My Final Answer

by Jeremy Maggs

Jeremy Maggs has been a journalist and a television and radio presenter for over 30 years, with a front-row seat to major news events in the run-up to and during the birth of South Africa’s democracy and beyond. He was also the host of the hugely successful television show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and so became a household name.

He has worked with some of the country’s most respected journalists, interviewed many famous people from around the world, and been at the forefront of developments as the craft morphed into a social media hydra. From Nelson Mandela’s release from prison to his death in 2013, and throughout the many political and news events that have gripped South Africans, Jeremy has been in the thick of the newsrooms that covered the stories.

Written in an engaging and self-deprecating
style, this book is an unexpectedly funny and candid, behind-the-scenes account
of what was unfolding in those newsrooms as the stories broke, peppered with anecdotes
around those involved in making those stories happen

Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Andy – And The Plot Thickens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe that journalism is not something you can study. I have no truck with the fine institutions turning out media professionals... but I'm not entirely sure you can teach curiosity and tenacity and instruct someone in indignation and outrage at political, social and financial injustice.

This is just one of many nuggets of advice veteran journalist and news editor, Jeremy Maggs, has for young journalists. Read, he instructs, them, for how else do you demonstrate and develop that very curiosity he is talking about? "We get into this business for two reasons," he writes. "We like to write and we can't do maths."

But the book is no instruction manual. It tells the story of his career, though I wouldn't quite call it an autobiography either. What makes the book stand out is the frankness with which he writes. Not only does he have a sardonic sense of humour, but he also writes with great candour about his own shortcomings, particularly as a news editor. He didn't listen and support young journalists enough and, he simply couldn't cope with the stress of being one.

And of course, he explores his time as host of one of the biggest game shows the country, indeed the world, has seen, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" (hence the title of the book). It's a fascinating time in his life. He describes how he was coached to have more gravitas, how to confuse contestants and make them doubt themselves and just generally make them uncomfortable.

The book is witty, honest and outspoken. It makes for a great read, not just for those interested in news, but for anyone who likes to read about how to introspect. It's nice a short and makes for easy, enjoyable reading.