By Adam Wakefield

How did you end up getting involved with Classic FM and being the host of Classic Business?

I used to produce the financial journalist and publisher David Gleason’s, weekly hour-long radio programme on Classic FM, called State of the Nation. This started in late 2009 and continued for three years until 2011 when the show was discontinued due to a change in format at the station. But this served to introduce me to the station’s management. At that time I was working full-time for David Gleason’s self-named company Gleason Publications.

In 2013 Classic FM CEO, Dominic Ntsele, approached me with an offer to host Classic Business with a view to injecting the platform with a more youthful voice. Ntsele and Gleason had had a long relationship prior to my involvement with Gleason Publications and Ntsele believed that Gleason’s mentorship held me in good stead for the job as Gleason was at the time one of the country’s foremost financial journalists. 

Apart from your work in radio, you have worked for Gleason Publications for a number of years, and are currently the editor of Catalyst magazine and a feature writer for DealMakers. How do you divide your time in such a way to ensure each of your respective responsibilities receive the right amount of attention?

Ah, the juggling balls question. Firstly, when I made the transition from Gleason Publications to Classic Business, my former employer was keen to continue using my skills. There is also a natural fit between the writing I do for a corporate finance magazine and a private equity magazine and hosting a business show so being plugged into the same beat so to speak does help.

Second, Catalyst and DealMakers are both quarterly publications so the demands on my time are lumpy and I can break up my writing into small projects throughout the quarter. 

What aspect about hosting Classic Business do you enjoy the most, and what has been and is the most challenging aspect of the show?

Without doubt I enjoy the daily action. Being at the coal face of the economy and discussing the markets, getting to pick the brains of the country’s finest businessman, economists and thought leaders is a privilege. It’s also a responsibility considering the delicate nature of the discourse between business, government and labour and maintaining an adequate coverage of all sides is a constant challenge. 

This country’s future is inextricably linked with the performance of our economy (name a country which isn’t!) and it’s incumbent upon members of the financial press to be mindful of the role they play in facilitating the discourse about economic policy.

The most challenging aspect is the sheer volume of email one receives and trying to maintain relationships with the vast number of people you come across on a daily basis. 

What is your opinion on the proficiency of financial journalism sector in South Africa? Do you believe they are under-rated, over-rated or somewhere in between, and why?

The standard of financial journalism is somewhere in between. I say that because there are pockets of excellence - without wanting to single individuals out - and examples of journalists who clearly can’t read a balance sheet. 

I hasten to add that newsrooms across the country are under increasing strain as changes to the JSE’s reporting requirements for companies removed a vital component of advertising for financial print media. This combined with the immediacy and accessibility of social media such as Twitter, where traders and experts are available at no cost, is placing pressure on the business model. 
It means that financial journalists have to add real value and insight to justify the consumer’s time. 

Where will we see Michael Avery in the next five years? 

I have a medium-term plan with Classic Business to help return the platform to its former glory days when Alec Hogg played a significant part along with Lindsay Williams in elevating it to the preeminent financial radio programme in South Africa. 

And then: Avery means business! I can’t reveal my business plans too early but it involves a pan-African financial journalism platform. 

For more information, connect with Avery on Twitter.