STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 - Wits Journalism
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1
State of the
STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020
Newsroom
2019-20
A Wits Journalism project
Edited by Alan Finlay
Before/After
STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 2 State of the Newsroom 2019/20 A Wits Journalism project Editor and lead researcher: Alan Finlay For Wits Journalism: Professor Franz Krüger Production, design and layout: Irwin Manoim Proofreading: Lizeka Mda Additional research: Lwazi Maseko and Liseli Ngoma. We would also like to thank The Press Council and the South African National Editors’ Forum for their contributions. This publication was made possible by the support of the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) through the CHARM (Consortium to Promote Human Rights, Civic Freedoms and Media Development in Sub- Saharan Africa) project. https://journalism.co.za/resources/state-of-the-newsroom/
STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 3
4 Preface: Franz Krüger
contents A disruption we could not ignore
5 Introduction: Alan Finlay
Before/After: Co-habiting two spaces at once
7 Newsroom in review
A crisis of media ethics, from Zondo to SABC
27 Our persistent media
monopoly: Nechama Brodie
What do media monopolies mean for
Indicators diversity and democracy in South Africa?
14 Media freedoms during 2019
15 Print circulations
19 Radio broadcast audiences
23 Television audiences
26 Internet audiences
Commentary
59
61
Minding the news gender gap: Kathy Magrobi
An unequal dream: Edwin Naidu
40 Shocking the fault lines:
Webinar
Media models face a brutal test with
63 Holding ourselves to account: Pippa Green the covid-19 pandemic
Appendices
68 Appendix 1
Sanef media statements on media freedom
and journalist ethics issues from 2019
71 Appendix 2
Demographics of editors and board members
45 We need to keep at it, no matter
how hard: Kathy Magrobi
A roundtable discussion with women
working in the media
STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 4
a disruption
Nevertheless 2019 provided a great and are now a regular feature. it has become an influential contribution
preface deal of material for reporting and analy- We have previously produced the to discussion about the media in South
we could
sis. Job losses and company restructuring report both in printed and in digital form. Africa.
were once again in the news, as was the This year, we are dropping the print ver- Since the last report, we have been able
state of ethical standards in the profes- sion entirely, which has allowed us to flex to extend our reach to other parts of the
not ignore sion – both, in different ways, illustrations
of the deep crisis facing the traditional
our design muscles somewhat. Yes, we’re
also a little sad to lose the physical report,
continent, and we are pleased that one
element of this expansion has been the
business model of journalism. There were but it is just the way of things. We hope development of a sister publication, a
controversies in several newsrooms, and you enjoy the report’s look. State of the Newsroom in Malawi, in col-
By Franz Krüger the South African National Editors’ Forum laboration with The International Centre
A
S
set up a high-profile inquiry into the s Wits Journalism, we are acutely for Asset Recovery (ICAR).
oon after we began work on review-
issue. aware of the way the world of media This is being produced by Malawian re-
ing the state of South Africa’s news-
This is the sixth edition of Wits Journal- is shifting beneath our feet. Part of the searchers, and will appear in the coming
room as it was in 2019, the covid-19
ism’s State of the Newsroom report, and reason why we publish this report is that months. We hope to be able to work with
crisis erupted. Much more will have to
as usual it provides an overview of the we need to remain engaged with the researchers in other countries too, to
be said about it in the next edition of this
key developments during the year, as well professional world if we want to remain replicate the successful model.
report, but it had consequences on this
as an in-depth article, and two discus- relevant. We hope you enjoy the report. We
report in terms of process and in terms of
sions – an online roundtable of women Close involvement with the media and again welcome feedback and suggestions:
content.
media practitioners and the results of a professional journalism has always been tell us what we could do better, and what
The unexpected disruption delayed
webinar hosted by Wits Journalism during central to our ethos, and has meant aspects we should be focusing on.
our research, and as a result this report
lockdown. We have also again included a we are active through conferences and A word of thanks must go to everyone
appears somewhat later than we would
set of indicators – a selection of statistical events, grants and awards for journal- who worked on this report, particular-
have liked.
insights that highlight important trends. ists, offering access to higher degrees ly Alan Finlay, the lead researcher and
In terms of content, though covid-19
They include audience trends in the on a recognition of prior learning basis, editor. Many others played a role, and are
is undoubtedly a story of 2020, it was
different media, such as key numbers working with community media, focusing acknowledged elsewhere.
impossible to ignore the pandemic and
which show the much-discussed de- on particular areas such as investigative We are particularly grateful for the
its effects completely. And it accentuated
cline in print, for instance. We also have journalism, Africa-China reporting and support from the Swedish International
trends that we have been chronicling for
included some commentary pieces by the justice system. You will find details of Development Agency (SIDA), through
several years. It became impossible to
people who have thought deeply about our work at www.journalism.co.za. CHARM, the Consortium to Promote
look at 2019’s decline in the mainstream
specific issues facing the media. This year, The State of the Newsroom report is Human Rights, Civic Freedoms and Media
news media without taking into account
we focus on gender and on accountabil- an important part of the mix. We are Development in Sub-Saharan Africa,
that covid-19 was about to wreak much
ity. The indicators and the commentary glad to find that with its combination of which Wits Journalism is part of.
greater devastation.
pieces were introduced in the last edition, academic rigour and accessible writing,
STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 5
introduction before/after:
ing to the felt need to at least say something about the
historic moment we were going through in 2020.
newsrooms are under-resourced, laying off staff and
looking for easy fixes to keep their audiences and
co-habiting two
We have called this issue “Before/After” to capture readers.
the sense of co-habiting two spaces at once. This has, as the new Press Ombud Pippa Green in
The inclusion of commentary on the impact of her commentary piece shows, a real impact on the
spaces at once covid-19 on journalists and the newsroom has opened
up some interesting cross-links between the articles in
reliability and trustworthiness of news. Green points
to what are in effect dilapidated controls in many
this issue. newsrooms: “The effects of the cutbacks can be seen
For example, the webinar discussion that is an edit- in many of the complaints that come before the Press
ed transcript of a series that Wits Journalism hosted Council, itself affected by the economic malaise. But
By Alan Finlay during lockdown, complements the analysis of media the pressures the media face are evidenced in the
T
ownership in South Africa by Nechama Brodie. complaints lodged last year: in some cases, they re-
he editorial agenda of this publication is to re-
Brodie’s article opens with a simple question: “How flect a scramble to publish, lack of verification, incon-
flect what happened in the news media in South
healthy are the patterns of concentrated media sistent attempts to allow a right of reply, and in some
Africa the year before publication – in this case,
ownership in South Africa for democracy?” While she cases a lack of editorial oversight.”
