#WhenThisIsOver: Brian Browdie, J’13

Among the first things I did here in Durban after learning that the government ordered a 21-day lockdown of the country was to subscribe to home delivery of The Mercury.

While newspapers and the grocery stores that sell them are exempt from the closures that start across South Africa on Friday, subscribing seemed like a way to let The Mercury know how much I look forward to the paper each day. (The World Health Organization says newspapers are safe for people to handle.)

Broadsheets remain part of the landscape in South Africa, even though many readers read the news on their phones. The Mercury was founded in 1852. Most days, it carries two-and-a-half pages of classifieds. From investigators for hire to copy paper, cars and trucks, lightning conductors, and legal notices, there’s plenty to peruse.

For 10 rand (about 57 U.S. cents), The Mercury offers four crosswords, sudoku, columns on bridge and chess, comics, and entertainment listings, together with well-reported sections on business and sports. I like the letters from readers that run each day on Page 2, to the right of the weather forecast.

When I first came to Durban seven years ago, The Mercury was one of the ways I learned about city and its people. It still is. Newspapers hold us together. I wish for more of them #WhenThisIsOver.

Brian Browdie, J’13, is a freelance journalist who divides his time between New York City and Durban, South Africa, where he writes about innovation, business, the environment and more.