The May issue lead article is the first in-depth interview for a South African audience with Gavin O’Reilly, Independent News & Media’s heir apparent. It’s a story we’ve been trying to secure for a while, and not just because the Independent group represents this country’s most direct exposure to the operational mindset of a foreign media behemoth. We’ve also been curious about why the Irish-based multinational seems to attract more persistent criticism than any of the homegrown media corporates. Gavin O’Reilly is unapologetic and direct with the answer.
‘In South Africa there seems to be a ‘not-invented-here’ reaction to us, but we are very committed to this country as a family and as a company, and we will continue to invest in it,” he says.
So here’s some perspective on the size we’re talking about, taken from Independent News & Media’s 2003 year-end presentation to the financial press. The group has a presence across four continents and eight individual countries, employing 11 500 people. It operates a total of 165 newspapers – including its UK flagship The Independent – and has market leading newspaper positions in Australia (regional), New Zealand, Ireland, Northern Ireland and South Africa. It dominates the radio market in Australasia and the outdoor market in Australasia and South Africa. It is listed on the London, Dublin and New Zealand stock exchanges, has gross assets of 3,4-billion euros (R25,9-billion), and annual turnover of around 1,6-billion euros (R12,2-billion).
How extensively do the financial imperatives of these dimensions impact on the South African media scene? The group is running at an operating profit of over 20% and its margins have increased from 12,5% in the early ’90s to 17% today, but has local journalism suffered at the hands of its global cost-saving measures, especially the staff cutbacks? Again, Gavin O’Reilly is direct with the answer.
‘All these issues, such as editorial excellence, which rightly seem to be tattooed on the foreheads of journalists, are ultimately a function of economic independence. Today, without economic freedom, there is no freedom.”