New magazine promises to be Jitz

Hitting the shelves on 31 October 2014, the brand new Jitz Magazine intends to be exactly what its name implies and we at bruinou.com always get really excited when a new independent media voice comes to the fore.
We seem to have a shared quest to try and move beyond arguing the issues of identity and get on with the pressing business of being vehicles of positive change in the population group of over 4 million South Africans who, whatever they personally prefer to call themselves, when filling in official documents in most cases tick that little box marked Coloured.

The Cape slang word ‘jits’ or ‘jitz’ is an adjective used to describe someone or something that is fantastic, amazing and wonderful e.g. “That store sells jitz clothes” or “You look jits today”.

A few years in the making, Jitz Magazine is aimed squarely and unashamedly at the majority population group of the Western Cape and for now, more specifically the Cape Flats, who have for too long been under-serviced and misrepresented in mainstream media, says editor-in-chief Kashif Sydow.
The magazine hopes in the future to extend its availability as well as its content coverage to a national level.

The glitz and glamour of the launch event held on 16 October at the highly-rated Pigalle Fine Dining Restaurant in Greenpoint with its well-heeled guests that included business leaders, community leaders and politicians as well as a host of famous media, sports and entertainment personalities should not fool anyone into thinking that the magazine is aimed at an exclusive upmarket readership. With a shelf price of only R12 Jitz Magazine clearly intends being affordable and accessible to the very people who coined the word jitz.

The master of ceremonies Soli Philander is known for not mincing any words and had the audience in stitches when he satirically ‘avoided’ using the word Coloured in his entire opening address and instead replaced it with phrases like “The group that shalt not be named” or “The group that argues about their name”. To me the funniest one was “Those of an undetermined complexion which tends towards brown”. This in fact highlighted how ridiculous it is that we place a higher importance to arguing for or against the nomenclature than we do to the collective welfare of the so-named population group,
Before introducing Kashif Sydow to the audience Soli recollected a conversation they had earlier the evening about independent media voices and how the advent of Jitz Magazine is akin to having bruinou.com on paper.

Kashif Sydow explained how Jitz magazine intends focusing on success stories from within our communities while positively engaging the challenges faced by our communities and also celebrating our cultural peculiarities,
The regular content will include current affairs, local heroes, sports, motoring, real life stories, a featured school of the month and a pull out section for the kids amidst a variety of other interesting content.
The first issue will feature radio presenter and Expresso breakfast tv presenter Leigh-Anne Williams who grew up in Belhar as well as the story of a local hero who hails from Hanover Park.
The school of the month is Heideveld High School with its highly competitive basketball team and an interesting feature will be the article about where one can buy the best fish ‘n chips parcel.

In between the serving of a three course dinner, guests at the launch were entertained by the soulful jazz singer Carmen Exclusive and her band who are regularly on the Pigalle entertainment line-up. Their renditions of contemporary jazz songs was easy on the ear while guests were dining and they promised to up the tempo later the evening for some after dinner dancing (which I unfortunately had to miss out on).
The main performance of the evening however came from popular comedian Kurt Schoonraad who grew up in Mitchells’ Plain which he still regularly visits after having moved to a more affluent suburb. That story in itself has the potential for great laughs and with his animated style of delivery and flame-sharp wit, Kurt kept the audience laughing through a variety of jokes and hilarious anecdotes.

Among the celebrities who also had the opportunity to share their perceptions of Jitz Magazine were Herchelle Gibbs and Natalie Becker and it is clear that though they may be living in privileged circumstances, they clearly are in touch with how they relate to not only the challenges but also the joys of the very communities which Jitz Magazine is aimed at.

Judging by the response the audience gave these two luminaries as well as the other speakers, it is clear that if Jitz Magazine continues to be supported by those personalities who have achieved some level of fame and influence, the magazine will definitely be a success.

We at bruinou.com are looking forward to building a cooperative relationship with this much needed independent publication.
Jitz Magazine really is a jitz idea!