/ 6 November 2009

Weekender to close

The Weekender newspaper will publish its last edition on Saturday, editor Peter Bruce said.

”It was just costing too much money. The board decided,” said Bruce on Friday.

The newspaper was printed in Johannesburg on a particular press, and the distribution costs and logistics were complicated.

The paper also never managed to get ”under the eyes of the potential market”.

”I know a lot of people liked it and we liked producing it, but it was a hill too far,” said Bruce, adding that the recession had also played a part.

Articles were written by Business Day reporters, or bought in.

Bruce said he was sure that most of the few permanent Weekender staffers would be given other jobs.

In June, executive editor Rehana Rossouw described it as a ”weekend paper that targets high income earners and influential individuals”.

She wrote at the time that weekly sales were over 14 000 for the newspaper, launched in 2006. — Sapa