Key editorial and business strategies: a case study of six independent community newspapers

[From the introduction] The Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership (SPI) conducted this study with the goal of assisting small independent newspapers by exploring and publicising the many challenges that they face in their efforts to become sustainable enterprises. The intent is to reveal key business and editorial strategies successful publications have adopted to assist them in overcoming these challenges. To this end, the SPI conducted in-depth case studies of six successful South African newspapers serving their local communities. Newspapers were selected from a pool of twenty newspapers, which were nominated as successful ventures by the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) and the Association of Independent Publishers of South Africa (AIP). All twenty newspapers were sent questionnaires. These collected information on each newspaper’s background, money matters, the composition of staff, and the manager’s perception of the opportunities and difficulties facing the small independent community newspapers. Based on the researchers’ interpretations of responses in the questionnaires, the SPI selected six newspapers for the case study phase of the research. The selected newspapers are: KZN Community Newspaper, Southern and Soweto Globe, North Coast Courier, Eastern Free State Issue, Ikhwezi News and Limpopo Mirror. The SPI’s researcher spent a minimum of a week at each newspaper using interviews to gain an in-depth understanding of the information given in the questionnaires. Interviews were conducted with management, staff members, advertisers and readers. The issues covered in management and staff interviews ranged from those relating to business and editorial strategies to probing how people experience the workplace, their local media contexts and the wider media environment. Advertisers and readers were asked how they perceive the performance of the different publications. The value of these case studies is that they provide the reader with an overview of the challenges facing small independent community newspapers and the range of best practices and strategies they use to succeed. By sharing and disseminating this information the SPI hopes to contribute to the sustainability of small independent community newspapers

Readers' perceptions and preferences for online and print newspapers in South Africa

This study examines readers` perceptions and preferences for online and print newspapers in four South African legacy newspapers. Specifically, the study aims to: i) determine the influence of whether or not a print newspaper succeeded in the 4IR; ii) examine the challenges and opportunities that print newspapers in South Africa face; and iii) examine the influence of customer satisfaction on customer perceptions of print newspapers. The study employed a quantitative methodology, and data from readers of the Daily Maverick 168, the Mail and Guardian, Isolezwe, and Grocott's Mail were gathered and analysed using a descriptive survey method. A sample of 249 readers made up the study's participants, and the technique for gathering data was a standardised questionnaire. The findings show that readers' perceptions and preferences influenced their decision to read a particular newspaper. The study recommends that all key players in the South African newspaper sector make use of the findings to enrich strategies and policies for the adoption of news materials in the sphere of digital business

Readers' perceptions and preferences for online and print newspapers in South Africa

This study examines readers` perceptions and preferences for online and print newspapers in four South African legacy newspapers. Specifically, the study aims to: i) determine the influence of whether or not a print newspaper succeeded in the 4IR; ii) examine the challenges and opportunities that print newspapers in South Africa face; and iii) examine the influence of customer satisfaction on customer perceptions of print newspapers. The study employed a quantitative methodology, and data from readers of the Daily Maverick 168, the Mail and Guardian, Isolezwe, and Grocott's Mail were gathered and analysed using a descriptive survey method. A sample of 249 readers made up the study's participants, and the technique for gathering data was a standardised questionnaire. The findings show that readers' perceptions and preferences influenced their decision to read a particular newspaper. The study recommends that all key players in the South African newspaper sector make use of the findings to enrich strategies and policies for the adoption of news materials in the sphere of digital business

Media management training needs assessment within the SADC region : a qualitative study

By exploring the views of editorial and business leaders in the media industry, the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership (SPI) aims to reach a comprehensive understanding of management training issues that are regarded as priorities by leaders in the SADC region. The Institute also aims to create a space for media organisations to share their experiences of management capacity building and explore avenues for future collaboration. It is envisaged that this report will form part of an ongoing dialogue on the needs of media leaders in the region. Representatives from the SPI, the Southern Africa Institute for Media Entrepreneurship Development (SAIMED), the Southern Africa Media Development Fund (SAMDEF) and the Southern African Media Training Trust (NSJ) met to advise the SPI on the industry’s key information needs. The research was then designed to focus on the identified needs. The research was conducted in three phases. In the first phase approximately 75 interviews were conducted with people holding diverse positions in a broad range of print and broadcast media institutions in Botswana, Malawi, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia. The second research phase comprised a workshop held for training providers and media professionals from the SADC region. Findings from the initial phase of the research were presented to workshop delegates for comment and debate. This allowed for the testing and triangulation of initial research findings. In response to comments by delegates, who thought that the research ought to have included countries where the lingua franca of business is not predominantly English, the study was extended to a second set of countries: Angola, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Interviews with 64 informants from this second set of countries constitutes the final phase of the research, Translators were used in this third phase, but other than that, there was a high degree of standardisation across all eight countries with the same methodological approach - including the selection of participants - being used in the first and third phases. As the research is predominantly qualitative, findings are context-specific and not generalisable. The overall impression portrayed by the study is a sense that media managers throughout the SADC region are struggling to overcome the constraints of having received little training other than that acquired in the workplace. There is also a sense that media leaders and managers thirst for the knowledge and skills that will enable them to continually improve and steer their organisations to success. The political and economic contexts of the research countries are, to differing extents, all problematic. Mozambique has the most liberal media climate out of all the countries researched and the Democratic Republic of Congo has the most repressed. But all of the countries suffer some degree of media repression, whether blatant or subtle. It is widely accepted that media plays a vital role in the development and mediation of democracy. With empowerment central to the democratic ethos, it is vital that media leaders and managers are themselves empowered to steer their organisations fairly, freely and effectively. This study contributes to the process by asking media professionals about their perceptions on what kinds of training their leaders and managers need and prefer so that training interventions can be appropriately targeted and designed. And so this research process serves to initiate what the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership foresees will be an ongoing collaboration with media industry leaders and managers in the SADC region: a cooperate effort to shape solutions to the considerable range of training and management capacity building needs revealed in this study.Funded by the Netherlands Institute for Southern Africa (NIZA