SANEF Mourns Donwald Pressly’s Death
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) sadly notes the passing of veteran journalist and editor, Donwald Pressly.
Pressly, a former journalist, and Cape Town bureau chief of Business Report, has been ill for some time after he was diagnosed with cancer. Pressly covered parliamentary news for twenty-five years until recently, he was a freelance journalist writing for outlets such as BizNews.
While covering Parliament, Pressly had a stint as chairperson of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. Pressly was one of the leading figures of the Cape Town Press Club, where he held several positions.
Before his focus on business journalism, Pressly covered parliamentary politics mostly for the morning newspapers. This is where he became friends with several politicians, across various political formations.
Pressly graduated from Rhodes University, earning a degree in politics. He also obtained a journalism qualification from Duke University.
Pressly wrote a book looking at the official opposition, titled The Changing Face of the DA. At some point in his journalism career, there was controversy when Pressly sought political office with the DA, while he was still a practicing journalist with Business Report.
He is survived by his wife, Jean-Marie de Waal.
Note to Editors: The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists, and journalism trainers from all areas of South African media. We are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics, and diversity in the South African media. We promote excellence in journalism through fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, research, and education and training programmes. SANEF is not a union.
For more information please contact:
- Sbu Ngalwa – SANEF Chairperson (073) 404-1415
- Nwabisa Makunga – SANEF Deputy Chairperson (082) 555-1972
- Mary Papayya – SANEF Secretary-General (082) 379 4957
- Tshamano Makhadi – Treasurer-General (082) 223 0621
- Makhudu Sefara – SANEF Media Freedom Chair (079) 177-2134
- Judy Sandison – SANEF KZN Convenor (082) 571-3334
- Dr. Glenda Daniels – SANEF Gauteng Convenor (083) 229-9708
- Rochelle De Kock – SANEF Eastern Cape Convenor (072) 969-8028
- Reggy Moalusi – SANEF Executive Director (071) 682-3695
