The Citizen is a South African daily newspaper published in Johannesburg, South Africa. The newspaper is distributed nationally in South Africa. It has long been considered a newspaper of record in South Africa. While its core readership is mainly in Gauteng, it also distributes to surrounding provinces such as Free State, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and the North West. The newspaper is owned by Caxton and CTP Publishers and Printers Limited, a public company listed on the JSE.

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The Citizen

Logo of The Citizen newspaper in South Africa
Type	Daily newspaper
Owner(s)	CTP/Caxton
Publisher	CTP/Caxton
Editor	Trevor Stevens
Founded	1976
Headquarters	Johannesburg
Website	citizen.co.za

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The newspaper was founded in 1976 during the apartheid era by Louis Luyt,^[1] at which time it was the only major English-language newspaper favourable to the ruling National Party. In 1978, during the Muldergate Scandal, it was revealed that the money to establish and finance the newspaper had come from a secret slush fund of the Department of Information, and ultimately from the Department of Defence.^[2]

In 1998, ownership of the newspaper was transferred from Perskor to Caxton and CTP Publishers and Printers Limited,^[3]. The company is involved in various fields of publishing and printing such as newspapers, magazines, commercial print, book printing, stationery, packaging and labels.

The Citizen is a compact newspaper. In 2012, the newspaper layout and design was revamped by Dr. Mario Garcia. On 1 August 2013 the first edition of the revamped newspaper went on sale.

Tim du Plessis

Kevin Keogh

Martin Williams

On 7 October 2013, The Citizen announced[5] that Editor Martin Williams would be stepping down. Williams, who had been with The Citizen for 19 years, retired at the end of October 2013.

Steven Motale

Martin Williams was succeeded by Steve Motale, who at the time was the executive editor of Pretoria News. Motale had started off as a reporter at The Citizen in 2002, later becoming political editor and then editor of Citizen Metro.

Trevor Stevens

Trevor Stevens, who joined The Citizen in 2001 as a sports reporter, became editor of The Citizen in 2017. He is also the current Saturday Citizen editor – a position he has held since 2010.

Charles Cilliers (May 2016 - June 2020)

Hendri Pelser (Acting online editor: June 2020 - June 2021)

Earl Coetzee (October 2021 - April 2023)

Earl took over from Hendri Pelser as acting online editor in July 2021 and was appointed online editor in October 2021.

Gareth Cotterell (June 2023 - present)

Gareth initially joined The Citizen as digital news editor. Beginning of May 2023, he took over from then digital editor, Earl Coetzee, in acting capacity. On June 6, 2023 he was appointed digital editor of The Citizen.

Ben Trovato

Isaac Mashaba

William Saunderson-Meyer

Carine Hartman

Jennie Ridyard

Sydney Majoko

Brian Sokutu

Eric Naki

Reitumetse Makwea

Cliff Buchler

Danie Toerien

Martin Williams

Dirk Lotriet

Kekeletso Nakeli-Dhliwayo

Muzi Yeni

Bruce Fordyce

Wesley Botton

Jonty Mark

Ken Borland

Jonathan Mokuena

The Citizen

Saturday Citizen (Previously Super Saturday Citizen)

The Citizen Online website

The redesigned website, citizen.co.za, went live on 1 August 2013.

• Personal Finance (Mondays) – supplement to help you manage your money
• City (Monday-Saturday) – lifestyle and entertainment supplement
• Racing Express (Monday-Saturday) – horse racing supplement
• Phakaaathi (Tuesdays) – local and international soccer supplement
• Motoring (Wednesdays) – motoring and local motorsport supplement
• Gaming (Thursdays) – gaming supplement
• Buy in Bulk (Thursdays) – weekly wholesale supplement
• Hammer & Gavel (Fridays) – auctions supplement
• Travel (Saturdays) – travel supplement
• Your Home (last Saturday of the month) – home renovations and DIY supplement

• List of newspapers in South Africa