2019. By doing this, we can offer a summary of key
suggests that much of the important news content is There is a strong focus on women journalists in
events and issues impacting on the newsroom in that
being written by independent news outlets, the we- this issue – and Edwin Naidu’s high-level summa-
year and create a publication of critical commentary
binar discussion shows how vulnerable independent ry of research statistics of women in South African
and record.
news sources such as the Mail & Guardian can be. newsrooms provides a nice sounding board to the
But then the pandemic happened.
roundtable discussion led by Quote This Woman+. The
A
Early on this created practical challenges in putting
s Thandeka Gqubule argues in the webinar discus- roundtable makes for insightful reading of real-world
this issue together. We had planned a face-to-face
sion, a crisis such as the pandemic produces an conditions and experiences of women media practi-
roundtable discussion with women journalists, which
information crisis, one in which the state broadcaster tioners in the newsroom.
became impossible in lockdown. Instead we had to
has an essential role to play. Its funding woes are all In the organisation’s commentary piece, Quote This
move the “roundtable” online.
the more worrying in a context where commercial Woman+ also provides an interesting overview of
Then most contributors, although discussing 2019, in
one way or another felt the need to comment on the
pandemic – it suggested how extraordinary it felt to
write about 2019 in the vacuum of pretending that the
A strong focus on women journalists, including
pandemic did not exist.
By the end of putting this issue together, we had
a round-table discussion of real-world
relented a little, and ended up doing a bit of both: conditions and experiences in the newsroom
commenting on 2019, the year that was, and respond-
STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 6
Apology to Ms
its work in encouraging newsrooms to use more women
experts as sources in stories – as few as one out of five I n the numerous radio and TV interviews we gave after the
publication of the 2018 edition of State of the Newsroom,
Verashni Pillay
sources quoted in the news is a woman, a ratio that gets only one journalist (nearly) asked me about the safety of
worse when it comes to sports and business news. journalists and the psychological effects of their work – al-
This is a clear gender gap in our news that needs the though in one case off-camera I was told of bribes going on
It has been drawn to our attention that a attention of editors and journalists. in the industry, and threats to journalists.
photograph in our 2018 State of the News- Our summary of the gender demographics of the editors As we pointed out in the article, South African journalists
room report, published in June 2019, suggests of the country’s main newspapers is useful in this context: have to navigate violence and violations of many kinds –
a link between former editor Verashni Pillay 33% are women, as are 28% of the board members of ma- many of them endemic to our country.
and controversy around the Huffington Post’s jor media houses. This suggests that while racial transfor- The roundtable discussion shows how real work-relat-
treatment of claims levelled against some mation in the newsroom is strong, gender parity has some ed stress and trauma is for women journalists working in
journalists as being part of Stratcom. Our intention was way to go. this country. As one participant put it: “I think the reality
not to make such a connection, but we accept that this It would be interesting to see if more women experts is that a lot of journalists battle with mental health issues
implication can be drawn from the context. We are aware are sourced in the newspapers edited by women – but as a consequence of harassment. I am very militant about
that these events took place some time after Ms Pillay left this might not necessarily be the case. As has been argued talking about what’s happening to me, seeking support,
the publication, and apologise unreservedly to her for any in State of the Newsroom before, transformation is not seeking counselling, and I honestly think that this needs to
embarrassment caused. The online version of the report just about demographics, but about new perspectives in be drummed into young journalists – seeking help is not a
has been changed. editorial agendas, and how different priorities of newswor- sign of weakness, it’s actually a sign of strength.”
thiness and reporting shape the news that we get. And as The covid-19 pandemic has thrown the duty of care
(Note: The change and an apology was made immediate- Brodie writes in her article, concentrated media ownership of newsrooms to their journalists in the spotlight, and it
ly the matter was brought to our attention in June 2019. comes with a price tag, as “large commercial news outlets would be interesting to do a retrospective survey on how
Ms Pillay nevertheless laid a complaint with the SA Press are prioritising content strategies that appeal to audience in-house policies on safety and psychological trauma that
Council, which ruled on the matter on March 16, 2020. It metrics over a deeper consideration of the kinds of journal- should have been implemented during the lockdown are
found that the use of the image had breached the Press ism and coverage that is necessary to sustain democracy”. sustained over the longer term.
Code. It found the apology adequately worded, but or- A telling response we received back following the publi-
dered that it should be more prominently placed.) The full cation of an article on trauma in the newsrooms in South
ruling can be found at: Africa in the 2018 edition, was to the effect of: “Is it really
https://www.presscouncil.org.za/Ruling/View/verash- an issue in South Africa? I mean, it is not like we are Syria?”
ni-pillay-vs-wits-journalism-school-4441. The answer is simple: trauma doesn’t work like that.
Adj Prof Franz Krüger
HoD: Wits Journalism
STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 7
a crisis of media Retrenchments continue
newsroom
in review in the media sector
ethics, from D
eclining newspaper circulation continued to take
its toll on jobs in the media sector in 2019, with
retrenchments at Tiso Blackstar, and warnings of
zondo to sabc
pending job cuts at Independent Media.
In May Tiso Blackstar announced that its tabloid Sunday
World would be shut down, and that it would be retrench-
ing staff across a number of its publications, including
Sowetan, Business Day, The Herald and Daily Dispatch.
Retrenchments and salary freezes would affect some 150
employees.
By alan finlay The group said that of its newspapers, Sunday World and
Sowetan in particular, had become financially unsustain-
Media ethics was in crisis in 2019, with worrying
able. The retrenchments were met with opposition from
testimony given at the Zondo Commission and the the Information Communications and Technology Union
South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) describing (ICTU), which had 200 members working at Tiso Blackstar.
an erosion of public trust in journalism. While the The ICTU announced a strike and a go-slow after negoti-
ations with management broke down. In May striking me-
SABC released the findings of an inquiry into editorial dia workers, who were joined by workers from Cell C who
interference at the state broadcaster, Primedia faced were also engaged in strike action at the mobile operator,
its own allegation of interference, and the editorial handed over a memorandum at the media house’s Park-
town offices in Johannesburg. Some 40 journalists lost
credibility of news broadcaster eNCA came under their jobs at the group following Commission for Concilia-
the spotlight. Meanwhile declining newspaper sales tion, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) hearings.
continued to put pressure on jobs in the sector, and Tiso In April Independent Media’s Iqbal Survé had warned of
more job losses if the company failed to recapitalise. This
Blackstar sold its news assets. followed a restructuring process at the media house start-
ed the previous year.
