Barberton’s Bygone Editors Break New Ground

The community in the historic town of Barberton, Mpumalanga, nestled in the heart of the De Kaap Valley, will once again find its voice with the launch of De Kaap Echo. This fresh, online publication aims to celebrate the spirit of this unique region, its people, and its stories.

In a world saturated with breaking news and political commentary, De Kaap Echo will take a different approach. “There is more than enough hard news in mainstream media,” said Anchen Coetzee, founder and CEO of iOlogue Media (Pty) Ltd. “The community stories that used to live in the pages of local papers, all but disappeared when the town’s publication closed down. Not unlike Barberton, when Umjindi was swallowed up by Mbombela.”

The editor is Lynette Spencer, who, under her former name Lynette Louw, once served as editor of the Barberton Times (Lowveld Media). After returning to her career in teaching, she was succeeded by Coetzee, who managed the Barberton Times office until it closed in mid-2016. Coetzee was the final editor of the Barberton Times’ office.

Since then, Coetzee has remained active in media, founding Ama’Zone Media t/a Africa InTouch in 2016, and later evolving the brand into iOlogue Media in 2020. Under the iOlogue Media banner, the team has gone on to deliver high-quality content to companies around the globe.

Spencer, now a full-time teacher at Laerskool Barberton Primary, has been a long-time senior content writer for iOlogue Media and brings deep local insight and an enduring love for Barberton and its people. “With the red tape, commercial pressures, and unreachable targets of traditional media out of the way, we believe Barberton deserves a platform that truly reflects its heartbeat,” said Spencer.

The choice of Barberton for this new initiative was deliberate. Once a business mecca in the Lowveld, Barberton boasts a legacy of South African firsts, including the country’s first stock exchange. Long before Nelspruit became the bustling Lowveld centre it is today; Barberton was the heart of it all. To this day, it is still affectionately known as the De Kaap Valley (Vallei), hence the name of this publication.

Importantly, De Kaap Echo is not built on an advertising-based model. “Although advertising will be available in the future, it’s not our main focus. We’re not selling ad space or pushing pages full of irrelevant clutter. Our income structure will be based on honest content production, not exploitative advertising,” said Coetzee, and continued: “We won’t pressure reps with impossible targets or milk small businesses dry. Our focus is storytelling, as well as lifestyle content – not advertising sales.”

Spencer added that witnessing how easily vital local stories were lost when Barberton Times closed was what ultimately led her to accept this new challenge.

As far as iOlogue Media is concerned, it is always people over profit. “To this day, it remains my motto, even within our own team. I’m fully transparent in all company dealings. Every writer knows exactly why a decision is made, and they will always weigh heavier than profits in my books. Always,” said Coetzee.

This was not a rash decision. The idea for De Kaap Echo has been six years in the making, with countless returns to the drawing board. “After all, time is money, and it was extremely challenging to get to a point where the people putting in the work still get paid without leaning on ad revenue. The timing is now right. Over the past nine years, we’ve become a highly functioning media network.”

Africa InTouch News, in the stable of iOlogue Media, has, in approximately a month, rolled out three regional publications, with De Kaap Echo now joining Karoo Times and Rivier Rekord as the latest, but not the final, in a growing portfolio of community-driven media.

The core team of six has been with the company for between four and nine years. There is no ongoing turnaround of writers.

“The team we have today is the team that helped build this from the ground up. We’ve grown together, we look out for one another, and that stability is part of our strength,” said Coetzee.

“Long before Nelspruit took the spotlight, Barberton led the way. Its community and businesses deserve to be recognised for what they are: the original heartbeat of the Lowveld. De Kaap Echo is here to restore that recognition. No hard news. No politics. Just purpose-driven, integrity-led community storytelling,” said Spencer.

Coetzee added that with Spencer at the helm, and her deep and unwavering love for the De Kaap Valley and its people, this story is ready to be written.

Stay connected with De Kaap Echo on Facebook, or reach out to Lynette Spencer directly via email or WhatsApp.