ABSTRACT
The Rand Daily Mail was South Africa's best-known paper in the international community because of its long and admirable record as a champion of human rights and its readiness to voice black interests and perspectives. The unabashedly liberal stance that Laurence Gandar adopted when he took over as editor in October 1957 pushed the paper to the top of the government's list of "most hated" voices in South Africa. The Mail was the flagship paper for South African Associated Newspapers and set a standard for much of what English journalists, white and black, sought to emulate in their papers. When the Mail sank, the pride of the fleet went down. The loss was all the heavier because it was so unexpected. Despite all its problems, what should have sustained the Mail, at least in theory, was its advertising base. The Mail operated in the largest market in the country.