The year also saw the Mail & Guardian announce it
would need to lay off staff and restructure the company in
STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 8
response to readers migrating to digital news.
Also in April, sixty retrenched employees
Tiso Blackstar exits Independent Media Independent Media was in debt to the Chinese
consortium, Interacom Investment Holdings,
from Ndalo Media, publisher of glossy maga- the news business and the “webs of and was servicing that debt.
zines Destiny, Destiny Man and Elle, ended up
deceit” at PIC In testimony critical of PIC, Survé said that
D
taking the publisher to the CCMA.1 This, after espite the retrenchments in its flail- his relationship with the parastatal had broken
I
its owner Khanyi Dhlomo had shut down Ndalo ing print division – and continued down. He also defended the editorial indepen-
n December President Cyril Ramaphosa re-
in December 2018, saying that it owed printers pressure on the country’s magazine dence of his newspapers, which include titles
ceived the long-delayed final report from the
some R13-million, and staff had not been paid. industry – a month after the job cuts, Tiso such as the Cape Times, Cape Argus and The
commission of inquiry set up in 2017 to look
Ndalo Media was considered the only “black- Blackstar said it had bought The Media and Star. This follows criticism over the years of
into irregularities at state-owned Public Invest-
owned premium magazine publisher in the EasyDIY magazines, as well as their online ti- Survé using front-page stories in Independent
ment Corporation (PIC).
country”.2 tles, from Wag The Dog Publishers. newspapers to promote himself and to fight
PIC manages R2.2-trillion worth of invest-
Meanwhile several employees at the coun- While Wag The Dog said that it felt Tiso personal battles. But speaking at the inquiry,
ments on behalf of public servants,4 but had
try’s only commercial classical music radio sta- had the “capacity and the will to amplify Survé described Independent Media as “the
become embroiled in what has been described
tion, ClassicFM, lost their jobs after the station the influence and credibility” of the titles,3 most objective media house in SA”, whose “sur-
as “webs of deceit that may have captured one
was put into business rescue in September. A just over a week after this, Tiso Blackstar an- vival was based on objectivity”.6
of South Africa’s most prized parastatals”5 –
bid by The Professional Consortium was sub- nounced the sale of all of its print, broadcast The acrimony between Independent Me-
including allegations that Survé himself might
sequently accepted in December 2019 after and content businesses in South Africa, Gha- dia and PIC continued throughout the year,
have benefited from poor decisions at the cor-
cost-cutting exercises at the station. na and Kenya to Lebashe Investment Group. with PIC attempting to liquidate Sekunjalo in
poration.
The deal was reported to be worth November – a move Sekunjalo described as
Speaking at the commission, Survé said Inde-
R1.05-billion. Lebashe, a company with in- “frivolous” and an “attempt to embarrass and
pendent Media could not service a debt to PIC
terests in financial services and ICTs, created undermine the Sekunjalo Group and Dr Survé
following a loan of R850-million in 2013. Sur-
a holding structure, Arena Holdings, for its personally”.7
vé’s company, Sekunjalo Independent Media,
new media assets.
which owns a 55% stake in Independent Media,
reportedly owed PIC some R1.35-billion by Sep-
tember 2018. Survé also told the inquiry that
Acrimony between Independent Media and
PIC continued throughout the year, with PIC
attempting to liquidate Sekunjalo in November
STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 9
Zondo Commission Editorial She described the SABC newsroom as
“abused”, and said that editorial interference
tion Time programme, said that former public
protector Thuli Madonsela had to be “smug-
hears of systemic independence of the by Motsoeneng at the broadcaster was an gled” into the studio for an interview following
failures at the SABC public broadcaster attempt to protect former president, Jacob
Zuma, and the ruling ANC.
the release of her 2014 report into the broad-
caster.
under the spotlight
I
Foeta Krige, a former SABC producer, de- “We didn’t want top management to be
n September the Judicial Commission of
scribed how Motsoeneng targeted people who aware of who we were bringing,” he said. Ma-
T
Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture
he editorial independence at the SABC disagreed with him, saying he managed by “de- donsela’s report had investigated, among other
(Zondo Commission) heard testimony from
came under the spotlight in 2019, both cree”.9 He told the inquiry that Motsoeneng’s things, allegations of maladministration, abuse
SABC board chairperson Bongumusa Makha-
at the Zondo Commission and in the re- attempt to censor political coverage went back of power and the irreg-
thini that political interference in the broad-
lease of a long-awaited independent inquiry. as far as 2014 when he tried to stop report-
caster’s retrenchment plans in late 2018 were
In September, former SABC chief operating ing on the Economic Freedom Fighters
reminiscent of the era of state capture under
officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng – who was fired in (EFF) ahead of national elections.
investigation by the commission.
2017 after he was found guilty of bringing the The SABC’s economics editor,
In 2018, the embattled public broadcaster
SABC into disrepute – defended his decision to Thandeka Gqubule-Mbeki told the
announced that it intended to retrench 981
ban the airing of footage of violent public pro- commission how former head of TV
permanent employees, and no longer con-
tests when he appeared before the commis- news, Nothando Maseko, asked her
tract some 1 200 freelancers, as part of its
sion. not to cover political events linked
turn-around strategy (see SON 2018). Howev-
He told the inquiry that his 2016 directive to turbulence in the financial mar-
er, the announcement was met with opposi-
was within the remit of the Broadcasting Act. kets following the dismissal of Nh-
tion, including from Communications Minister
He also claimed that the suspension of a group lanhla Nene as finance minister in
Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, and resulted in the
of journalists known as the SABC 88 had nothing 2015.
resignation of four SABC board members for
to do with them defying his content directive. Mwaba Phiri, who was then the ex-
different reasons. Early in 2019, the retrench-
Four of the SABC 8 gave testimony at the in- ecutive producer of the SABC’s Ques-
ment plans were halted following consulta-
quiry, describing a culture of censorship and se-
tions with various stakeholders, including Par-
crecy at the broadcaster. SAfm’s executive pro-
liament, unions and employees.
