South African stories stuck out on the global stage this year in a medley of moments that brought our nation immense pride, and at times, great pain.

News24 was there to capture the country's collective joy and crowning glory in 2023, alongside the state mishaps and tragic disasters that sunk citizens into new depths of survival.

We spent months chronicling historic parliamentary proceedings and pouring over reams of reports and rulings to extract the truth.

We followed the political machinations as parties prepared for 2024 and dug deeper while the hiring and firing continued at state-owned enterprises.

We fiercely fought for media freedom and closely monitored the growing disquiet over rampant crime levels in SA.

We spoke to the national giants and everyday heroes making their mark on the world while also comforting the countless families who shared their stories of loss, heartbreak and healing with us.

We blew out the candles as we marked 25 years of agenda-setting news, clinked our glasses to new content projects, and used our subscription successes to clinch more newsroom talent.

From the courtroom halls in Germany to the try lines in Toulon, we went all out to bring you the biggest local and international headlines of the year.

Now that's impact.

It was an eventful year with countless stories to be told, and News24 could not have brought them to light without the 95 000 individuals who support our work. Become a News24 subscriber to contribute to quality journalism that keeps the country clicking.

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The story
of the year

Springboks

"Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie." They don’t know what we know. How could they?

How could they know that a sporting vehicle like the Springboks gives this country, through all its relentless challenge and strife, an opportunity to present the finest, purest most beautiful version of itself, time and time again?

The Springboks have become far more than a sports team. They are the constant reminder of what South Africa can be. What it should be. What it is and what it isn’t.

Rugby World Cup 2023 was a story that will go down as one of the greatest in the history of South African sport, and News24 was there bringing you every kick, pass and tackle.

Lloyd Burnard, News24 Sport editor

Here's how News24 covered this historic moment

" ...We are very diverse, just like you are out there, and we just wanted to show that diversity is our strength in South Africa."

Siya Kolisi

The stories that shaped 2023

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," wrote Charles Dickens in his 1895 novel A Tale of Two Cities.

This epic opening line could just as well have been penned to describe life in 2023 in South Africa.

The best of times: Siya Kolisi and his Springbok team's triumph at the Rugby World Cup in France that united a battered country like never before. The Boks showed us, again, just how excellent South Africans can be if they put their minds to it.

The worst of times: a sluggish economy and growing unemployment rate, exacerbated by unacceptable levels of crime and infrastructure collapse. A war in the Middle East that has left deep personal scars on many South Africans who lost friends and family.

2023 tested our resilience, our patience, and our commitment to this country we call home.

In this special edition, News24's top editors and writers look back at the top 10 stories that shaped our year and newsroom over the past 12 months. The stories that made us cringe, cry and cheer.

Many of them were conceptualised and innovated by our team of 110 excellent journalists, courtesy of your subscription to News24. Take our exposé of Deputy President Paul Mashatile's lavish lifestyle, for example.

If it wasn't for the institutional memory, the tenacity and the skills of the News24 investigations unit, the country might never have known who the blessers are funding our number two citizen's millionaire lifestyle.

Our own Khanyiso Tshwaku was News24's eyes and ears at the Rugby World Cup. Because of your subscription, we could send him to France for the entire tournament to bring you the inside scoop on the Boks' road to glory.

Our energy insiders, Carol Paton, Kyle Cowan and Lameez Omarjee, reported from the depths of Eskom like no other publication in the country. Carol's unparalleled coverage of our troubled state-owned enterprises further broke open the vault of secrets at Transnet, highlighting a calamitous year.

Our foreign editor, Phillip de Wet, made sure that our coverage of the Israel-Gaza war remained balanced, factual and accurate at all times – an exceptionally rare achievement in a world of disinformation and fake news.

It remains a profound joy and privilege to cover the world of news for News24, and on behalf of every journalist in our newsroom, we would like to thank you, our readers and subscribers, on whose behalf we take risks, ask questions and dig deeper every day.

Have a restful festive season, and see you in 2024 for the big year of elections, when we do it all over again.

Adriaan Basson, Editor-in-chief

Thabo Bester's escape

Thabo Bester appears to have lost any sense of shame. But that actually says far more about us than it does about him.

Karyn Maughan, Senior legal journalist

See how we covered the Thabo Bester escape saga

The Murray murders

The Bosasa and Gupta company liquidator Cloete Murray and his son Thomas were gunned down in a brazen attack in March. Murray's prominence in the industry and his murder has sent a chilling message to other liquidators, who now continue their work under ever-increasing threats of violence.

Kyle Cowan, Investigative journalist

Mashatile unmasked

The damage that state capture has done, specifically through a president that had been captured by special interests and who used access to him to repurpose the state and extract rent, is clear. This follows that Mashatile must be looked at closely – and that’s exactly what we did. What we found, however, was not encouraging.

