The Old Diocesan Issue 12 - Magazine - Page 5
Welcome
to Issue 12
The Old Diocesan is available
in hard copy and online. To
receive your physical copy,
contribute story ideas or
find back issues, contact the
Union at ODU@bishops.org.za
or +27 21 685 1829.
F
PHOTOGRAPH DAVID ROGERS (1981G)
The Old Diocesan is published
by the Old Diocesans Union.
odunion.com
Editor Tim Richman (1995B)
Copy editors Ania Rokita,
Deborah Rudman
Designer Simon Richardson
Commissioned contributors
Tom Cartwright (1988K), Cole
Cruickshank (2015G), Geoff
de Wet (1946G), Brandon de
Kock (1986K), Peter Hyslop
(honorary OD), Steven Riches
(2003K), Ian-Malcolm Rijsdijk
(1991B), Mike Wright (2014B)
Magazine sub-committee
Paula Caradoc-Davies,
Dr Paul Murray, Alan Ramsay
(1960F), Tim Richman (1995B),
Andy Wood (1977G)
Archivist Dr Paul Murray
Advertising Paula CaradocDavies: paula@caradoc.co.za;
Giles Pohl (1985W):
giles@caradoc.co.za
Printed by Novus Print, Cape
Town – Peter Metcalfe (1981O)
or more than a century, ODs
followed school and OD-related
news in one reliable way: by
reading the venerable quarterly
Diocesan College Magazine. By 2017,
when that historic publication was
laid gently to rest in its light-blue
cover, the school was mailing around
2,500 copies of every issue to ODs –
but it turned out that the bulk of
those were duplicates, triplicates,
quadruplicates or, simply, wrong
addresses. Not only had media
been disrupted in the 21st century,
but getting a physical mailing list
right in an increasingly fast-moving
world was proving impossibly difficult.
The Old Diocesan came into being
the following year as one arm of
a communications strategy that
includes the OD website, email
newsletters, social media and actual
humans. Originally a bi-annual
publication, budget realities pared
us back to once-a-year in 2022.
This issue marks a new leaf in the
magazine’s relatively short lifespan.
We have far too much superb content
for an annual publication, and the
feedback we get tells us the magazine
isn’t merely for ODs; it’s for the entire
Bishops family. Not afraid to rise to a
challenge, ODU vice-president Alan
Ramsay has led a mission to boldly
solve the mailing and budgetary
challenges in one go. A storied veteran
of magazine publishing, Alan is the
remarkable driving force behind both
the 150% increase in advertising on
these pages and a Herculean effort
to distribute more copies through
school and direct channels. Together,
these efforts will allow the magazine
to publish twice a year, sustainably.
In the process, you may notice
some changes. A different cover
subject matter, to start. A different
type of feature on page 62. More pages.
Please contact the ODU so we can
send you a copy (free of charge in
most of South Africa), tell your
Bishops-related friends to do the
same, and let us know your thoughts.
We’d love to hear from you.
Tim Richman, Editor
THE OLD DIOCESAN | 1