ducer Krivani Pillay told the commission that
The SABC’s CEO Madoda Mxakwe mean-
Motsoeneng had cancelled a show at the radio
while told the commission that the broadcast-
station after it criticised his content directive.
er had suffered a collapse of governance and
financial processes, and also accused board
Former SABC chief operating officer Hlaudi
members of interfering in editorial and busi-
Motsoeneng defended his decision to ban
ness decisions.
footage of violent public protests
STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 10
ular appointment of Motsoeneng at the broad-
caster.10
Zondo Commission lama Mokhobo knowing about it, and was
described at the commission as unlawful
Allegations of ‘brown-
Their testimony before the commission came hears of “unlawful” because it had failed to follow due process. envelope’ journalism
just over a month after the SABC released the
findings of an independent commission of in-
MultiChoice deal The issue of encryption was said to be the
sticking point behind the government’s de- Public trust in the South African media was
I
quiry into editorial decision-making at the layed DTT migration plans, which had start- dealt another blow in 2019, when the spectre
n October the controversial set-top box
broadcaster. ed over 15 years ago. By late 2019 there was of ‘brown envelope’ journalism raised its head
deal between the SABC and MultiChoice
The commission, which was headed by for- still no clarity on the future direction of the at the Zondo Commission. In January, Angelo
also came under the spotlight at the Zon-
mer press ombudsman and veteran journalist, plans. Even though R10-billion was said to Agrizzi, the former COO of Bosasa, said the se-
do Commission.
Joe Thloloe, had been set up in 2018 – along- have been spent on building the DTT net- curity and prison services company had paid
The set-top boxes will allow analogue tele-
side a second inquiry into sexual harassment at work, by November reports said that only journalists to write favourably about it.
vision to be converted to digital, and some
the SABC (See SON 2018) – and was mandated half a million South Afri- In September the commission also heard al-
five million poor households are expected
to look into allegations of newsroom interfer- cans had migrated to legations from a former crime intelligence
to get them for free in the government’s dig-
ence from 2012-2017. digital.12 officer, Colonel Dhanajaya Naidoo, that
ital terrestrial television (DTT) roll-out plans.
The report characterised the broadcaster as he knew of at least three instances
The 2013 deal struck by Motsoeneng was
“as an organisation crippled by pain, anger, and when journalists had been on the
worth some R553 million, and would mean
fear” and said it “suffered from the capricious payroll of Crime Intelligence. He said
that the set-top boxes would not be encrypt-
use of authority and power to terrorise staff money had been paid to retract and
ed, allowing MultiChoice to entrench its mo-
and to deflect the corporation from its man- publish stories.
nopoly in the market because its pay-for TV
date and its editorial policies”. Naidoo specifically singled out
competitors could not offer their ser-
While it said “the spectre of the ANC hovered Sunday Times associate editor Ran-
vices without encryption.
over the newsroom”, and found evidence of jeni Munusamy, who denied the al-
As part of the deal, the SABC
former communications minister Faith Muth- legations in a detailed affidavit, but
was also to hand over
ambi interfering in editorial decision-making, it was nevertheless placed on special
its substantial archive
also said that there was no evidence of direct leave pending an internal investiga-
of historical material.
political interference by the ANC in newsroom tion at Tiso Blackstar. Judge
The deal was allegedly
decisions.11 The commission made several rec- Zondo also gave
made without former
ommendations to strengthen editorial inde-
chief executive officer
pendence at the broadcaster.
of the broadcaster, Lu-
Judge Raymond Zondo: Heard allegations
of wrong-doing in media institutionsSTATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 11
Munusamy leave to give evidence at the com-
mission and to cross-examine at a later date.
Sanef launches the unit, and to apologise to those implicat-
ed in the reports, including former finance
“Rogue unit” furore
In its response, Sanef said it was important inquiry into media minister, Pravin Gordhan. continues
that journalists implicated were publicly known
so that they, like Munusamy, could be given the
ethics The inquiry was expected to interview ed-
itors, journalists, media experts and stake- While the “rogue unit” stories were initially
S
space to respond to the allegations.13 holders from civil society organisations, po- to serve as a useful case study for the Sanef
anef cited testimony given by Angelo
Meanwhile the commission was also fiercely litical parties, government and business. The inquiry on where the media goes wrong, the
Agrizzi at the Zondo Commission as
criticised in October for trying to force Inde- aim was to produce “clear recommendations waters were almost immediately muddied with
one of its reasons for launching an in-
pendent Media journalist, Bongani Hans, to di- for strengthening industry ethics and credi- the near simultaneous release in June of a re-
quiry into media ethics in June.
vulge his sources after he wrote a story alleging bility”, Sanef said.16 port by Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane.
It said there had been an “erosion of public
that bribes were paid to ANC delegates during By mid-December, the panel had con- Mkhwebane found that news reports on the
trust” in the media, and a “decline
the party’s 2017 elective conference. Sanef, civ- sidered 55 substantive submis- rogue unit were “substantiated” and that Gord-
of editorial independence due
il society rights watchdog Right2Know, as well sions, and was engaged in oral han’s role in it violated the constitution.18
to a number of issues includ-
as the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) all hearings.17 Mkhwebane had been heavily criticised in
ing the encroachment of
chastised the commission for using strong-arm the media for a series of reports that appeared
media owners and shrink-
tactics in trying to get the journalist to violate to be politically biased in their findings. Both
ing newsrooms linked to
the Press Code. the Sanef inquiry and the report by the pub-
retrenchments”.14
lic protector nevertheless appeared to spark a
Led by retired high court
Twitter campaign by Piet Rampedi, one of the
judge, Kathleen Satchwell,
journalists at the centre of the Sunday Times
the inquiry was to include as
“rogue unit” furore, who now worked as inves-
a case example the apology
tigations editor at Independent Media.
and retraction of stories on an
In the tweets, Rampedi levelled allegations
alleged South African Rev-
against a number of journalists, as well as
enue Service “rogue”
Gordhan, whom he claimed had plotted
intelligence unit by the
to silence him and his colleagues.19 He
Sunday Times (see
also attacked Sanef, saying it was influ-
SON 2018).15
enced by donor agendas.
