Daily Maverick’s one day shutdown starts discussion within Namibian media sector

The Southern Africa Development Community Media is in the middle of a digital revolution. Should media houses go digital or die? And does radio remain king in this fast-changing world?

Print media is the oldest means by which people still share information across an entire group of audiences. But it is buckling under pressure from Big Tech. And the change will only accelerate. Just today, Daily Maverick, one of South Africa’s leading online news publications and weekly print newspapers, with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg, shut down to highlight the global state of emergency in journalism, which it says is experiencing a market failure and is at risk of collapse.

According to the publication’s CEO, Styli Charalambous, in a brief conversation with TV news outlet Newzroom Afrika, the decision is a result of 15 years of struggling with the challenges of sustaining public interest journalism in tough times. Charalambous said the global media landscape, already in upheaval, faces exacerbated difficulties in South Africa due to political unrest and economic strain. He revealed losses of approximately 70% since the publication’s inception in 2009, a testament to the industry’s struggles. He added, “As journalists leave the industry and newsrooms diminish, important coverage gaps emerge, impacting areas such as local news, education, and climate.” Charalambous stressed that there is a link between journalism, a thriving democracy, and economic growth.

Despite journalism’s enduring societal value, the print media’s traditional economic models are crumbling, necessitating urgent business, public, and policy interventions to sustain its role in society. On a broader scale, digital media is having print for breakfast, and it is not eggs, bacon, or baked beans.

Just in March this year, the South African National Editors’ Forum asked the Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry, initiated by the Competition Commission of South Africa, to consider getting Big Tech to look at fair compensation for using South African media content. Presentations were made by Chris Mcinga and Izak Minnaar, largely speaking on behalf of community media and the Press Council of South Africa. SANEF chairperson and Treasurer-General of the Africa Editors Forum, Sbu Ngalwa, told Future Media News that big tech companies are making money because they monetise the content and sell the ads, but what they are not doing, and this is not just in South Africa but everywhere else in the world, is that they are not sharing the valuable data and how much they are making with publishers. He adds, “All that we get as news publishers is programmatic advertising, which is a pittance and not enough for newsrooms to be able to operate the media companies to survive.” Ngalwa wants big tech to pay fair compensation.

To put it into context, even here at home, the evolution of online media developments and free publications has contributed to an increase in both disinformation and misinformation because of a lack of resources. For the regional print media as a whole, the main source of revenue comes from the sale of their news and the placement of advertisements in publications, but this too has decreased over the past years. Veteran journalist and Chairperson of the Namibia Media Trust, Gwen Lister, believes that the significance is mirrored by the fact that journalism is in a huge crisis on a global level. Lister said there is an incredible crisis for journalism and the knock-on effects on democracy and the economy. On Daily Maverick’s one-day shutdown, she said, “I think they put it this way and said the crisis is bigger than us; it’s bigger than one newsroom in any story, and this is why they’re making such a bold statement.” Lister, however, said that the publication’s position might have carried so much more weight had all the media in South Africa decided to shut down for the day because then people really would have sat up and taken notice.

The market failure has, however, not only affected print media but also electronic media, which now competes directly with streaming platforms such as Netflix, Showmax, Hulu, and Apple TV.  This has forced local broadcasters to innovate by teaming up to address coverage gaps and share resources. Much like the merger between Namibia Future Media Holdings and Tribefire Studios, which used to house 99Fm and One Africa TV. The companies announced a merger, with OneAfrica and 99FM becoming subsidiaries of Namibia Future Media Holdings. Gary Stroebel, CEO of Future Media, confirmed the rationale behind the transaction, “This merger represents a strategic move to strengthen our position in the dynamic media industry. By combining our resources and expertise, we are better equipped to deliver enhanced value to our clients and audiences. The blending of two excellent management teams also assists us to better navigate the evolving digital media landscape.” Stefan Hugo, who joined Future Media as an Executive Director, added, “Together, we will leverage our collective strengths to innovate and create impactful content that resonates with our audiences across various platforms.”