In a major strike for our independence, M&G Media has bought back the Mail & Guardian Online from MWeb, which has owned a stake since 1995.
This long-awaited acquisition was finalised in Johannesburg on Thursday and will ensure that we own our future.
Ranked among South Africa’s top three news sites and sporting a stylish new design and plenty of new attractions since June this year, the M&G Online has been delivering the news since 1994, making it the first internet-based news publication in Africa.
The M&G Online has launched several successful websites in-house, including the Thought Leader blogging platform.
Following this week’s signing, M&G Media chief operating officer Hoosain Karjieker said: ‘This is an exciting moment for us all, as the acquisition will give us greater impetus to continue innovating in the online environment and digital journalism, and to build on the multimedia platform we already have in place.â€
The relaunched M&G Online is highly interactive, allowing readers to comment on articles, save article clippings and subscribe to newsletters, for example, while delivering the latest local, African and world news, as well as multimedia.
More good news
Meanwhile, the Mail & Guardian newspaper also continues growing in tough economic times.
The latest statistics released by the industry’s measuring body, the Audit Bureau of Circulation, show that the M&G has grown to a circulation of 50 078 copies a week for the period April to June 2008, up from 47 496 in the same period last year.
This year, we have added health, travel and science sections to our popular mix of investigations and politics.
This is in response to reader research showing that M&G readers are curious, adventurous democrats with a wide range of interests and involved in many activities.
The M&G now features a regular Voices of Africa section that seeks to chronicle life on our continent — how we live, not how we die.
Growth has been driven by a partnership with De Kat magazine as we strive to move into new markets, and by rising circulation across the continent.
Anastacia Martin, MD of publishing at M&G Media, said she is pleased with the M&G‘s sustained circulation increase in a media market that is showing little or no growth.
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