South Africa is fighting a battle to remember the past without becoming its prisoner.
Print media has been around for centuries, helping to shape society and culture across the world and in South Africa. The history of print media in South Africa has deep roots in global and political history, and the industry has evolved over the years.
Any sort of wide communication or marketing material that exists on paper sits under the umbrella of print media. This includes (but is not limited to!) newspapers, magazines, books, and brochures.
## The Origins of Print Media in South AfricaThe colourful history of black and white print goes all the way back to the 1800s.
A publication launched by slave traders, the first recorded reports of South African print media are the English/Dutch Cape Town Gazette and the African Advertiser (the Kaaspche Stads Courant en Afrikaansche Berigte). When the political landscape began to formalise, the government began to head up the printing. Just over a year later, the first recorded newspapers were launched.
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In the early days, African media emerged in West Africa, marking the beginning of African press and the growth of an indigenous press. One of the earliest known newspapers in Black Africa (East and West Africa) was printed in Sierra Leone. Leone Advertiser, and it was published for about a year. The weekly Iwe Ihorin, was founded by Rev. printed by the missionaries in Gold cost (now the Ghana).
These publications provided information of a religious nature and aimed specifically at the African audience, giving them a voice to express their grievances and opinions. However, frequent and bulk production in Africa was limited.
After the National Party government came to power in 1948, the established press of South Africa fought off full-scale press control by disciplining itself. During this time, the government complained about newspaper coverage, especially foreign reporting. Various acts and amendments were introduced to control what the media could report.
The decade saw fresh restrictions on political discussion among blacks with the silencing of the radical press and decreasing political content in black journalism. It was the 'jackboot era' of John Vorster, who until late 1966 was both Minister of Police and of Justice.
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Despite these challenges, some newspapers like the Sunday Times supported the United Party and sought to maintain editorial independence.
In March 1962, the Newspaper Press Union held a special meeting at which it adopted a constitution for a Press Board of Reference and a code of conduct for journalists. Support for the Board and code came from the Argus group and Afrikaans newspapers while most of the SAAN representatives were opposed to it." The main difference between the code of conduct and those in other countries was that journalists were not required to observe professional secrecy to protect sources of information.
## The State of Print Media in South Africa TodayOver the past few years, the South African print media industry has experienced massive changes. With the global pandemic, the increase in digital media, and the rise of artificial intelligence, there has been a shift in how readers look for their news and information - often reaching for digital media first.
With these changes, many print publications have suffered, facing a decline in circulation and shrinking subscriber bases. Within the last year, one of the leading publishers in the print news industry, Independent Media, has had to assimilate some of its publications and completely discontinue other smaller publications.
The magazine industry has also taken blows. Huisgenoot stands as the top-selling weekly magazine in South Africa and yet it has faced a decline of nearly 20% in circulation over the last few years. The industry also suffered the loss of South African TV Plus magazine, a publication which ran for 23 years.
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While newsprint has taken a toll, not all print media is dead - nor is it even in the red. Retail South African print media has grown. Magazines such as FTG Media (owned by retail group TFG), Man, and Sports Club have all seen growth in circulation.
The changes seem to point to the changing landscape of news and entertainment. Readers are looking for news as soon as it breaks; which is easier to do from a digital outlet. On the other side, from an entertainment and advertising space, print media is still a strong contender in the overall industry.
As a result, the print industry is often overlooked by companies in their marketing efforts. Despite headlines declaring the decline of print, printed media is very much alive and offers a surprisingly strong performance for those who take advantage of the gap.
According to the CMO Council, a massive 79% of readers take action after seeing printed advertising. This stands as one of a number of reasons why companies should consider adding print media to their marketing mix.
- Physical media is memorable: Physically interacting with paper engages the brain’s memory section more than a visual.
- Print combined with Digital marketing: Combining print with digital can give companies with smaller marketing budgets an edge on companies targeting only one channel.
- Printed news is seen as more credible than its digital counterpart: With the rise of fake news circulating online, print media is widely considered as a more credible outlet than digital.
- Growth in the retail media industry: The retail print media in South Africa is growing year-on-year. Companies looking to buy space for marketing material in retail magazines or launch their own will likely see gains from the effort.
Today, media and internet are increasingly part of the African media landscape, with convergence in the internet and mobile medium. Television signals that used to be analogy now are all digital, broadcasting twenty four hours. However, the African media industry is very small urban phenomena, as a significant portion of the population in African countries lives in the rural areas. Even in urban areas the penetration and availability of the media is not uniform.
African media policy in the digital age - 2021 #WorldPressFreedomDay Conference
South Africa is fighting a battle to remember the past without becoming its prisoner. South Africans must own their history to move forward. As Kruger's last message stated: "He who desires to build a future, dare not neglect the past."
The ownership of print media companies in South Africa spans across some heavy-hitter independent publishers in the country. Combining retail print media with digital advertising can add a serious boost to marketing efforts. PR, marketing and communications professionals need to prove the ROI of their earned media efforts. Tracking news clips is not enough.
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