Brett Venter is the new editor of Stuff magazine, South Africa’s premier consumer technology publication. Marcé Bester has been appointed deputy editor and will fulfil roles for the publication’s print and digital arms. Both appointments are effective from 1 September 2019.
Venter has been Stuff’s digital editor since March 2016, a position he previously held at PCFormat and G3AR. He has been a somewhat hidden fixture in the tech and gaming industry, covering those beats, mostly behind the scenes, since 2008.
Stuff’s outgoing editor, Craig Wilson, has literally won the Green Card lottery and is going to live in the United States in September. “We’re going to miss Craig – and his brightly-coloured outfits – but we wish him and his wife all the best in the US,” says Toby Shapshak, Stuff’s publisher and editor-in-chief. “He’s been a brilliant editor and has brought his own inimitable style to the magazine and the industry.”
“Working at Stuff has been an honour and a privilege,” Wilson says. “Over the last five years, I’ve had the opportunity to develop my multimedia production abilities, oversee a wonderful team, and help grow Stuff’s readership in a hugely challenging climate. I’m going to miss it sorely.”
On the appointment of Venter to the post of editor, Shapshak says, “Brett has been one of the best-kept secrets of technology journalism, and specifically of Stuff. He’s the smart, insightful and hilarious voice you’ve been reading for years in the magazine and online, where, as digital editor, he has grown our digital offerings and audience significantly”.
He continues, “Brett has not only been a technology journalist for 12 years but is a published fiction author and a consummate professional. He’s also the Usain Bolt of gamers, and has been covering the gaming industry for over a decade”.
Venter says, “Craig is leaving me with some rather large shoes – and more than a few pairs of interesting pants – to fill. For the past few years, Craig has been Stuff magazine. His product knowledge is second to none, and his skill set has grown daily in his role as Stuff editor. For a slightly-built chap, he’s cast an awfully large shadow”.
“I’m thrilled to be placed in charge of Stuff,” Venter adds. “The prospect of stretching the brand’s reach ever further into South Africa is a challenging one, the print market being what it is today. However, I believe that the editorial team at Stuff will respond to the obstacles that lie strewn about like… so many strewn-about things.
“With Marcé Bester as deputy and long-time art director Brandon van Rensburg handing all things design, the humour-driven, fact-laden, experience-supported editorial that characterises Stuff will continue and evolve in the rapidly changing and sometimes harsh conditions we’re all experiencing. It may even take on a few new forms in the process.”
Marcé Bester, who Shapshak describes as “The next big thing in tech journalism” in South Africa, is Stuff‘s new deputy editor. She first joined Stuff in 2015 as an intern, completing her BA degree in Communications later that same year. She joined the team on a full-time basis in January 2018.
“We often joke about Stuff being the best tech platform in the world, but I really believe it is the most trusted, fun and informative platform in South Africa,” Bester says. “I’m overjoyed to take on more responsibility in curating content for the Stuff brand, both digitally and in the print title.”
