Prof George Claassen is seen as the pioneer of science communication in Africa. He is currently the public editor of News24 and the ombud of Media24. He recently spoke to MatieMedia’s Andrea de Lilly about his career and why he hasn’t retired yet.
The year is 1974 and George Claassen, a young man from a small town in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, is about to start his journalism career. Completely unbeknownst to him is the impact he will make in the South African media industry in the years to follow.
Claassen, the current public editor of News24 and ombud of Media24, talks about his career in journalism with a certain sense of assurance and passion for the discipline. Perhaps this is why he has yet to retire at the age of 72.
“Life is fun if you don’t take it too seriously, [because] life can be very cruel,” says Prof George Claassen on why it is important to have a good sense of humour. PHOTO: Andrea de Lilly
“My journalism career started in 1974 at Beeld,” says Claassen, recalling how he was thrown into the deep end during his days as a junior journalist. “They told us to go to the magistrate’s court in Pretoria and find a case [to] report on.”
His early exposure to journalism came in the form of the three daily newspapers read by his family: “Die Transvaler, Die Vaderland and The Star,” states Claassen.
“My mother loved those crossword puzzles in The Star,” says Claassen.
Claassen served as the head of the journalism department at Stellenbosch University (SU) from 1993 to 2001. After leaving the department in 2001 he joined Media24 and became deputy editor at Die Burger. By 2003, he became ombudsman of the same publication.
After leaving the journalism department at Stellenbosch University in 2001, Prof George Claassen was appointed deputy editor at Die Burger. Thereafter he served as Die Burger’s ombudsman until 2008. PHOTO: Andrea de Lilly.
“I was fortunate to follow in his footsteps as head of the department in January 2001, when he was appointed as deputy editor of Die Burger. And indeed, [they are] huge shoes to fill,” says Prof Lizette Rabe, the current head of the journalism department at SU.
In 2008, Claassen “retired”. For Claassen, retiring meant becoming the ombudsman for Media24’s community newspapers.
A guru in science communication
Claassen has been referred to as Africa’s “father of science communication”, as he was the first academic at an African university to create a journalism course focused on science and technology.
“Well, I think it’s a fair description because I started the whole thing,” says Claassen. “But it makes you feel like what you did [was] worthwhile.”
Prof George Claassen is an avid reader. Some of the book titles on his shelf include The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende and Married to the struggle by Liz Abrahams. PHOTO: Andrea de Lilly
The road to journalism
Claassen grew up as one of four children. “I was the third child,” he says, adding that they had a “very happy childhood”. He recounts his days of playing sports at school; hitting the ball during cricket games and long-distance running.
As a white family living in the Apartheid era, Claassen says that he and his siblings were very privileged in the opportunities that they were afforded. “We had a good education and all of the opportunities to go to universities and get scholarships,” says Claassen. “I first studied at (SU) [and] I got a scholarship to study toward a law degree.”
Claassen soon found that law was not the right profession for him. He shrugs. “I didn’t like it. I could [not] see myself in court dealing with the bad side of life,” says Claassen about his decision to not pursue a career in law.
Medicine was his true calling while growing up. “I wanted to go into medicine and to be a medical doctor. For my whole high school career medicine was my goal, until matric when law started to sound interesting,” says Claassen.
Prof George Claassen served as the head of the department of journalism at Stellenbosch University until 2001. He was succeeded by Prof Lizette Rabe. PHOTO: Andrea de Lilly
“Unretired retiree”
Claassen’s childhood love for cycling was reignited after his wife and children gifted him with a new bicycle for his 50th birthday.
“Maybe it is a hobby to eat good food, or to drink good wine,” he adds.
Claassen talks about his love for a wide variety of music genres, from rock bands to Coldplay. An Eminem CD might be hidden away somewhere in the Claassen household. “Life is fun if you don’t take it too seriously, [because] life can be very cruel,” says Claassen.
Broaching the unspoken topic of retirement, Classen shakes his head. “I can’t do nothing. I can’t just sit and read, I can be of value to society by helping to set standards. And that’s important.”
Keeping the brain active counters Alzheimer’s, dementia and becoming an “overall liability to society”, says Claassen on why he has put off retirement.
Prof George Claassen alongside his son, Nic. Cycling remains one of Claassen’s hobbies. PHOTO: Supplied/George Claassen
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
“Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt,” says Claassen, reciting one of his favourite quotes by William Shakespeare. According to him, as individuals, we often stand in our own way – blocking our potential.
“We put our hands up too little, but what we need to do is say ‘I’m here. I’m volunteering. I’m prepared to do it’,” he says.
“We are not too small to make a difference. You can easily get despondent, but if each one of us [does] something, we can make a difference in all sorts of ways,” he says.
*Andrea de Lilly is a member of the BAHons Journalism class of 2022 at Stellenbosch University. MatieMedia is produced independently by the students from this department.