In 2015, the press
ombudsman or-
Zondo Commission evidence by dered the newspa-
Angelo Agrizzi prompted an inquiry per to retract all
by Sanef into media ethics of its stories onSTATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 12
Trouble in the eNCA ship”.20 In a bitter series of Twitter responses,
the journalist, amongst other things, accused
Primedia clearED of Sanef and five
newsroom Pillay of ill-treatment and of censorship at the interference journalists lose in the
channel, and the eNCA newsroom of bias in its
Equality Court
M
The editorial credibility of 24-hour news news coverage. eanwhile in September Primedia
broadcaster eNCA also came under the spot- His tweets drew responses from several pub- released the report from its own
In October Sanef lost its Equality Court appli-
light in 2019 after the appointment of Kanthan lic figures, including former public protector, independent inquiry into a com-
cation to interdict EFF leader Julius Malema.
Pillay as director of news in October. Pillay’s Thuli Madonsela, who came to Maseko’s sup- plaint by Karima Brown, a former talk show
The application was lodged together with five
Capitalist Party of South Africa had unsuccess- port. host at Talk Radio 702, of editorial interfer-
journalists – Ranjeni Munusamy, Adriaan Bas-
fully contested the 2019 national and provin- The channel cited as reasons for the termina- ence and censorship at the broadcaster.
son (News24), Pauli van Wyk (Daily Maverick),
cial elections. While the EFF, amongst others, tion of Pillay’s contract his tweet, together with The complaint by Brown was made just
Barry Bateman (Eyewitness News) and Max du
raised questions of the station’s editorial in- the “[s]erious allegations [that had] also been days before her contract with Talk Radio 702
Preez (Vrye Weekblad) – who said they had
dependence given Pillay’s political ambitions, levelled at eNCA about Pillay’s censorship of lapsed, and followed allegations made on air
been intimidated and harassed following state-
his tenure at the broadcaster lasted barely two stories and his management style”.21 several months before of collusion between
ments made outside the Zondo Commission by
months. With Pillay’s departure, the suspension of individuals linked to SABC and Multichoice.
Malema in 2018.
In December eNCA announced that it had journalist Khayelihle Khumalo was also lifted. The allegations resulted in the station
Malema said the journalists had been biased
terminated Pillay’s contract. This, after disgrun- Khumalo had been suspended by Pillay a week receiving complaints, and station manager
in their reports against the EFF and said the
tled senior political journalist at the station, earlier after tweeting from the EFF’s elective Thabisile Mbete asking Brown to offer the
journalists were “the enemy” and needed to
Samkele Maseko, left to join SABC News – the conference. eNCA had decided not to cover the named individuals a chance to reply.
be dealt with decisively.
latest in several senior journalist resignations conference, after the EFF banned the online Brown argued this amounted to editori-
However, the court said that the media was
at eNCA during 2019, including those by Mapi news site Daily Maverick and investigative jour- al interference. However the inquiry found
not protected under the Promotion of Equality
Mhlangu, Erin Bates and Leigh-Anne Jansen. nalism unit amaBhungane from party events.22 against her, and said it was likely that Brown
and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act. It
In a tweet, Pillay characterised Maseko’s At the time eNCA editor Jeremy Maggs said: had contravened the Broadcasting Com-
also said that offensive or controversial views
move as “rats swimming toward a sinking “eNCA has to take a firm stand on media free- plaints Commission of South Africa’s code
do not automatically constitute hate speech.24
dom by showing solidarity with organisations by not initially offering the individuals a
barred from attending.”23 right of reply. New ombud
EFF leader Julius Malema said the journalists had been biased
in their reports against the EFF and said the journalists were
“the enemy” and needed to be dealt with decisivelySTATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 13
L Endnotes
astly, in April veteran journalist Pip- expected-to-respond-to-allegations-at-state- inquiry/
pa Green took up her position as the capture-inquiry 18 The Citizen. July 2019. https://citizen.co.za/
Press Council’s new Press Ombuds- 10 News24.com. September 2019. https:// news/south-africa/social-media/2151772/i-
1 Sowetan Live. April 2019. https://www.
man, replacing Johan Retief who retired in www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/ was-violated-for-five-years-for-exposing-
sowetanlive.co.za/news/south-africa/2019-
late 2018 after nearly a decade as ombuds- news/zondo-commission-we-had-to-smug- rogue-unit-piet-rampedi/
04-15-ndalo-media-workers-head-to-ccma/
man. Between 2009 and 2014, Green was gle-madonsela-onto-our-show-after-she-re- 19 SABC News. July 2019. https://www.
2 Bizcommunity. December 2018.
Head of the Journalism Programme at the leased-her-report-sabc-employee-20190905 sabcnews.com/sabcnews/sanef-re-
https://www.bizcommunity.com/
University of Pretoria. She has held senior 11 The Media Online. August 2019. https:// sponds-to-journalist-piet-rampedis-allega-
Article/196/39/185502.html
editorial positions in both newspapers and themediaonline.co.za/2019/08/commis- tions/
3 The Media Online. June 2019. https://the-
radio news, and was also a member of the sion-finds-editorial-interference-and-abuse- 20 AllAfrica.com. December 2019. https://
mediaonline.co.za/2019/06/tiso-blackstar-
SABC board from 2010 to 2013. of-staff-at-sabc/ allafrica.com/stories/201912230001.html
buys-the-media-online-the-media-easydiy-
12 New Frame. November 2019. https:// 21 Ibid.
and-the-most-awards/
www.newframe.com/new-policy-conflict-in- 22 Ibid.
