The South African Mainstream Press in the Online Environment: Successes, Opportunities and Challenges

The proliferation of online media platforms has placed traditional media houses under pressure to revisit their existing business plans while journalists have been prompted to redefine their professional identities. In many parts of the world, the rise of new media platforms for the delivery of news has raised questions -– and often panic – about the implications for traditional or ‘legacy’ media. In African contexts, where access to online platforms cannot be taken for granted, or is distributed highly asymmetrically according to rural-urban, class, ethnic and gender divides, different business models and professional practices are emerging compared to those documented in the North and postulated to have global significance. Drawing on in-depth interviews with editors and key editorial staff involved in online news production and strategic planning at three mainstream newspapers in South Africa (The Times, the Mail & Guardian and the Daily Dispatch), the chapter seeks to understand how mainstream newspapers in South Africa are reacting to the business threats and opportunities posed by the online environment