About Us
Setting the Record Straight Media Agency “The Record Agency” is a South African boutique consultancy delivering high-quality writing, editorial, media, and public relations work, with a clear focus on text-based communication, brand design, and translation. Founded and led by Bhekisisa Mncube, a multi-award-winning columnist, the agency brings together deep journalistic discipline, editorial rigour and strategic media thinking.
Our Mission
To produce disciplined, evidence-led writing and editorial work that upholds accuracy, context and integrity, ensuring that public, institutional and personal narratives are articulated clearly, responsibly and truthfully, one line at a time.
Our Vision
To be a trusted writing and media agency recognised for strengthening public record, elevating language, and shaping discourse through clarity rather than noise, becoming a reference point for serious writing and editorial rigour in South Africa and beyond.
Values
Truth and evidence
We place facts before opinion and evidence before assertion. Every piece of work must be defensible on record.
Clarity and precision
We value language that is exact, deliberate and intelligible. Meaning is never sacrificed for effect.
Editorial rigour
We apply discipline to writing and editing, interrogating arguments, strengthening structure and respecting context.
Integrity of record
We recognise that words shape memory, policy and reputation. We treat the record with due care and seriousness.
Nuance over noise
We resist sensationalism and haste, favouring depth, balance and thoughtful analysis.
Accountability
We stand by the work we produce and the standards we uphold, understanding that credibility is built through consistency.
Tradition and craft
We honour the craft of writing as a disciplined practice rooted in experience, learning and respect for language.
Brand Story
Setting the Record Straight Media Agency was established in response to a growing erosion of seriousness in public communication. Facts were treated lightly. Language was rushed. Context was sacrificed for speed. After decades in newsrooms and editorial leadership, the founder identified a widening gap in writing that respected record, argument, and consequence. The agency began with a simple commitment: To write carefully. To edit honestly. To resist distortion.
The Legend Behind the Agency
The story begins when I was seven years old in the rural village of Habeni. A neighbour accused me of stealing her chicken eggs. My mother, MaMlambo, listened, calm and unmoved. She responded: icala lithethwa ngofakazi – a case stands or falls on a first-account witness, not hearsay. She asked: Ubani ombonile? (Who saw him steal?)
The accusation collapsed. What stayed with me was the method. My mother understood instinctively that judgment without evidence is merely theatre. That moment planted an idea: To interrogate claims. To insist on context. And, when necessary, to set the record straight. We uphold those traditional values: Facts before judgment. Evidence before assertion. Nuance before noise.
Meet Bhekisisa Mncube
Executive Director
Bhekisisa Mncube is a multi-award-winning columnist, author, and political analyst with over two decades of experience. He has written speeches for two South African Presidents and managed corporate communications across the private and public sectors. His work is recognised for its clarity, firmness of thought, and refusal to dilute meaning for convenience.
The Published author
The record Team
Chief Technical Editor
Govin Reddy A senior language professional with over 27 years of experience, Govin holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics. He brings a precise command of linguistic accuracy to the agency, having served as an IELTS assessor and edited high-stakes government reports and academic theses for over a decade.
Chief QA Officer
Doreen Gough With more than 45 years of professional experience in media and communications, Doreen ensures all editorial work meets rigorous benchmarks. She specialises in reviewing large bodies of text, validating internal logic, and ensuring correct British English usage across academic and policy environments.
Digital Editor
Nonku Mncube An emerging editorial specialist, Nonku supports high-volume workflows through a combination of editorial judgement and digital-assisted precision. In 2024 alone, she edited more than 1,600 pages of government documentation, ensuring accurate layout and consistent structure.
Creative Visionary
Zamani Philani Mbeje is a specialist in corporate document design and visual identity. With nine years of experience, he blends artistic innovation with corporate messaging to create impactful layouts for annual reports and brand refreshes, ensuring the visual “record” is as sharp as the text.
Awards & Testimonials
2020
Vodacom Journalist of the Year Award for editorial writing.
2024
National Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Award.
2025
South African Literary Award for Book Translation (Sifiso Mzobe).
If your work must hold on record, begin a disciplined engagement with Setting the Record Straight Media Agency. Share the context, the audience and what is at stake. We respond with a clear assessment of scope, timelines and editorial approach.