DEBORAH Patta, anchor of current affairs show 3rd Degree, is swapping the manager’s desk for the trenches, as the eNews channel sizes up the rest of the continent and the international market.
Patta yesterday announced her resignation as editor-in-chief, saying she wanted to devote herself fully to her 3rd Degree brainchild.

She is also stepping into the chief anchor role for the network, and will continue mentoring budding television journalists.

Patta told The Citizen that dealing with both management and on-air issues over the past five years had been very demanding and timeconsuming.

“I needed to make a choice, CHOOSING. 3rd Degree presenter and e.tv’s group editor-in-chief Debora Patta.and at the end of the day, 1 am a journalist at heart,” explained Patta.

3rd Degree has proved “incredibly successful” for the channel, she added.

“If you look at the international networks, it’s clear how important such shows can be, but to do it properly, you need to devote considerable time and resources to it.”

Patta was equally excited about the opportunity to do more fieldwork, saying this had made a “big difference” to the way the show recently tackled the Caster Semenya gender-testing scandal.

She did not anticipate major changes to the 3rd Degree format, now she had more time to devote to the project.

It is clear, however, that the homegrown network is keen to extend its reach, and yesterday announced further shuffles to foster this aim.

Said CEO Marcel Golding: “In less than two years, we have gone from a 30-minute daily bulletin to a 24-hour news broadcaster with international ambitions.”

Veteran journalist and former group news editor Patrick Conroy is slotting into Patta’s position, and the company has appointed Chris Maroleng as Africa editor and confirmed Zain Semaar in the national assignments editor post.

Conroy is credited with playing a key role in the rapid growth of eNews, and is said to have been heavily involved in the launch of its 24-hour counterpart on DStv.

eNews has since become the most watched news channel on DStv, and eNews Africa is expected to take on the rest of the continent later this year.

Source: The Citizen – Ugen Vos