Anton Harber was the founding editor of the anti-apartheid newspaper, The Weekly Mail (now the Mail & Guardian), which built a reputation for investigative exposés. He was also editor-in-chief of the country’s biggest news channel, eNCA. From 2001 to 2023, he was the Caxton Chair of Journalism at the University of the Witwatersrand where he taught investigative journalism.

Harber founded and convened the African Investigative Journalism Conference (AIJC) for 18 years. In 2017, Harber helped bring the Global Investigative Journalism Conference (GIJC) to Africa for the first time.

He convened the Taco Kuiper Award for Investigative Journalism, the country’s most prestigious journalism award, and in 2023, launched the African Investigative Journalism Award. He is chair of Africa Check, the continent’s oldest fact-checking operation, and a board member of the Centre for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ).

Harber served as chair of the South African Conference of Editors and the National Association of Broadcasters.

Harber runs the non-profit Henry Nxumalo Foundation, which funds investigative journalism projects.

He has written or edited a number of books, including “Diepsloot” (2011, Jonathan Ball); “Southern African Muckrakers: 300 Years of Investigative Reporting That Shaped the Region” (2019, Jacana); and “So, for the Record: Behind the Headlines in an Era of State Capture” (2020, Jonathan Ball).

He writes regularly for Business Day, Daily Maverick, and News24.

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