4 Eyewitness News. December 2019. https://
digital-television-rollout/ 23 AllAfrica.com. December 2019. https://
ewn.co.za/2019/12/16/ramaphosa-receives-
13 Sanef. October 2019. https://sanef.org. allafrica.com/stories/201912150011.html
final-report-recommendations-from-pic-
za/further-allegations-against-journal- 24 Iol.co.za. October 2019. https://www.iol.
commission
ists-at-zondo-commission-deeply-concern- co.za/news/politics/sanef-loses-against-
5 The South African. https://www.
ing/ malema-in-equality-court-bid-35785453
thesouthafrican.com/news/pic-inquiry-
14 News24.com. June 2019. https://
ramaphosa-extension-commission-deadline/
www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/
6 Fin24. April 2019. https://www.fin24.com/
sanef-launches-inquiry-into-media-
Economy/7-highlights-from-iqbal-surves-
ethics-20190624
testimony-at-the-pic-inquiry-20190403
15 Eyewitness News. October 2019. https://
7 BusinessDay. November 2019. https://
ewn.co.za/2019/10/20/govt-welcomes-
www.businesslive.co.za/bd/nation-
sanef-decision-to-launch-media-credibility-
al/2019-11-12-pic-seeks-liquida-
inquiry
tion-of-sekunjalo-independent-media/
16 News24.com. June 2019. https://
8 Vuyo Mvoko, Thandeka Gqubule-Mbeki,
www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/
Suna Venter, Krivani Pillay, Lukhanyo Calata,
sanef-launches-inquiry-into-media-
Foeta Krige, Jacques Steenkamp and Busisi-
ethics-20190624
we Ntuli
17 Sanef. January 2020. https://sanef.org.za/
9 Eyewitness News. September 2019. https://
sanef-announces-important-progress-on-
ewn.co.za/2019/09/10/motsoeneng-
independent-media-ethics-and-credibility-STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 14
Media freedoms
indicators SEVERE SERIOUS NEEDS TO WATCH
ATTENTION during 2019
Journalists Attitudes of No let-up in attempts by political groups to
Intimidation Online targets of crime senior politicians silence critical reporting, brown-envelope
and harassment
towards journalism might be more widespread than
of journalists by Journalist ethics Aggression by believed, while criminal attacks on journal-
journalists
political groups police towards ists appear to be on the rise
journalists
Threats from Severe threats to media freedom
T
state security he intimidation and harassment of journalists
by political groups continued in 2019. The
Economic Freedom Fighters targeted a
prominent journalist in a social media attack and
banned investigative journalists from attending
their events; the launch of a book exposing state
corruption was shut down by ANC and South African
National Civic Organisation protestors; and journalists
were roughly handled and prevented from taking
photographs by supporters of eThekwini’s mayor
facing corruption charges.
In 2019, South Africa ranked 31st on the
Compiled through a review of
Down World Press Freedom Index by Reporters
Serious threats to media freedom
three
T
Without Borders, down three positions
Sanef media releases during from the 2018 ranking. Press freedom is estimony at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry
2019. For a summary of incidents, positions described as “guaranteed but fragile”. into Allegations of State Capture, also known
please see the appendices. as the Zondo Commission, suggested that the
rumours of brown-envelope journalism that emergedSTATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 15
Print news
in 2018 may have some credibility, even though public on average each day. By the end of the year,
indicators statements made at the commission were unproven. no daily newspaper was circulating more than 100
A minister also claimed that he paid journalists not 000 newspapers a day.
to write a story. Online attacks against journalists The country’s biggest isiZulu-language daily news-
As the country’s biggest African-language
remained a serious threat to media freedom. Many paper, Isolezwe, was circulating some 12 000 fewer
of these attacks are gendered and aimed at women daily feels the heat, is 2019 the beginning copies a day, compared to circulation declines of
journalists. of the free newspaper free fall? about three to four thousand a day for the Afrikaans
dailies Die Burger and Beeld.
T
he downward pressure on print news By year-end, the biggest weekend paper, the Sun-
Media freedom issues continued throughout 2019, with free day Times, had shed the equivalent weekly print
that need attention newspapers losing ground more rapidly run of two small newspapers over the course of the
C
rime against journalists covering stories appears than in previous years, and a noticeable drop off year – about 40 000. This is double the weekly cir-
to be on the increase, with several incidents in circulation for Isolezwe, the country’s biggest culation of the Mail & Guardian. Free newspapers
reported during the year. Meanwhile, reports of African-language newspaper. meanwhile showed a 5% drop from 2018, com-
police assaulting journalists working in KwaZulu-Natal Overall newspaper circulation was down some pared to an average 2% decline in previous years.
continue to emerge. In one incident a journalist was 7% – almost 630 000 fewer copies were read by the
arrested. The surveillance of journalists came under
the spotlight during the year, including in a High Court
Radio audiences
challenge, while the Hawks allegedly tried to get a over the preceding three years. Radio continues
prominent journalist to reveal her sources. to be a powerful medium for news, with 81% of
surveyed listeners saying they listen to the radio
Issues to watch Audiences for radio news grow across
for news content, compared to 83% saying they
I
n three separate incidents during the year, the listened to radio for music.
attitudes and actions of senior politicians – two
the country, while top commercial sta- There appears to be some audience stagna-
of them cabinet ministers – suggest a growing tions flounder. tion for the country’s top commercial stations
intolerance of journalists, and a flagging commitment In contrast to print, radio audiences appear to (with the exception of KFM), while the number
to the importance of media freedoms. be growing overall, with news a strong reason of people who listen to the top public broadcast
for listeners to tune into their favourite radio sta- and community stations is growing. The rapid
tion. On an average weekday in 2019, 29.4-mil- rise in audience numbers for Eden FM in the
lion people listened to a South African radio Western Cape is noteworthy, quadrupling over
station, up from the average of about 28-million four years.STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 16
Daily newspaper circulations Weekly newspaper circulations
2016 2017 2018 2019 2016 2017 2018 2019
DOWN DOWN
DOWN 11% DOWN 8%
DOWN 11% DOWN 13%
10% 8%
1 266 715 1 135 956 1 007 439 895 692 512 540 472 802 410 663 379 753
Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations of South Africa Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations of South AfricaSTATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 17
Weekend newspaper circulations Local newspaper circulations
2016 2017 2018 2019 2016 2017 2018 2019
DOWN DOWN
DOWN 13% DOWN 8%
DOWN 10% DOWN 7%
12% 7%
1 553 043 1 372 633 1 241 053 1 077 624 362 266 337 419 314 950 289 044
Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations of South Africa Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations of South AfricaSTATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 18
Free newspaper circulations Total newspaper circulations
2016 2017 2018 2019 2016 2017 2018 2019
DOWN DOWN
5% DOWN 7%
DOWN DOWN 4%
DOWN
2% 5%
2%
6 316 187 6 190 931 6 180 256 5 884 634 10 010 751 9 509 741 9 154 360 8 526 747
Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations of South Africa Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations of South AfricaSTATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 19
Top public broadcast Ukhozi FM
radio stations: 2016-2019
Listenership past seven days, 2016 7 311
in thousands. 2017 7 424
Source: The Broadcast Research
Council of South Africa. 2018 7 575
2019 7 661
Umhlobo Wenene FM Metro FM
2016 5 253 2016 3 931
2017 5 464 2017 4 082
2018 5 357 2018 4 260
2019 5 861 2019 4 277STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 20
Lesedi FM Top commercial radio
stations: 2016-2019
2016 3 416 Listenership past seven days, in
thousands.
