War of Words: Memoir of a South African Journalist

The Rand Daily Mail was the journalistic conscience of apartheid South Africa, and Pogrund, who worked at the newspaper from 1958 until it was closed in 1985, was its specialist on black politics. His worthy but dry memoir focuses on professional more than personal history, detailing how the newspaper aimed to resist censorship, spot-light oppression and prepare readers for change while covering the momentous events of the 1960s and the years following. As a college student in Cape Town, Pogrund made his first contacts across racial lines; he also concluded that communism was no alternative to apartheid. As a journalist, he put in time at black political meetings, gaining insight and earning trust--so much so that he received phone calls from Nelson Mandela when the black leader was in hiding. Resisting restrictions on reporting, Pogrund produced a 1965 series on South African jail conditions that shocked the world. The Mail forged on until it was closed by its owners (establishment businessmen who grew uncomfortable with the paper's finances and politics)--and Pogrund has set the historical record straight by getting them to acknowledge their shortsightedness. He describes his professional ethos as ""dispassionate""--he sought to avoid judgment in news articles while expressing more of a viewpoint in his feature articles. His resistance to advocacy journalism deserves more reflection here, as does his close friendship with black leader Robert Sobukwe, who is barely mentioned. Pogrund, who briefly mentions his ""private passion"" for the preservation of political documentary material, is a more interesting personality than he lets on. Photos not seen by PW. (Apr.)