Staff members of the cash-squeezed daily newspaper ThisDay are scrabbling for jobs after media reports that closure is imminent.
Journalists speaking to the Mail & Guardian this week revealed a deep sense of commitment to the paper but anxiety for their future if a local partner is not found.
Despite their loyalty, some say that the last straw was when they received only half their salary last month and discovered that the pension fund has been frozen.
In the last few weeks the newspaper has dropped in extent, experienced the resignations of top level managers and suffered from a fiasco over inflated circulation figures.
The expected demise of the newspaper has been spoken about in media circles for months and is attributed to poor management decisions, among them hiring staff at high salaries, buying top-of-the-range editorial equipment and the move by owner Nduka Obaigbena to buy CNA stores.
A year ago the paper hired 110 staff members; today the staff numbers 86. And while editor Justice Malala maintains that there have been gains in staff as well as losses, local newspapers, including the M&G, have been inundated with phone calls from ThisDay staff members seeking employment.
Malala admits that the newspaper is going through “a challenging” time but is confident that it will survive. “It is difficult for the staff … but despite the reduced size I think the paper has improved, with content that is top class.”
Staff said they were not surprised at rumours that the newspaper is not making circulation targets after the resignation of chief executive officer Graeme King.
“We knew it was a start-up paper and we took a risk but I don’t regret it,” said one journalist who freelances to subsidise late payment of salaries.
The journalist said that although the mood at the newspaper is one of commitment, many of the staff were angry and frustrated over the constant delays in salary payments.
“We have been paid very good salaries, so obviously it’s hard for other papers to match them,” he said.
The search for a local partner has been unsuccessful, but sources say it is Obaigbena’s unwillingness to give up his majority shareholding that will ultimately lead to the newspaper’s demise.
The lack of a local partner is also attributed to the debt the newspaper has accumulated, sources say.
Malala denies this, saying that it is negotiations that will determine the deal. “If it was my newspaper it would be unwise to enter into negotiations saying that I am willing to sell 80%.” He says Obaigbena is currently in advanced negotiations with a few interested parties.
There have been recent reports that Audit Bureau of Circulation figures show the paper’s circulation has been overestimated by more than 50% and that it will fail to reach the break-even sales target of 100 000 copies a day by the end of this year.
Malala says that despite the problems, the staff is confident that the newspaper will not close down. “I think all of us came here because we wanted to start something new and good. A year and a half later we are encouraged by our readers.”