2017 3 166
Source: The Broadcast Research
2018 3 134 Council of South Africa.
2019 3 317
Thobela FM Gagasi FM
2016 2 829 2016 5 253
2017 2 864 2017 5 464
2018 2 750 2018 5 357
2019 2 963 2019 5 861STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 21
Jacaranda FM East Coast Radio
2016 1 247 2016 970
2017 1 025 2017 1 093
2018 998 2018 1 044
2019 1 079 2019 1 051
947 KFM
2016 926 2016 672
2017 935 2017 723
2018 962 2018 840
2019 945 2019 881STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 22
Top community radio Jozi FM (Gauteng)
stations: 2016-2019
Listenership past seven days, in 2016 495
thousands. 2017 578
Source: The Broadcast Research
Council of South Africa. 2018 599
2019 617
Kasie FM 97.1 (Gauteng) Eden FM (Western Cape)
2016 167 2016 47
2017 267 2017 146
2018 194 2018 118
2019 215 2019 188STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 23
Radio Zibonele (Western Cape) Free-to-air TV news
SABC 1 dominates news coverage
2016 193 on the open channels, while
SABC 3 struggles on
2017 214
2018 237
A
lthough dramas and soaps attract the highest audiences
2019 176 on the country’s four free-to-air TV channels, numbers
show that people are also very likely to switch on SABC 1
to watch the news. SABC 1 dominates free-to-air news coverage
on TV, with three top prime time news slots, including news in
isiZulu and isiXhosa, attracting over 4.5-million viewers each.
After a significant drop in audience numbers between 2016 and
Unitra Community Radio (E Cape) 2017, audiences for eTV’s top prime time news slot remain rela-
tively consistent, attracting about the same number of viewers as
Afrikaans news on SABC 2. In contrast, the top news slot on SABC
3 continues to see a steady audience decline.
Audience numbers for news channels on DStv are not publicly
2016 311 available.
2017 255
2018 199
2019 170STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 24
Top prime time TV news slots ETV
on free-to-air TV: 2016-2019 2016
3 534 157
September 2019. Source: The Broadcast 2017
Research Council of South Africa 1 572 687
2018
1 453 485
2019
1 513 750
SABC 1 (Xhosa) SABC 1 (Zulu)
2016 2016
4 287 164 4 173 485
2017 2017
4 561 887 4 770 244
2018 2018
4 618 443 4 408 840
2019 2019
4 681 680 4 777 775STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 25
SABC 2 (Afrikaans) Totals
2016 2016
1 450 328 14 111 296
2017 2017
1 965 928 13 596 487
2018 2018
1 445 580 12 447 849
2019 2019
1 457 466 12 839 876
SABC 3
2016
666 162
2017
725 741
2018
521 501
2019
409 205STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 26
News24.com Internet news
[About] Little movement amongst the top three.
6unique
500 000
T
browsers
a month here is little change in the top news sites or content streaming services such as Netflix, do some
visited in South Africa. News24.com re- online banking, and search for adult content.
mains South Africa’s biggest online news However, this does not mean that South Africans ac-
site, followed by timeslive.co.za and iol.co.za. cess the news sites primary for hard news – statistics
Timeslive.co.za News24’s strength as a news content provider is only suggest that events and attractions, tech and comput-
surpassed by South Africans going online to search the ing, travel and sports are more interesting for South
[About] web, log onto social media, access e-commerce sites African internet users.
6unique
000 000
browsers
a month Just under 55% of the population had access
to the internet in 2019, and growth predictions
iol.co.za put this at around 2% increments each year
[About]
5unique
400 000
browsers
A different ranking platforms, and as much as 40% said they shared news
this way, indicating the extent to which the distribu-
I
a month tion of news online by readers has become a key way
n the South African supplement for the Reuters In- in which news circulates amongst the public.
stitute Digital News Report 2019, a different rank- Online news nevertheless remains difficult for
ing was offered, with News24, SABC News, and South African’s to assess for its credibility. The study
Sources: eNCA listed as the top news websites accessed in said that despite high overall news trust scores, al-
Mybroadband. South African websites with more than 1 million South Africa. 72% of respondents to the study also most three-quarters (70%) of those surveyed strug-
visitors said they accessed their news online via social media gled to “separate fact from fiction online”.
https://mybroadband.co.za/news/internet/290756-south-
african-websites-with-more-than-1-million-visitors.htmlSTATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 27
our persistent
media monopoly
What do media monopolies mean
for diversity and democracy in
South Africa?
In the mid-1990s,
policy-makers asked
what kind of media
ownership would
sustain a healthy post- ‘... concentration of
media ownership
apartheid democracy. is a danger in democracy.’
The question is no less (Comtask Report, 1996, p17)1
D
relevant today espite declining circulation, the largest- finishing the year significantly lower, at a little above
selling2 South African newspapers have 200,000 copies. This was followed by football-
By Nechama Brodie ranked fairly consistently across recent focused weekly Soccer Laduma – also more buoyant
years. In 2019 the Sunday Times topped at the beginning, but with per-issue sales dropping
the table, as usual, starting with sales in excess from a high of 250,000 in Q1 to around 190,000 by
of 260,000 copies a week in the first quarter and year’s end.STATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 28
from a high of 250,000 in Q1 to around 190,000 Independent Media, which maintained its
by year’s end. The largest daily newspaper was own presses for many years, but gradually
the Daily Sun, with a Q1 circulation of 141,000 downsized and rationalised these before
dropping under 100,000 in Q4. with just two shifting the bulk of its printing work to Caxton
After these titles, in sometimes shifting around 2013, signed a five-year contract with
order, with sales ranging from 113,000 to just exceptions, every single Novus in 2018 to print its 53 newspaper titles.
under 50,000 copies, came: Afrikaans weekly commercial daily, This carousel-like behaviour is endemic to the
Rapport, isiZulu daily Isolezwe, then Joburg’s sector, and barely even attempts to disguise the
two English dailies, The Star and Sowetan, weekly and weekend fact that the dominant players and practices
isiZulu weekly Ilanga, and Isolezwe’s Saturday in print media in South Africa have, in effect,
and Sunday editions. Sometimes the Saturday
newspaper in South changed very little since the mid-1990s.
