Julian Jansen spent 18 years as a teacher of Geography and History at two schools in the Helderberg. There he brought about positive change in the attitudes of learners by challenging them physically and mentally on mountain excursions. For the past 10 years he has been a journalist in Rapport’s Cape Town office – with a short break in 2009 when he was spokesperson and speech writer for the Western Cape MEC for Community Safety.
In 2010 he and two colleagues from City Press received a commendation in the hard news category of the Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Awards. They were recognised for their reports on the murder of the British bride Anni Hindocha and the charges against her husband, Shrien Dewani. In 2013 he was awarded Rapport’s Special Editor’s Prize for his reporting.
While he focuses mostly on crime reporting, Julian also enjoys writing stories about the triumph of the human spirit over adversity and about ordinary people who accomplish extraordinary things.
