We are seasoned journalists with a passion to improve the quality of journalism in South Africa and the rest of the continent. We draw on our extensive and diverse experience and skills to provide media training, conferences, consulting, writing and editing. We also specialise in providing turnkey publishing services.
Paula Fray, who founded the company in 2005, has more than 20 years’ experience in the media as a reporter, news editor, executive editor and editor of the Saturday Star, as well as operations director of a media consultancy. frayintermedia is a BEE SMME that is woman-owned and managed. It seeks to partner with organisations which share its vision of a media that can meet the challenges of a great continent.
Charmeela Bhagowat (Managing Director)
Poynter-trained Charmeela Bhagowat has over 16 years’ experience in print, broadcast and electronic media. Her passion for life-long learning took her from news editor at The Star to senior information officer for the Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) of the United Nations in Southern Africa and in Central Asia, where she gained experience in international newsroom management. She returned to South Africa to news edit This Day newspaper before working at the Sunday Times as assistant editor. Charmeela was former foreign editor of the SABC where she oversaw initial plans for the public broadcaster’s bureaux expansion into Africa, the US and Europe.
Michael Schmidt (Training Director)
Michael Schmidt has 19 years’ experience in the field as a print journalist and columnist for South Africa’s leading newspapers including a stint as Eastern Cape bureau chief for the Sunday Times, and the greenfields projects of the Independent on Saturday and ThisDay. His work in conflict and post-conflict zones has taken him from the Guatemalan Civil War, to the DRC, Rwanda, Darfur, and Lebanon during the Summer War. A published author, website editor and writer for the alternative press, his lifelong passion for grassroots democracy has seen him involved in volunteer advocacy that has included work as a trade unionist, as a member of the Workers’ Library and Museum committee, and also as a delegate to international civil society summits such as the Another Future conference in France and the World Social Forum in Brazil.
Birgit Schwarz (Projects Director)
German born Birgit Schwarz started her career in radio journalism. She has held positions as editor, host and reporter with Germany’s biggest public broadcaster WDR, opened and managed the first dpa (Germany’s major wire service) office in South Korea during troubled times; worked as an investigative reporter for Die Zeit and as Asia editor and foreign correspondent for Der Spiegel, Europe’s major investigative news magazine. She came to South Africa in 1997 as Der Spiegel’s Africa Correspondent. She has covered major crises and wars and compiled a number of investigative reports. In 1996 she was awarded the Emma Award for best female journalist of the year. Before joining frayintermedia Birgit directed the Investigative Journalism Workshop (IJW) at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Debby Kramer (Conferences and training logistics)
Debby Kramer’s experience as an administration co-ordinator for a diverse range of organisations provides frayintermedia with the detailed management required to ensure its success. Debby oversees the logistics for training programmes as well as special projects such as the Narrative Journalism Conference. Debby has managed a number of journalism conferences, including one for the Judiciary and the Media and two Investigative and three Narrative Journalism conferences.
Alex Ball (Production manager, editing and publishing)
A BA Hons graduate of Wits, Alex Ball’s career in journalism spans 25 years. He began his career as a reporter at The Star and has held various senior positions, including chief sub-editor of the Saturday Star, chief sub-editor and assistant editor of The Star and night editor of ThisDay.