edition of Die Burger and the daily Afrikaans Africa WAS published
Author’s note tabloid Die Son would also make it into the top
ten. Despite it being an election year, which by ONE OF just three A spider web
companies
M
may have bumped up figures for the first and
second quarter sales, the figures were not ore than 20 years earlier, the
This article looks at media ownership
exactly heartening – in many cases less than g o v e r n m e n t- c o m m i s s i o n e d
for the period up to and including
half of what they had been five years before.3 Comtask Report (1996) singled out
December 2019. The subsequent events
The numbers are important, but they are print media for its legacy duopolies – Nasionale
of 2020 have had a radical impact on this
not what is important here, which is that all Pers (from 1998 Naspers) and Perskor in
landscape, reshaping and in some cases
of these titles – and with just two exceptions4, CTP Publishers and Printers Limited. (Local the Afrikaans press; and TML (Times Media
even erasing entire media companies.
every single commercial daily, weekly and and free newspapers were the best circulation Limited) and the Argus Group in English. These
However, assessing the status quo
weekend newspaper in South Africa – were performers in the print section for the entire structures, Comtask noted, were “vertically
that existed in the period immediately
published by just three companies: Arena year). integrated at the level of print, distribution
before the pandemic – and exploring
Holdings (until June 2019 this was part of the As the name would imply, Caxton & CTP also and product”.7 There were “strong elements”
the reasons for and implications of
Tiso Blackstar Group, formerly Times Media, operates a substantial printing business, and of “monopolistic control” when it came to
persistent concentrations and residual
etc.); Media24, which is part of multinational owns distribution companies for its newspaper printing and distribution. The report added
or legacy monopolies in much of the
internet and technology group Naspers; and and magazine divisions, including RNA that for regional news producers, newspapers
media sector –can also provide useful
Independent Media, majority owned by Iqbal Distribution. Media24, too, owns an in-house outside of metropolitan areas that “did not go
insight into why the pandemic affected
Survé’s Sekunjalo Media Consortium. logistics and distribution company, On the Dot, in with Caxtons [...] faced an uphill battle to
different sectors, companies and titles in
In addition, all but two of the year’s top 10 but unbundled its majority holding in listed enter the market”.8
different ways.
paid community titles, and a good chunk of printing company Novus Holdings (formerly On paper, a lot of things changed for print
the country’s leading free newspapers,5 were Paarl Media) during 20186 and currently prints after 1994. The Argus Group was sold by
published by a fourth company, Caxton and mostly through Caxton’s presses. Anglo American – the first divestment from itsSTATE OF THE NEWSROOM 2019/2020 29
conglomerate JCI – to Irish group Independent
News & Media plc (INM) and renamed
ANA turned into an(other) ugly public spat.9 In
October the Financial Sector Conduct Authority BUYING AND SELLING
T
Independent News and Media South Africa (FSCA) executed a raid on Survé’s offices.
(INMSA). Minority shareholders were later The year culminated with the PIC lodging a he following year, Times Media also
bought out and the local business was delisted liquidation application against Sekunjalo in became the sole shareholder of
from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in December 2019. The liquidity and management BDFM,12 which had been 50% owned
1999, becoming a private company. structures of Independent are complicated by by UK company Pearson. In 2015 Times Media
In 2013, INM sold INMSA to the Sekunjalo multiple layers and re-divisions of ownership was acquired by London- and Johannesburg-
Independent Media Consortium in a deal that through various companies including listed listed company Tiso Blackstar (which had been
saw 75% of shares owned by Sekunjalo, with companies African Equity Empowerment trying to edge into Avusa for several years, and
backing from the China Development Bank and Investments (AEEI) and its subsidiary Ayo bought a 28% share of Mvela Group as far back
the China-Africa Development Fund among Technology. Sekunjalo Investment Holdings is as 2012), cuing another name change in 2017.
others, and the remaining 25% held by the the parent company of AEEI. In June 2019, the company sold off its African
Government Employees’ Pension Fund acting Times Media Ltd (TML), which was also owned media businesses to the Lebashe Investment
through the Public Investment Corporation by Anglo American (through JCI) and the Argus Group, which created a new holding structure,
(PIC). Sekunjalo later also acquired ownership Group, was unbundled late in 1995 and the Arena Holdings, for its media assets.
of the by-then defunct South African Press unit known as ‘Johnnies Industrial Corporation’ Perskor, which had been established as a
Agency (SAPA), and deleted its archives from or Johnnic, which held a controlling interest sort of ‘Transvaal’13 counterpart of the Cape-
the public record. A few years later the company in TML through another media company, based Nasionale Pers, both as a mouthpiece for
launched its own news wire service, the African Omni, was sold to the National Empowerment different versions of Afrikaner nationalism,14
News Agency (ANA). Consortium (NEC) in 1996. (Cyril Ramaphosa,10 had been struggling financially for a while and
At the time of the original deal with INM,
Iqbal Survé told his who was chairman of the NEC, was named the was taken over by and absorbed into Caxton
Survé, who served as Sekunjalo’s chair, told his journalists that he chairperson of Times Media in 1997.)11 Johnnic around 199815 (when Perskor sold its share
of newspaper Rapport to Naspers in 1999,
own journalists that he had rebuffed offers for changed its name to Avusa in 2007, and was
the business from the now-notorious Gupta
had rebuffed offers renamed Times Media Group in 2012 after it effectively marked the end of any other
family – but that didn’t spare the company for the business from being purchased by part of the Mvelaphanda Afrikaans-language news media company
except for Media24).
from years of predominantly Survé-related Group, at which stage it was also re-listed on
scandal, not the least of which included a failed
the Gupta family – but the JSE. Caxton, which was founded in the 1980s by
attempt to list new media company Sagarmatha that didn’t spare the Terry Moolman and Noel Coburn, was and has
remained one of the least-transformed large
Technologies on the JSE in 2018. In July 2019
Independent was accused of inflating certain
company from years of media companies in terms of ownership and
circulation data for 2017 and 2018. predominantly Survé- management. But this doesn’t mean it wasn’t
involved in yet another fairly complicated
Later that year an alleged restructuring of
related scandalYou can also read
