Media24 headquarters in Cape Town. (Graeme Williams/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
- Media24 will no longer retrench newspaper journalists from Beeld, City Press, Daily Sun, and Rapport.
- While 66 journalists will be retained, the company is going ahead with consultations with the rest of staff affected by the planned restructuring and divestures.
- The media company also announced that it would no longer be selling the Beeld publication.
- For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.
Media24 will no longer retrench newspaper journalists from Beeld, City Press, Daily Sun, and Rapport following its plans to close the print editions of those publications.
While the 66 journalists who create, process and package content for those publications will be retained, the company is going ahead with consultations with the rest of the staff affected by the proposed restructurings and divestitures, Media24 announced on Wednesday.
“From the outset, Media24 undertook to keep job losses – particularly of our journalists – to a minimum and this is an important breakthrough in our consultations with staff around the proposed closures of the print editions of Beeld, City Press, Daily Sun and Rapport,” Media24 CEO Ishmet Davidson said in a statement.
“The decision, approved by the Media24 board, follows robust discussions and debates with our editors that went beyond the transition from ink on paper to digital in line with irreversible consumer trends and preferences. I firmly believe this is a solution that serves journalism at large.”
Last month, Media24 announced a major restructuring that, at the time, would have resulted in up to 400 job losses due to years of declining advertising and circulation. The company planned to close the print editions of four newspapers, shut its SNL24 digital hub, offload its community newspaper portfolio, and sell its media logistics operation On the Dot.
However, the 66 journalists will now be incorporated into Netwerk24, News24, and at the Daily Sun website.
Media24 also announced on Wednesday that its Beeld newspaper was no longer for sale. Davidson said earlier in July that the group would consider offers to buy Beeld to minimise job losses and keep the Afrikaans daily alive “as a brand that carries sentimental value”.
Rival media company Capital Newspapers/Caxton wants to purchase On the Dot and its community newspaper portfolio. However, Media24 has already accepted an offer from Novus Holdings to buy On the Dot, the community newspapers, and Soccer Laduma. While Media24 did not want to sell Daily Sun, Rapport, and City Press to potential buyers, including Caxton, it did initially entertain offers for Beeld. That, however, is no longer the case.
“Although we anticipate that the PDF versions of Beeld and Volksblad will no longer be available, the teams are working on plans to provide a digital presence for these historical and beloved brands on Netwerk24,” Davidson said on Wednesday.
Davidson said that no restructuring or title closures would happen prior to approval by the Competition Commission.
“We will be filing our application shortly and expect a decision from the commission by the end of October 2024.”
Davidson said the company believed retaining its journalists was an important investment in the future of journalism.
* News24 is part of Media24