Pieter du Toit, Assistant editor for investigations

Here's how we covered this investigation

Israel-Hamas war

On 7 October, the world changed – though that was not immediately obvious.

Phillip de Wet, Foreign editor

Eskom: Into the abyss

This year, our monolithic power company turned a century old. And in this – its 100th year of existence - South Africa saw Eskom fall even further into the abyss of institutional darkness.

Ahmed Areff, News24 Business: Deputy editor

See how it unfolded

Transnet: A year of ignominy

2023 was the year of ignominy for state logistics company Transnet. It was the year that broke the SA economy.

Carol Paton, News24 Business Writer-at-Large

Explore our Transnet coverage here

AKA murdered

Sunday, 10 December 2023, marked exactly 10 months since rapper AKA was shot dead in Durban.

Chrizelda Kekana, News24 Life editor

Joburg's collapse

Residents of 80 Albert Street in Marshalltown woke to neighbours' screams in the early hours of 31 August. Hot ash and smoke filled their tiny living spaces; split-second responses would determine their fate.

Alex Patrick, Journalist

Here's how we covered Joburg's collapse

Mkhwebane: The fall of the Public Protector

On 11 September 2023 a bitter war of attrition ended. Parliamentary accountability won.
Busisiwe Mkhwebane lost.

Jan Gerber, Senior political journalist

And that's not all.

The news cycle never stopped with boardroom bombshells, stories about SA's Russian relations, and the legal battles of our former head of state. Here's a look at more stories that captivated the nation.

Lady R

UCT in crisis

Zuma's war on truth

Jooste's disappearing act

The Rand's rollercoaster

Zuma's hour in jail

Cricket World Cup

The NHI battle

The Top 10
Op-Eds of 2023

Pieter du Toit | The Bree Street blast and the end of Johannesburg
Kelly Anderson | I will speak up for Anele Tembe as AKA's bronze statue takes shape
OPINION | Nick Dall and Matthew Blackman: Calling BS on André de Ruyter's 'white Afrikaans blind spots'
Dear America, now you've indicted Trump it's time we tell you about Jacob G Zuma, Stalingrad and RET
Adriaan Basson | Mr President, there are whispers of a load shedding revolution
Thabo Bester phenomenon exposes dysfunctional nature of farming communities
Pieter du Toit | The Siya Kolisi barometer is embarrassing for Ramaphosa, Mbalula and other opportunists
STATE OF THE NATION | Julius Malema, EFF battling for relevance with 'shutdown' stunt
Adriaan Basson | Are you ready for Deputy President Malema?
Melanie Verwoerd | If Eskom can be fixed in 6 months, then why the @#$! was it not already?

The year, illustrated by Carlos Amato

Click here to see the full offering from 2023.

Immersive storytelling

We've produced a wide range of special projects this year that elevate our journalism even further. News24 also created an array of multimedia-rich experiences for our readers.

Remembering those we lost

Derek Watts

Eusebius Mckaiser

Mark Pilgrim

Raymond Ackerman

Costa Titch

Zoleka Mandela

Johaar Mosaval

Zahara

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We've been busy! These are News24's top 10 newsroom highlights for 2023

The news cycle kept spinning in 2023 and we had some exciting developments that helped bolster our offering. Here is a round-up of the many ways our newsroom evolved this year

News24 cannot take sole credit for these stories. The subscribers who have stuck by our side for every shot, soundbite, and sketch have empowered us to keep digging deeper. We see you, and we thank you. As we get ready for 2024, we promise to be bolder in our attempts to hold power to account and louder in celebrating those who keep things together.

Production: Sharlene Rood and Kelly Anderson. Graphic design: Sharlene Rood. Copywriting: Qama Qukula. Editor-in-Chief: Adriaan Basson.

^{Photo credits: Hannah Peters | Getty Images, Yeshiel Panchia | News24, Oupa Bopape | Gallo Images, Deon Raath | Rapport | Gallo Images, Steve Haag | Gallo Images, Juan Jose Gasparini | Gallo Images, Ditiro Selepe | News24, Kyle Cowan | News24, Archive, LinkedIn | Thomas Murray, Jack Guess | AFP, Per-Anders Pettersson | Getty Images, Brenton Geach | Gallo Images, Felix Dlangamandla, Supplied, Akaworldwide | Instagram, Alfonso Nqunjana | News24, Phill Magakoe | Gallo Images, Jaco Marais | Netwerk24, Darren Stewart | Gallo Images, Mlungisi Louw | Volksblad | Gallo Images, Lucky Nxumalo | City Press | Gallo Images, Pankaj Nangia | Gallo Images, Getty Images}

The story of the year