Reading the contributions to this issue of The Business of the Media, alongside the latest local and global industry research, is a sobering exercise. There are green shoots, certainly, but the reality is that many of the challenges facing media businesses are unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
As it does every June, the Reuters Digital News Report delivers the numbers and insights that make it essential reading. South Africa remains one of the world’s biggest consumers of online news video, with usage exceeding 80%.
Digital news creators and personality-driven journalism continue to grow rapidly, competing directly with established media brands for audience attention. At the same time, concerns around misinformation, foreign influence campaigns, AI-generated content and ad fraud are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
Two contributors to this issue – Esmé Smit, general manager of Novus Media, and Rochelle de Kock, head of news at Arena Holdings – offer valuable perspectives from different corners of the news business. Yet both arrive at the same conclusion: audience trust matters more than ever. In an increasingly crowded and fragmented information environment, credibility remains one of media’s strongest competitive advantages.
A nuanced picture
The latest Ornico Social Media Landscape Report paints a similarly nuanced picture. While social media remains deeply embedded in daily life, the report notes that emotional attachment to these platforms is waning, particularly among younger users who once defined social media culture.
For marketers, that shift has significant implications. The major platforms continue to play an important role, but priorities, usage patterns and content strategies are evolving.
One statistic that particularly stood out is South Africa’s retail media ad spend, which reached R1.14 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. The figure aligns with findings from PwC’s Africa Entertainment and Media Outlook 2025–2029, which identifies retail media and paid search as two of the fastest-growing advertising segments.
Growth is being fuelled by e-commerce, social media, gaming, influencer marketing and programmatic advertising – all areas reshaping how brands connect with consumers.
Our contributors from the Advertising Media Forum unpack these trends further, providing insight into both the opportunities and threats facing media agencies in 2026.
Meanwhile, Brian Yuyi, CEO of the Marketing Association of South Africa (MASA), makes a compelling case for marketers having a seat at the executive table. As he puts it: “Marketing is business, and business is marketing.”
On that note, we’re pleased to welcome MASA as a distribution partner for The Media magazine, alongside the Advertising Media Forum.
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