Defend Truth
Estelle Ellis
What I cover
I write about the Eastern Cape. I have had this role since 2019. Sometimes I will write breaking news, but other times you can catch me being an enormous nuisance in the provincial corridors of power – all for the greater good. I am also a specialist health writer and a specialist justice reporter – depending on the day’s news agenda, you might see stories in these two fields from me that go beyond the Fish River. My stories are always about people and often about the impact of abusive systems. The impact of our stories is more than just the number of clicks they get – they have the power to change the world.
My background
I studied at Stellenbosch University and Stellenbosch University Business School. I have won several awards, including four Discovery Health Journalist Awards, the Discovery Community Builder of the Year Award, several Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards and several Standard Bank Sikuvile Awards. I have worked at several major newspapers, including Die Burger, Cape Argus, The Star and The Herald in Nelson Mandela Bay. I am actively involved in fighting hunger in our metro. It is my mission to ensure that children have enough to eat in the first 1,000 days of their lives. I also serve on the executive committee for Siyavuka for Kids. We facilitate community involvement in the paediatric wards at Nelson Mandela Bay’s state hospitals. We are in the process of building our own children’s hospital in the Eastern Cape. I am also the patient slave to the world’s best cat and an amateur vegetable farmer.
Journalistic ethics
Truth above everything. Fairness first. No single-source journalism. The Press Code is my guide. I never repeat off-the-record information. Being first is not as important as being right.
