First to name news South African president after Mbeki was ousted

Reuters was the first news organisation to report that ANC deputy leader Kgalema Motlanthe would be appointed South Africa’s interim president. Reuters broke the news from political sources on September 22, delivering the information markets were waiting for amid the uncertainty caused by the incumbent Thabo Mbeki’s spectacular ousting by his party. The Reuters stories quickly explained that Motlanthe was chosen because he bridged the gap between leftists and centrists in the ruling ANC and safeguard South Africa’s appeal to investors. On Sept 23 Reuters beat Bloomberg by 20 minutes with confirmation that Motlanthe had been chosen and on the same day our team was first with the market-sensitive information that Finance Minister Trevor Manuel would be willing to serve under the new president. The news boosted the rand, which had been knocked lower by a Bloomberg report that Manuel would resign, a move that Reuters reported correctly was entirely procedural.