Interview with Stephen Grootes

Stephen Grootes started his B Journ degree at Rhodes University in 1994, auspicious year of the first free and fair elections in South Africa’s history. He has continued his career in a similar vein, working for long hours as a political reporter and becoming well known for his analysis of local political players and events. As the political landscape in democratic South Africa became increasingly complex and beset by corruption, Stephen has followed the important figures and stories with tenacity, being described as ‘the ‘thorn in the side’ of many politicians, managing to retrieve answers to all of the big questions.’ Starting his radio career at Rhodes Music Radio as a student, Stephen became well-known as the host of Midday Report on Radio 702 and 567 Cape Talk in 2012, later starting a new career with SAfm Radio as host of SAfm Sunrise, and as a presenter on 24-hour TV news channel Newzroom405. Stephen contributes regularly to the Daily Maverick, and is very active on Twitter. He has spun his political acumen into a book called SA Politics: Unspun, which is described as a roadmap to South Africa’s complex political landscape. Other roles in his long and illustrious career include senior political journalist for EWN, working in radio news in London, and editor of Sunrise Radio.