Do Afrikaans newspapers have a future? Facing fresh challenges in a changing media industry, there are clear strategies in place to overcome new hurdles.
The circulation of Afrikaans dailies has been consistent in a tough market over the past decade. The July to December readership figure in 1995 was 233,000 – the same as in 2005. Nothing has changed. Unless the un-audited figure of more than 50,000 for the new Afrikaans daily newspaper Son in the Western Cape is added. That would translate into an industry growth of more than 20 percent over the past decade.
Beeld, Die Burger and Volksblad have survived and even grown over the past ten years. Sunday paper Rapport has shown a small decline in circulation, but readership has remained stable Рbetween 1,4 million and 1,6 million every Sunday. And as the unenthusiastic response to a new competitor, Die W̻reld, showed last year, Rapport has many loyal readers.
”Afrikaans needs to gain respect for its professionalism. Die Wereld did not make a contribution to Afrikaans journalism. What added to this new competitor’s downfall was the weak business plan,” says professor Lizette Rabie, head of the department of journalism at the University of Stellenbosch.
Die Burger recently made history with the appointment of Henry Jeffreys, 51, as its new editor with effect from June 1. He is the first person of colour to hold this position. Jeffreys has taken over from Arrie Rossouw who now heads a new multi-media initiative monitoring the content of newspapers and online-subsidiaries within the 24.Com portal.
”Die Burger has a history of a newspaper that can initiate change among its readers. Jeffreys is an excellent appointment to manage the new changing phase,” Rabie says.
The Internet
Internationally there has been concern that newspaper readers are ageing and younger readers are migrating to the internet. Are Afrikaans newspapers an exception?
Jan Malherbe, CEO of Media24 Newspapers, says this problem was identified long ago and that newspapers, including the Afrikaans papers, have responded effectively in different ways. Content for younger readers has been added, such as Beeld‘s youth supplement JIP, used in school projects and on campus.
Good news for papers, the life expectancy of people has increased. A person of 40 years of age and who is a loyal reader of Beeld will in all probability live to 80 plus and contribute to the growth of the newspaper for the next four decades. They not only live longer, but also remain economically active and participate in various activities for longer.
Malherbe adds that people generally become newspaper readers as they settle in their careers and family life and their lifestyles change from entertainment and socialising to being more interested in what is happening in the world around them.
Sarel du Plessis, senior general manager of RCP media, publishers of Rapport, City Press and Sunday Sun, says the internet in Europe is about four years ahead of South Africa.
Rapport does not suffer from the same competition as the dailies. As a family newspaper, it is read at home on a Sunday and not at the office like dailies. Dailies have to compete with online news providers, as office workers generally have internet access at work.
Malherbe believes that in many ways the internet as a news medium is more compatible with newspapers than radio or TV and can deliver news even faster. TV offers many DStv channels and yet this has had no serious impact on newspaper circulation figures.
”We are in the news business – newspapers cannot be beaten as news-gathering and selection operations – the internet is becoming an extension of newspapers rather than a threat. Media24 has been active on the internet for years and the various projects are now evolving into viable businesses. These are being combined into a powerful portal, 24.Com, and the Afrikaans newspapers will play a significant role. We do not see the internet as a threat.”
The news websites of Beeld (www.beeld.com), Die Burger (www.dieburger.com) and Die Volksblad (www.volksblad.com) have shown remarkable growth as younger readers rely on electronic news. These newspapers use their websites to interact with the readers of the hard copy.
The increase in the range of magazines available locally was also supposed to pose a threat to newspapers. However, newspapers have faced this competition with success. Competition will always be there, but newspapers have shown that they can adapt to circumstances.
As time goes by, further new strategies will develop, and newspapers will offer their readers a much more extensive service, 24 hours a day. The internet will become fully integrated into current newspaper operations. This will not happen overnight though, and clearly the big challenge is to develop cash flow and profits.
Who reads newspapers?
The readers of Beeld and Die Volksblad have an average age of 44, while those of Die Burger are slightly younger.
In the past few years the number of readers, as measured by AMPS, between the ages of 16 and 24 have grown by about 10 percent per annum. Youngsters in this age group represent about 12 percent of the readership of Beeld. Although there has been growth in numbers, this age group as a percentage of the total readership has remained about the same. Future AMPS statistics will provide a better idea of whether the number of younger readers is growing faster than other age groups.
The newspapers in this stable rely on loyal readers of 40 years and above. More than 60 percent are in the high-income LSM 8, 9 and 10 groups. Advertisers view this as a big positive since people in this age group have a higher income and lifestyle. Traditionally they are also people who save more than the younger generation.
Gavin Rheeder, marketing communication manager at Beeld, says it’s possibly easier to attract readers between the ages of 16 and 24 than 25-39 years. They are huge media users and get their entertainment from TV, the internet and newspapers. They have more free time to experiment with new media options than those in the age group 25 to 39 years. The latter is a difficult target market. They work hard and a large percentage have children that dominate their time at home with the result that there is less time available for new media options. But this group remains an important market as it has money to spend and usually also dual-income households.
Another trend that concerns some media observers is that Afrikaans households are becoming smaller. A few years ago Afrikaans married couples had 2.2 children per household. That figure has dropped to 1.6.
Malherbe, a former general manager of Beeld, counters this concern with the fact that life expectancy has increased and this should neutralise the negative effects of smaller households.
Rugby sells
Readers who focus on sports news represent a strong circulation base. This is especially true in the case of Rapport as it has to sell on news and has little by way of a subscriber base, Du Plessis says.
Rugby is a big seller. When the Springboks win, the circulation climbs but when the Springboks lose, readership declines, says Du Plessis.
And a major boost to the circulation of Rapport, which sells an average of 304,000 copies every Sunday, is when the Blue Bulls win.
”If the Blue Bulls should win every Saturday, our circulation figures climb. A good Blue Bull victory could make the circulation go up by 30,000, and vice versa when they lose. I support the Bulls, but for reasons other than rugby!”