Tributes to Dennis Pather: Celebrating a pioneering editor in South Africa

Former editor of The Mercury newspaper, Dennis Pather, has been hailed as a skilled journalist, an excellent manager, and a man with a great sense of humour.

Pather served as editor of several newspaper titles in the Independent Media group, including The Post and the Daily News. He passed away peacefully yesterday. Tributes have continued to pour in following the news of his passing.

Editor of The Mercury, Philani Mazibuko, said, “When I joined The Mercury as an intern in 2000, Mr Pather was the editor. Despite my being a budding journalist, he invited me to his office and showed a genuine interest in getting to know me. His warmth and sincerity made me feel at home. Condolences to his family, and may his soul rest in peace.”

Former Independent on Saturday editor Deon Delport said he was gregarious, with a great sense of humour, and he dressed well. “It was a pleasure to work with him,” Delport said.

He noted that Pather was one of the first journalists of colour to join a major city newspaper and that he covered politics extensively. He would travel across the province and had to journey to uThukela, which was difficult as Indian journalists could not stay overnight. “He was a great journalist with broad contacts. He did a great job while working with The Post. He was there for a long time,” he said.

Former senior journalist at Independent Media, Mbulelo Baloyi, posted, “I consider myself one of the lucky, privileged few who got to be mentored by the erstwhile Daily News editor, Mr Dennis Pather, during my stint as a scribe. Between July 2001 and January 2007, I worked very closely with the late Mr Pather as a senior journalist, even during the dynamic days of journalism that was The Hub, a concept of self-managing writing teams.

“Mr Pather once entrusted me to interview Lucky Moloi, who was president of the Provincial Chamber of Commerce. So long, Mr Pather; you have completed your journalism innings. Sincere condolences to your family and close relations, and to the journalism fraternity. May his beautiful and kind soul continue to rest in peace,” Baloyi said.

Krisendra Bisetty, a practising attorney and former editor of POST, said Pather’s death is a blow to journalism and to those who practised it with passion, especially in KwaZulu-Natal. “He was an old-school journalist widely admired for his professionalism, integrity and for always turning out the best possible paper,” said Bisetty, recalling his time as a Daily News reporter when Pather was editor.

“His quiet demeanour belied an inquiring and decisive mind. He had a fierce commitment to powerful and consequential reporting,” said Bisetty. He added that Pather, the first black editor of the Daily News, who edited various newspaper titles, was a trailblazer.

“I am deeply saddened by Dennis’s passing and pass my condolences to all who knew and loved him. “He was an old-school journalist admired for his professionalism and integrity, as well as strong content and bold headlines. I am grateful for all that he taught me, his guidance, for always standing by his journalists, and for allowing me so much freedom in my writing on various issues, mostly on educational matters at the time. His death has left a tremendous void in journalism.”

Pather’s son, Brendan Pather, said storytelling came naturally to his father.

“I have fond memories, as a kid, of his amazing stories making everyday life an adventure for me and my sister.”

“I often paid close attention to my father’s conversations and realised, after studying him closely, that the art of effective communication begins with listening. And there were few better listeners than my father,” said Brendan.

THE MERCURY