PDBY has been around for 88 years, but how has the oldest student newspaper in South Africa changed and grown over the years?
- 1939: Five students, who called themselves the “vyf liberaliste” (five liberalists), met in the Theology Building and wrote the first ever edition of Die Perdeby. They named it after the wasp because the news has a “sting”.
- 1941: Due to a paper shortage during World War II, the paper was closed.
- 1944: The newspaper was reopened as Die Nuwe Perdeby (The New Wasp).
- 1944: Lentedag was declared a university holiday by a Perdeby journalist to celebrate the university’s “Afrikaans-isation”.
- 1945: Sonop holds the record for the most Editors in office, holding the position from 1945 to 1986.
- 1951: Residence Gossip Column “Pssst…” was established because residences were a major part of student culture.
- 1951: Die Perdeby was distributed for free for the first time. Previous editions cost readers between two to three pennies per paper.
- 1955: The May edition of the paper was printed in colour for the first time.
- 1956: The paper’s format was changed to a more tabloid layout, which is still used today. However, the front page consisted of headline news and not a cover page as it does now.
- 1965: The newspaper tried to start charging for the papers again, but the initiative was quickly shut down by students, remaining free ever since.
- 1968: The name changed back to Die Perdeby on 23 February.
- 1975: In the September edition, Die Perdeby started a “Damesblad” (ladies’ section).
- 1975: An article was published congratulating Huis Erika (House Erica) on having the most engagements over recess of all the girls’ residences (four).
- 1976: Die Perdeby was known as the biggest student newspaper in South Africa.
- 1985: The first female Editor, Dricѐ Odendaal, was appointed. This was not the first time women were on the editorial, but they were often stuck writing in the ladies’ or arts sections. Odendaal was also the first female Deputy Editor the previous year.
- 1990: Die Perdeby became the first student newspaper to be completely computerised.
- 1990: The August edition was stolen from the printers by a group of men pretending to be the editorial. The papers were eventually found, but the editor at the time suspected that Sonop was behind the theft.
- 1995: Die Perdeby became the first student newspaper to be published online.
- 1997: On 3 October,, members from Maroela and Boekenhout (now Morula Legae and House TAU) burnt a bunch of newspapers in the office in outrage over a Pride article that featured two men kissing.
- 1998: Die Perdeby created its very own commercial website at www.perdeby.co.za.
- 1999: Die Perdeby became Perdeby to accommodate all students.
- 2001: The newspaper was shut down due to financial and administrative problems. The university also said that it was due to the paper not adhering to the language policy of having 50% English and 50% Afrikaans articles.
- 2002: It was reopened under the supervision of the Head of the Journalism Department, Mr Kobus Schoeman.
- Between 2005 and 2013, Perdeby attended the National Student Media Conferences hosted by Rhodes University Newspaper Activate and UCT newspaper Varsity.
- 2008: Perdeby got a new Editor-in-Chief, Carel Willemse, who took over from the previous Editor-in-Chief, Schoeman.
- 2009: Perdeby created its first social media post on Facebook.
- 2012: Perdeby started publishing only in English.
- 2012: The newspaper moved into the Opt’hoek building on Hatfield campus, where the paper still functions from today.
- 2013: UP stopped their Journalism programme, and Perdeby became the sole training platform for journalism at UP.
- 2015: The newspaper became the primary source of information nationally around the #FeesMustFall movement and its happenings at UP.
- 2016: Perdeby hosted the National Student Media Conference, which was held for the first time in Pretoria.
- 2018: The newspaper’s name was officially changed to its current name, PDBY, standing for Print, Digital, Broadcast, and Youth Media.
- 2020: PDBY was the only student newspaper to continue publishing online during level-five lockdown.
- 2022: The September edition featured the very first “Shoot Your Shot”.
- 2026: PDBY brought back the National Student Media Conference, and it was hosted by Die Matie – the student newspaper at Stellenbosch University.
