Best News & Entertainment '24

Maryn Blignaut

Education: BA in Communication Science, University of South Africa (2012–2016), AFP Digital Investigation Techniques (GNI, 2023), Google News Initiative training (2024), Thomson Reuters Foundation AI Adoption Training and WAN-IFRA Women in News Programme (2025)

Experience: Briefly News (2017-present)

Awards: - Best Appealing Storytelling: Highest Average Pageviews, 2023 by Briefly News - Awarded the 2023 Gender Mainstreaming Award (Empowerment of Women in the Community) as part of the Briefly News team

Maryn Blignaut is the Editor-in-Chief at Briefly News, with nine years of experience in digital journalism. She holds a BA in Communication Science from the University of South Africa (2016) and specialises in digital storytelling and feature writing. She has completed advanced professional training in media and innovation, including the AFP Digital Investigation Techniques course, multiple Google News Initiative programmes, Thomson Reuters AI Adoption Training, and the WAN-IFRA Women in News leadership programme. For enquiries, contact maryn.blignaut@briefly.co.za

1170 articles published since 30 Oct 2017

Author's articles

American woman who was adopted by finds out she’s west African princess

American woman who was adopted by finds out she’s west African princess

World

5 years ago

Christiane Amanpour: CNN journalist reveals she has ovarian cancer, underwent surgery

Christiane Amanpour: CNN journalist reveals she has ovarian cancer, underwent surgery

World

5 years ago

Man filmed taking his 'communion bread' with soda during church service

Man filmed taking his 'communion bread' with soda during church service

World

5 years ago

Man buys 1st car, pays tribute to late mom: "She's here to say she loves it"

Man buys 1st car, pays tribute to late mom: "She's here to say she loves it"

World

5 years ago

Serena Williams’ daughter Olympia rocks replica of her mom's Australian Open look

Serena Williams’ daughter Olympia rocks replica of her mom's Australian Open look

World

5 years ago

Man who slapped French President Macron sentenced to jail, details pop up

Man who slapped French President Macron sentenced to jail, details pop up

World

5 years ago

Children display great football skill without allowing ball to drop, video goes viral

Children display great football skill without allowing ball to drop, video goes viral

World

5 years ago

The video of kids making good ball movements with their heads has turned into a teaching material about good teamwork on LinkedIn. May praised the coordination.

High school principal sings Whitney Houston's 'I will always love you' beautifully to graduating pupils

High school principal sings Whitney Houston's 'I will always love you' beautifully to graduating pupils

World

5 years ago

A high school head identified as Marcus Gause treated his graduands to a beautiful rendition of 'I Will Always Love You' by Whitney Houston in adorable clip.

Video captures beautiful moment mom rests on baby’s lap, her reaction goes viral

Video captures beautiful moment mom rests on baby’s lap, her reaction goes viral

World

5 years ago

Moment showing a daughter and her mother having quality family time has got people emotional on Instagram. In the content, the baby cuddled her head with care.

Neighbours come together to help family told to move out by landlord

Neighbours come together to help family told to move out by landlord

World

5 years ago

Having lost two family members to cancer, losing their house would have disoriented the Singletons. That is why neighbors are raising funds to help them buy it.

Tyler Perry announces new Madea movie 3 years after retiring the character

Tyler Perry announces new Madea movie 3 years after retiring the character

World

5 years ago

Tyler Perry announced that his popular Madea movie will be coming back to Netflix. This news comes after the filmmaker had said he's done casting as Madea.

Adorable kid mimics lady doing exercise on television, video goes viral

Adorable kid mimics lady doing exercise on television, video goes viral

World

5 years ago

A kid has gone viral following a funny video in which the lad was captured doing a mimic. The little one mimicked a lady who performed exercises on screen.

Toni Braxton's youngest son Diezel gets accepted to Howard University

Toni Braxton's youngest son Diezel gets accepted to Howard University

World

5 years ago

Despite being diagnosed with autism at a very young age, Toni Braxton's youngest son Diezel has beaten the odds and secured an admission to Howard University.

Commotion as angry man slaps French President Macron in the face

Commotion as angry man slaps French President Macron in the face

World

5 years ago

A video has shown the moment a man slapped President Macron in the face. The attacker was subsequently detained by security for assaulting the French president.

Beautiful identical twins graduate from university together, stun with lovely photos

Beautiful identical twins graduate from university together, stun with lovely photos

World

5 years ago

Beautiful Nigerian identical twins have been celebrated online as they graduated from a United States university at the same time. Their photos wowed many.

Maryn Blignaut