Start of a new era

In a matter of days East London’s favourite daily read will be produced from a contemporary new building befitting the digital age.

After a century of producing award-winning journalism and covering stories that reflected not only life-changing historical events, but also the daily struggles and triumphs of our communities from what was once a wool store in Caxton Street, the Daily Dispatch is moving to a new building in Quinera Drive, Beacon Bay.

Staff will no longer make their way through the hefty revolving door with its brass trim every morning and ascend the imposing wooden staircase or take the temperamental antique Otis lift to their desks.

Instead they will park their cars in the spacious paved parking lot of the custom designed building and glide through the double volume foyer with its polished floors, industrial-chic exposed rafters and world-class newsroom.

Leaving the old building behind will evoke a sentimental response not only from current staff, but also from former Dispatchers now scattered all over the globe who honed their skills in the old building and contributed to the paper’s proud 143-year history of never missing a scheduled edition.

In its contemporary new home, the editorial floor, where stories are crafted amid a wild flurry of deadlines, section editors will sit in a collaborative circle. Banks of contemporary new white desks housing reporters, photographers, online staff and sub-editors will fan out from this so-called golden circle.

Interiors have been designed in such a way as to facilitate integration between departments and to this end the Dispatch’s bustling advertising floor will be connected to the editorial buzz below via a large circular aperture.

Seven balconies on the first floor will also enable staff from various departments to share ideas while taking in the views, while two “pause rooms” – one on each floor – will become hubs of coffee drinking camaraderie.

In addition to its distinctive architecture by East London architect Marius Greeff of Architects in Africa, the building which is sure to become an iconic East London landmark, will also be equipped with cutting-edge technology.

Fibre optic lines will replace the tangle of obsolete cabling that winds its way through the CBD building and Wi-Fi will ensure the paper is en pointe when it comes to speedy, up-to-the-minute communications.

The new building, which is part of the trendy Triple Point development, will also be a pleasant location for Daily Dispatch’s visitors with ample, easily accessible parking away from the hurly-burly of the city centre.

And, while Dispatch editor Bongani Siqoko, who has been appointed as the new editor of the Sunday Times, will not be joining his staff at the paper’s exciting new space, he had this to say about its new era:

“This is the beginning of an exciting journey for the Dispatch. It is long overdue. What makes me so happy is that it sends a strong message to the city and all those who are interested to see this beautiful city of ours grow and develop, that the Daily Dispatch is here for the long haul. It is a pity that I will not reach the promised land.” – barbarah@dispatch.co.za