East Cape Update, published by East Cape News Agencies in Grahamstown, aimed to provide a reliable index of in-depth information and analysis of the Eastern Cape region. This region had a rich history of democratic opposition to the white minority government and often led the way for other regions in implementing successful strategies of resistance. Yet, being one of the poorest regions of the country, lacking in economic infrastructure, its population poverty-stricken with high rates of unemployment, information about the suffering experienced at the hands of the state and its security forces was scarce. East Cape Update hoped to fill in the gaps created by press censorship and other constraints.