Home SPI Staff
Francis Mdlongwa - DIRECTOR
Direct Office Telephone: +27-(0)-46-603-8781
Office Fax : +27-(0)-46-622-9591
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Office Fax : +27-(0)-46-622-9591
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Francis Mdlongwa distinguished himself as an international desk editor, bureau chief and roving correspondent of Reuters, the world’s leading
news agency which employed him in several world capitals, including London, Nairobi and Harare, in the 1980s and 1990s.
He broke the story of the 1991 overthrow of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev by rightwing military and political leaders. He has covered Africa’s civil wars and peace in diverse countries, stretching
from Ethiopia and Sudan in the North, Kenya and the Seychelles in East Africa to South Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe in the South.
Mdlongwa was Group Editor-in-Chief of Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe, publishers of the country’s leading daily, the Daily News, and its sister Daily News on Sunday when the two
newspapers were banned by the government in 2003 for their reportage which the authorities deemed to be too critical of the government.
Mdlongwa has headed several other African media organisations, including being Head of News and Current Affairs at Channel Africa, the Johannesburg-based external news service of the South African Broadcasting Corporation. He has been Editor-in-Chief of the Financial Gazette, a leading Zimbabwean financial and political newspaper noted for its authoritative and wide-ranging coverage of Southern Africa.
news agency which employed him in several world capitals, including London, Nairobi and Harare, in the 1980s and 1990s.
He broke the story of the 1991 overthrow of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev by rightwing military and political leaders. He has covered Africa’s civil wars and peace in diverse countries, stretching
from Ethiopia and Sudan in the North, Kenya and the Seychelles in East Africa to South Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe in the South.
Mdlongwa was Group Editor-in-Chief of Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe, publishers of the country’s leading daily, the Daily News, and its sister Daily News on Sunday when the two
newspapers were banned by the government in 2003 for their reportage which the authorities deemed to be too critical of the government.
Mdlongwa has headed several other African media organisations, including being Head of News and Current Affairs at Channel Africa, the Johannesburg-based external news service of the South African Broadcasting Corporation. He has been Editor-in-Chief of the Financial Gazette, a leading Zimbabwean financial and political newspaper noted for its authoritative and wide-ranging coverage of Southern Africa.
He is an international media consultant who has run journalism training programmes in Europe’s former eastern Bloc nations such as Serbia and Montenegro and in several African countries, including Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Mdlongwa has taught journalism courses to graduate students of Addis Ababa University’s School of Journalism and Communication. Since mid-2004 he has been head of Rhodes University’s Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership, a pioneering institute in Africa which offers high-level editorial and business courses to both practising and aspirant media leaders.
Peter Du Toit - DEPUTY DIRECTOR
Direct Office Tel.: +27-(0)-46-603-8783
Office Fax : +27-(0)-46-622-9591
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Prior to joining the institute in 2003, Peter was a partner in the Media Education and Training Agency, which specialised in providing training in media management, conflict reporting, election reporting and media and democracy. He has run courses in South Africa, Rwanda, Nigeria, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Zambia, Ghana, Indonesia, Egypt and East Timor. He has been responsible for developing and running the Department of J&MS’ media management courses over the past seven years, which also involved an intensive research project into the editorial management training needs across the SADC region. He has worked with the Times Media Ltd stable of papers in Port Elizabeth and served as news editor for the Development Media Agency in Grahamstown. Peter has a BA Hons (Politics) from the University of Port Elizabeth and a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism and Media Studies from
Rhodes and is completing a M.Ed in Higher Education at Rhodes. Peter's particular interests relate to the impact that managers can make in effectively leading media organisations.
Johanna Mavhungu - RESEARCHER
Direct Office Tel.: +27-(0)-46-603-8921
Office Fax: +27-(0)-46-622-9591
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Office Fax: +27-(0)-46-622-9591
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Johanna Mavhungu works as a media researcher at the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership (SPI) at Rhodes University. In
her work as a researcher she is involved in research that looks at trends in Media Management, producing data and knowledge that
helps in developing the training of Media Management courses. Johanna attended the University of the Witwatersrand where she achieved a first class honours certificate and then graduated with Honours in Dramatic Arts. After graduating, she worked as a tutor in film, visual and performing arts at Wits University. While pursuing her postgraduate studies, Johanna worked with Ochre Media as a researcher for broadcast television programmes on
community development, such as Soul City, which increased her involvement with media, research and development communication.
At the SPI she has worked and collaborated on research projects with the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), the Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSF-SA) and the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA). She is now working on her MA in Arts and Culture Management through Wits.
Linda Snam- COURSE CO-ORDINATOR, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER
Contact Details:
Office Tel: +27 (0)46 603 8851/8782
Fax Tel: +27 (0)46 622 9591
E-mail address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Office Tel: +27 (0)46 603 8851/8782
Fax Tel: +27 (0)46 622 9591
E-mail address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Linda Snam is the marketing-communications officer and course coordinator at the Sol Plaatje Institute. As marketing-communications officer, Linda takes
overall responsibility for the marketing, coordination and organisation of the SPI's PDMM year-long programme and its various short courses. She takes overall responsibility for the coordination and organisation of customised in-house training programmes and produces regular content updates for the SPI’s website and other media platforms. Linda manages the production and distribution of the SPI Newsletter and takes overall coordination and organisation of various SPI conferences.
As PDMM course coordinator, Linda takes control of the overall coordination of the course, acts as liaison between course lecturers and SPI Director, handling logistical issues, especially the coordination of modules that are entirely or partly outsourced. Academically, Linda holds Ndip: Marketing.
Linda also manages the SPI. Media Leadership blog. Check it out at: http://spiml.blogspot.com
Join SPI on twitter at http://twitter.com/spiml.
Siphokazi Mnyungula - ADMINISTRATOR
My name is Siphokazi Mnyungula, married with two kids. I was born and bred in Grahamstown-City of the Saints. After matriculating from Nombulelo Secondary School I completed a Certificate in Management Assistant from Eastcape Midlands College. In 2006, I was part of the Rhodes Internship programme from where I obtained a certificate in Office Administration and gained work experience from the Sociology department. I later secured a position at the ADC/ESU department (now known as CHERTL) in which I worked as a Data Capture/Secretary for twelve months.I later relocated in Johannesburg, to search for greener pastures but after three years of fast and busy life of the city, my family and I decided to return home. I recently have joined the SPI in April 2011 and am enjoying every moment of it!
