Adriaan Jurgens Basson is a South African journalist who has been the editor-in-chief of News24 since April 2016. Known for his

investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend m ...

, he was formerly the editor of Netwerk24 and '' Beeld''.

Career

After matriculating at Brackenfell High School in 1999, Basson attended

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

, where he was editor of '' Die Matie'' in 2002. He began his career in 2003 as a reporter at '' Beeld'', an

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

daily newspaper. Thereafter he spent three years as an investigative reporter at the ''

Mail & Guardian The ''Mail & Guardian'', formerly the ''Weekly Mail'', is a South African weekly newspaper and website, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, loca ...

'', where, with Sam Sole and Stefaans Brümmer, he was one of three founding members of

amaBhungane AmaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism is an investigative journalism organisation focusing primarily on exposing political corruption in South Africa and neighbouring countries. They say that their name means “dung beetles” in is ...

in 2010. He went on to become assistant editor at '' City Press''. During this period, in 2011, he was named one of the ''Mail & Guardian'''s 200 Young South Africans. He left ''City Press'' on 1 October 2013 to return to ''Beeld'' as editor. In September 2015 he was appointed as editor of Netwerk24, another Afrikaans-language publication in the

Media24 Media24 is a South Africa, South African mass media company with interests in digital media and services, newspapers, magazines, ecommerce, publishing, television, logistics, and distribution. Established in 2000, and owned by Naspers, the com ...

stable. Basson became editor-in-chief of News24 on 1 April 2016. He was also deputy chairperson of the

South African National Editors' Forum The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a South African-based non-profit membership organisation for editors, senior journalists and journalism trainers. The SANEF supports South African journalism through a number of activities rang ...

between 2020 and 2022.

Notable investigations and awards

In 2006, at ''Beeld'', Basson began investigating

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

at the Department of Correctional Services. He and Carien du Plessis received the 2006 Taco Kuiper Award for Investigative Journalism for their exposés of the relationship between prisons commissioner Linda Mti and contractor Bosasa. Basson continued to investigate Bosasa contracts in later years, leading to a

defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

suit in which he successfully asserted source protection privileges. He later appeared before the Zondo Commission to testify about his investigation. While at the ''Mail & Guardian'', Basson, Sole, and Brümmer received the 2008 Taco Kuiper Award for their reporting on Arms Deal corruption. At ''City Press'', Basson and Piet Rampedi led a prolonged investigation into the commercial interests of rising youth politician

Julius Malema Julius Sello Malema (born 3 March 1981) is a South African politician. He is the founder and leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a communist political party known for the red berets and military-style outfits worn by its members. Be ...

, which was recognised with the general print news award at the 2012

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

African Journalist Awards. The following year, Basson and Paddy Harper won the Sikuvile Journalist of the Year Award for their reporting on the Nkandla scandal.

Books

Basson's books include ''Finish & Klaar: Selebi’s Fall from Interpol to the Underworld'' (2010), ''Blessed by Bosasa'' (2023), and, with Qaanitah Hunter, ''Who Will Rule South Africa?'' (2023). He has also written two books about

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

: ''Zuma Exposed'' (2012) and, with Pieter du Toit, ''

Enemy of the People The terms enemy of the people and enemy of the nation are designations for the political opponents and the social class, social-class opponents of the Power (social and political), power group within a larger social unit, who, thus identified, ...

'' (2017).

Personal life

He is married to radio producer Cecile Basson. They have two children.

References

External links

* Living people 21st-century South African journalists {{DEFAULTSORT:Basson, Adriaan Afrikaner people South African investigative journalists South African newspaper editors South African newspaper journalists Stellenbosch University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)