There is also a bonus for Weekly Mail readers in the rest of the country: they will receive an expanded national newspaper every Friday, redesigned to keep it in step with the daily and to accommodate the new team of journalists on the two papers. Both papers will be broadsheet (the size of The Star, the Cape Times and the Daily News), but Friday’s weekly edition will have the added advantage of a pull-out tabloid which will include all the in-depth features and commentary that provide a solid weekend read.
The launch of the daily comes five years after the birth-on June 14, 1985 – of The Weekly Mail. The Weekly Mail was created by journalists retrenched when the Rand Daily Mail and the Sunday Express were closed. It was launched on capital of less than R50 000, including retrenchment payouts; two borrowed word processors; and a staff of six, two of them part-time. It was intended to take advantage of gaps in the media laws to cover news other papers were ignoring – to report the changes in a changing South Africa.
The Daily Mail, like the weekly, is founded on a commitment to quality journalism: in-depth, balanced coverage of the full spectrum of political activity, sports, entertainment, business, consumer and environmental issues. It will be the only South Africa daily to be truly independent, with full editorial control in the hands of newspaper people, rather than business, political or other interests. And The Mail’s readers, subscribers and supporters are the majority of shareholders.
The paper will be available throughout the Transvaal, some surrounding areas and neighbouring states, and selected Cape Town outlets, from Monday to Friday. On Friday, it will be called The Weekly Mail, a national newspaper, and contain the expanded arts, sports, business and feature sections as well as the up-to-date news of the day. The Daily Mail will cost R1. Friday’s Weekly Mail will remain at R1.50 outside the Transvaal.
The Mail Publications Group is still selling shares in the new venture. The law has prevented a public share issue, so private approaches are being made to as many subscribers and other supporters as possible. The minimum investment is R100.
This article originally appeared in the weekly Mail.
