Emmanuel Tjiya, Sowetan S Mag
We spoke with Emmanuel Tjiya, who shares his encouraging story of how the path of journalism was always in his calling – most especially in magazines and fashion, where he spent a lot of his weekly allowance growing up. Today, he is the Editor in Chief of the quarterly lifestyle magazine, Sowetan S Mag of the Sowetan Newspaper.
What led you into journalism, and what would you be doing if you weren’t a journalist?
I considered a career in medicine because my family pushed for it and I was to be the first doctor in the family, the cliche story. I got good grades, but after taking a gap year, my path became clearer and I followed it. In hindsight, a career in journalism was always my calling, especially in magazines and fashion. To be philosophical, it chose me. I have been writing for almost all my life, long before a career in writing was plausible for me. I’m more comfortable with words than my own personal life [laugh].
Growing up I used to spend all my weekly allowance on fashion and entertainment magazines like True Love, Hello, Drum, Heat, Pace and TV Plus. Drove my mother insane because I was attached to every copy and never discarded them. So they piled up. I was a messy kid (still am) so my room never met her standard of neatness.
When I moved out at 17, I advanced to international titles like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar; then next came Vulture, The Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly. I always wanted the standard of the work I did to measure up to those titles, until today. But over the years I’ve also dedicated a lot of time and attention to the craft starting as a blogger in 2010 (made zero cent) and then moving to online content producer in 2015 at Sowetan Live and Sunday World (made my first cheque). But after three years, I needed a new challenge, so I moved to newspapers in 2018 as an entertainment reporter for Sowetan. Working for a daily the energy was different, fast-paced and more deadline-driven; it thrilled me. That led to my appointment as editor of the quarterly magazine Sowetan S Mag in 2021.
It’s important for the international community to entrust and invest in the vision and business of young people. Not just as a performance; give them room to do what they do best through an authentic African lens
When you’re researching stories, what compels you to work on sharing a particular story with your audience? Any hot trends we should look out for in the coming months?
For me, it’s all about telling people’s stories with honesty and integrity. With the rise of citizen journalism and fake news, more than ever I have dedicated my work to being credible, at all cost. That is informed by strong journalistic ethics and a press code. It’s not about following hot trends and being first.
So at the moment, I’m currently working on the youth Issue of SMag, coinciding with Youth and Pride Month in June. So we are going to be interrogating a lot of topics driven by youth culture; while simultaneously highlighting LGBTQI issues.
Which sectors or industries do you like to cover most and why?
Fashion and entertainment. As mentioned above, that has been the driving force of my journalism career. I enjoy being a pop culture vulture. Now more than ever, there is a new narrative being written by young people with the music genre Amapiano taking over the global stage thanks to the likes of Kabza de Small, Maphorisa and Tyla. Burna Boy, Wizkid, Tems and Ayra Starr are doing the same with Afrobeat in Nigeria.
The arrival of streaming services such as Netflix, Prime Video and Showmax have taken filmmaking in Africa to new heights with Thuso Mbedu, Nomzamo Mbatha and Trevor Noah breaking new ground in Hollywood. Fashion is also enjoying its golden era, with talent like Thebe Magugu, Rich Mnisi, Lukhanyo Mdingi, Wanda Lephoto and Sindiso Khumalo introducing African luxury to the world and proving that African fashion is much more than the tribal print. So it’s exciting to have a front-row seat and inform the world about such issues of Black excellence.
There are a lot of great young minds and ideas in Africa, but the only thing separating them from other counterparts in Europe or America is opportunity.
Why is it important that people around the world get to hear about young, growing companies on the continent?
It’s important for the international community to entrust and invest in the vision and business of young people. Not just as a performance; give them room to do what they do best through an authentic African lens. Don’t always dictate. There are a lot of great young minds and ideas in Africa, but the only thing separating them from other counterparts in Europe or America is opportunity. So I’m looking forward to seeing more African stories being told by Africans; not just for cool points, but for economic freedom.
How can we encourage more people to join the writing community and dedicate their energy to telling stories about African tech and business?
Before we even get to identifying and encouraging people to write more, access to data is more important. As someone who started as a blogger, that was my biggest challenge. But above all I will urge young people to be self-starters, don’t wait for someone to understand your vision and ideas; then provide a platform to publish your stories. Start that platform, there are many online tools that can empower one. Seek mentorship too. Be visible, until they cannot ignore you anymore. In the age of information, dreams do come true.