The Media Development and Diversity Agency congratulates Coal City News and the owner Ms Michelle Mashiane of Lola Michelle Model Management Promotions and Publishing, for being voted the best company ran by young people at the Emalahleni Mayoral Best Achiever's Awards 2008. Ms Mashiane was also voted the “Best Young Entrepreneur.”
The Announcement was made at the function, which was held at the Emalahleni Town Hall, in the Mpumalanga Province on Friday 28th November. The Awards are held annually and honour various companies as well as social clubs who have contributed to the overall growth of the region. The evening function was attended by the top brass in the Emalahleni District Municipality as well as the CEOs of both BHP Billiton and Anglo American, as the sponsors of the event.
Ms Mashiane, founder and owner of Coal City News was born and bred in Witbank and completed her tertiary education at Nkangala FET College where she got her Diploma in Business Management. After she struggled to get employment, she decided to take a chance and follow one of her passions, publishing.
“With meagre start-up funds and only a dream, I started a newspaper in Emalahleni by going from door to door to convince advertisers to buy into my dream. I knew that if they place enough adverts whenever we print, the paper will survive,” says Ms Mashiane in retrospect.
Mashiane formed the publication in 2003, and it is indeed the first newspaper owned by a black female in the province. With a print order of 10 000 copies the newspaper comes out every second week of the month and is distributed in the following towns of Nkangala District; Witbank, Middelburg, Kriel and Ogies.
“Our vision is to provide the local public with relevant news and offer advertising space at an affordable rate to Companies and local businesses, while at the same time we uplift the standard of the community to the highest level,” she emphasises.
Ms Mashiane's dedication and vision has seen Coal City News survive and continue to thrive, while some of the small community newspapers sometimes falter and die, as the printing and publishing environment in South Africa is still very harsh to small commercial publications.
The MDDA first sponsored Coal City News in November 2006, by providing funds to conduct a feasibility study to ascertain the viability of the community newspaper in the region. This was followed by further funding to cover printing and distribution costs as well as training.
The training has paid off as the newspaper is being recognised by the public as a company that makes a difference in the community. Coal City News also made history in 2008 by being the first black paper in Mpumalanga to form partnerships with National and International Companies such as Xstrata Coal SA, Umsobomvu Youth Fund, as well as the German Development Service (DED).
The MDDA salutes Coal City News and Ms Mashiane, as a development agency, we will continue to assist in building an environment where a diverse, vibrant and creative media flourishes and reflects the needs of all South Africans. Halala!
