If ever there were a fighter it was Ken Owen. He would challenge almost any opinion voiced by anyone. In a newspaper world where this was seen as the mark of independence of editorial opinion, he was a champion.
For this he should always be remembered.
He aimed to discomfort the comfortable. From the despicable wing of the apartheid government to the surprised hurt of the parliamentary opposition, he would challenge every public figure's prejudices and actions. He would sometimes challenge his own opinions set down in print in earlier arguments.
There are too few such journalists and editors in South Africa's media. And very few, at any time, who could write so brilliantly with a bludgeon in one hand and a sharp pen in the other.
Owen will be missed by his colleagues who worked with him over decades.
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