Iphepha elisematheni lesiZulu, Isolezwe, seliyatholakala kwi-Internet. Yes, Isolezwe (Eye of the Nation), the KwaZulu-Natal-based, Zulu-language daily newspaper is now available on the Web. This makes the site the first Zulu news website.
This is a bold step for the cheeky, two-year-old, ground-breaking newspaper, founded by well-known journalist Cyril Madlala.
Isolezwe is the second national newspaper published in Zulu after Ilanga (The Sun). Ilanga is aimed at low-income earners while Isolezwe targets middle-class, urban Zulu speakers. The paper says it reaches 339 000 readers a day in KwaZulu-Natal.
Zulu is the most widely spoken African language in South Africa. The country’s largest radio station, Ukhozi fm, broadcasts in the language and attracts seven million listeners. Rooted in KwaZulu-Natal, the language was dispersed around the country by migrant labours who moved to Gauteng and parts of Mpumalanga, where Isolezwe is distributed.
The paper now seeks to tap into the aspirational and mobile segment of the Zulu-speaking audience through its website, which is is powered by Independent Online. The basic site structure conforms to other Independent publications — but its navigation is entirely in Zulu.
Philani Mgwaba, editor of Isolezwe, sees this as a natural progression for a paper that has done “phenomenally well” in its short existence. “We have always had demand for a website from Zulu speakers outside the province and the country from the time we launched.”
Mgwaba says that half of the correspondence that appears on the newspaper’s letters page is received by e-mail.
The launch of the site introduces a new set of questions for Isolezwe. Namely, what makes a story set a national news agenda: location, language or detail?
For its Web debut, Isolezwe told the story of Bonginkosi Mkhumbuzi and Steven Mzimela, two 18-year-olds from Nyoni in KwaDukuza near Stanger. The site reported that the youngsters were brutally assaulted by an Indian business man for allegedly stealing R11 000. The youths were severely beaten, dragged from the back of a truck, and then doused with petrol and insecticide. They were then taken to hospital in Eshowe after being handed over to police. The businessman appeared in court on Monday and was remanded in custody until a bail application on Thursday.
The story is no different from that of Johannes Masoko Mampuru, who was dragged to his death from the back of a bakkie by his employer, or that of Nelson Chisane, who was thrown into a lion enclosure by his employer on a game farm in Limpopo.
Mampuru and Chisane’s stories received national attention, however, the teenagers did not. Ingathi konke lokhu kuzoguquka. All this might change, because the nation’s eye is now on the Web.
Anton Harber, Caxton Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Wits university, sees Isolezwe‘s existence as an “important and interesting development” for South African media.
“It shows that there is a vibrant market in that language and potential for other indigenous languages as well,” he says.
On its move to the Web, Harber sees the importance as being less about the proportion of the newspaper’s audience that can access the Web, but rather that it creates “an important platform” for one of the country’s biggest languages and “is good for the health of the language”.