The paper that empowers: Yvonne Chaka Chaka

I call it my Sowetan - that's how proud I am of this newspaper.

It has always represented nation building, thanks to the vision of the late editor Aggrey Klaaste and others he worked with.

The legacy was carried on from the days of The World until it became known as Sowetan, a paper of nation building.

Klaaste and his team saw it fitting to tell the stories of Soweto, one of the biggest townships in Africa.

Soweto is such a strong brand with a great presence that everywhere I go people I know ask me about it.

Sowetan has remained a paper of the people, telling our stories the way we know them and the way we see them.

It's also the newspaper of the future. I wish you could leave tabloid tendencies to the tabloids because you are such a respectable paper with integrity.

I wish to see more good stories out of Soweto. Yes, there are good and bad things, but I believe that newspapers like Sowetan are great disseminators of good news that inspire the people and uplift the mood of the nation.

Stories such as those of matriculants who receive multiple distinctions inspire other children to do better, or the story of MaGumede who used to sell magwinya on a street corner and has saved enough to open a spaza or build a house for herself, empower the community and fills people with hope.

In the same breath, I would like you to expose the rot and the horrors nyaope wrecks on our young people and community.

We want Soweto to be known as a good place and celebrate its history.

Soweto is the only township in the world that boasts two Nobel Peace Prize winners.

For me the township signifies peace, hope and botho/ubuntu.

It would be great for the younger reporters to do research and not write for the sake of writing.

I also wish to see the owners of the newspaper empower our people by giving journalists shares.

Otherwise, I'm happy with the news and entertainment pages. You can do a little more on the business section.

My favourite is community news and the funeral notices.

That for me is where you see our botho/ubuntu because we want to know who has passed on in our communities.