanks and salutes you.

And with that, I declare The Gathering officially opened!

Nkosi… Dankie… Thank you. DM