THE AIP’s PERSPECTIVE ON THE STATE OF THE COMMUNITY PRINT MEDIA SECTOR IN SOUTH AFRICA

WHAT is the AIP? It is a national non-profit organization that looks after the collective interests of the grassroots print media sector of this country ‘Grassroots’ refers to all small, independent, individually-owned print publications that mostly circulate in rural and peri-urban areas, and publications that talk directly to communities in townships and small towns Over 200 grassroots publications circulate in this country, publishing in all indigenous languages

FACTS about grassroots publications Circulation figures: +8 million copies per month Readership: +25 million readers per month Ownership: 79% of the publications are black-owned Ownership by gender: 21% of the publications are women-owned Distribution areas: predominantly rural areas countrywide Method of distribution: publishers mostly do their own distribution Verification methods: ABC, Grassroots-ABC and/or print-runs Printing press ownership: Less than 1% own printing presses Private sector advertising: found mostly in publications that circulate in urban areas

CRITICAL definitions in this sector… Community newspapers: ownership often in the hands of the community, run under an NPO, accountable to the community Local newspapers: owned by the major media groups in this country, viz. Caxton, Media24, INL Small commercial/grassroots newspapers: ownership is independent of government or any of the major media groups, run under a registered company, and represented by the AIP

CHALLENGES encountered in this sector: Lack of advertising support from GCIS and government departments: the reality is that in most instances, preference is given to mainstream, commercial publications and/or community radio stations than to the grassroots print media sector, yet grassroots publications are the ones that are in direct contact with communities that government and the private sector want to reach out to…

(SOURCE – GCIS)

PROPOSED solutions to this challenge: 1) That GCIS offers regular, consistent advertising support to the community print media sector 2) That GCIS utilizes Provincial Cooperatives for the placement of advertisements in grassroots community newspapers 3) That GCIS holds regular meetings with the grassroots community media sector to get first-hand updates 4) As a way of verifying print runs of member-publications, the AIP has gathered print verification certificates from printing companies

CHALLENGES encountered in this sector: The lack of use and promotion of indigenous, ‘official’ languages Lack of language diversity in Municipalities when publishing newsletters, notices, pamphlets, etc Lack of coordination and cooperation among Chapter 9 Institutions with regards to communicating their services to communities The shortage of libraries in rural areas

PROPOSED solutions to challenges: 1) Giving sustainable advertising support to the community print media sector will strengthen and improve literacy and numeracy skills 2) Chapter 9 Institutions’ use of grassroots print publications as vehicles for taking their messages and services across to people on the ground 3) an urgent need for government to ‘teach’ rural communities, about the provisions of the Constitution. Community media (print and electronic) is the perfect medium to convey such educational messages

CHALLENGES encountered in this sector: The lack of funding for the small commercial and community print sector at the MDDA: as an institution that was setup to encourage ownership of small community publications by previously-disadvantaged individuals, lack of funding for this section at the MDDA has led to no new publications being setup. This in turn, has stifled media diversity and media development

PROPOSED solutions to challenges: 1) Funding for the MDDA must be spread across both print and electronic sectors, and not have funding that is ring-fenced exclusively for electronic media 2) The funding structure and reporting model for the small commercial print sector must be reviewed

CONCLUSION: Since 2006 to date, the AIP has played a critical role of representing, promoting and expressing the interests of independent and grassroots print media publishers. The organization is non-partisan and facilitative and promotes inclusivity, transparency and accountability GCIS and other government structures must utilize the AIP as it represents independent and grassroots publications that talk to communities that they (government structures) are meant to serve…

THANK YOU… PRESENTED BY: Ms Mbali Dhlomo – AIP PRESIDENT ON BEHALF OF: The AIP Board E-MAIL: mbali@genuinemedia.co.za CONTACT: Ms Louise Vale – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CONTACT NUMBER: (011) 713 9128 | 9614 E-MAIL: louisev@printmedia.org.za WEBSITE: www.aip.org.za