I write this note after watching President Cyril Ramaphosa being inaugurated for a second term. All the stress, uncertainty and tension of the past year, leading up to this pivotal moment, dissipated under the clear blue Gauteng skies.
South Africa wanted change, and we got it. We know there’s a hard road ahead; that a Government of National Unity will have periods when it is anything but unified.
Nevertheless, there is a sense of optimism about, albeit tempered with our experience of how things can go so wrong, so fast, in our beautiful country.
Optimism misplaced?
Perhaps optimism is misplaced when it comes to print newspapers. The news that Media24 is making its stable of newspapers – including City Press, the Daily Sun and Soccer Laduma – digital-first publications, was shocking – but perhaps not entirely unexpected. Hiving off its community newspapers and On the Dot logistics service to Novus Holdings surely indicates the intent to concentrate on digital properties.
The news business is undergoing major upheavals, what with artificial intelligence, declines in readership, the development of a new cohort of readers and how they like to get their news… and that’s besides the obvious impact of Google, Facebook, TikTok and X.
Then, of course, there’s the tricky issue of news avoidance.
The Gen Z equation
Still, recent reports from the World Association of News Publishers’ World News Congress are cautiously optimistic. The sessions with Generation Z, who presented the Copenhagen Criteria, made it clear they want their news to be: Educational, Empowering, G-local (local connected to global), Human, Impactful, Objective and Timely.
Important values to remember if we want to cultivate a new generation of readers.
Meanwhile, as all of this was going on, South Africa’s agencies were getting on with the job of advertising, and the business of media. In this issue, we’ve tackled some of the issues facing agencies, while also looking at solutions.
From AI product placement in video, to the ethics of AI models (and Dove’s response to that) to what future agencies could look like, the role of chief marketing officers in this evolving world, how the various generations impact advertising and media … our contributors have generously shared their thoughts, insights and opinions in an effort to take a well-rounded look at the sector.
As always, thank you to all of you.
CLICK ON THE COVER TO READ THE MEDIA’S AGENCY ISSUE.
