Lifeline for small SA media

DIGITAL NEWS TRANSFORMATION FUND: GRANTS FOR MINOR, INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS

- Liezl Human

Google has granted a R114 million lifeline over three years to help save small and independent publishers in South Africa. The Digital News Transformation Fund was initiated by the Association of Independent Publishers (AIP), in partnership with Google. The fund will be administered by Tshikululu Social Investments.

But the high administration costs of the fund have already generated controversy, with one publisher calling it "obscene".

There are about 120 small community news publishers - print and broadcast - across the country. They mostly aim to publish local news. Some do it in newspapers, others on the web and some on the airwaves.

Based on a survey of 40 of these publishers by Wits University researchers for the AIP two years ago, their average turnover is less than R250,000 per year. They generally have about five full-time staff and "pay is very low". Most publish monthly or weekly. Only six of these publishers have turnover of over R1 million per year.

All this was as of 2023. It's almost certainly worse now.

Decades ago, these kinds of news publishers had a clear business model. Adverts from local businesses paid for printing and staff.

But the rise of the internet, along with Google Ads and Facebook Marketplace, has changed the way advertising works, as well as how people access their news.

So these news publishers are seldom profitable and they are disappearing, to the detriment of local news coverage.

Google's grant is meant to help these publishers become profitable again. The fund's website said it will "help small, local and independent news publishers develop and strengthen their digital operations, improve their audience reach and engagement, and enhance the sustainability of their journalism".