Group launches new website and newspaper

INDEPENDENT media has launched the print edition of its latest newspaper, the African Independent.

African Independent is a weekly tabloid published on Fridays. It will be distributed in South Africa and a number of other African countries including Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

It is run from Joburg by editor Jovial Rantao, who serves as president of the Africa Editors’ Forum and chairman of the Southern African Editors’ Forum.

Rantao has held a number of positions in the Independent Media group, which publishes the Weekend Argus.

Since working at The Star, he has held the posts of editor of the Sunday Tribune and most recently editor of The Sunday Independent.

In a short address at the unveiling of the first edition in Cape Town yesterday, Rantao said the newspaper would change the narrative of how Africa was reported.

Dr Iqbal Survé, the executive chairman of Independent Media, said the launch of an African newspaper had been one of his strategic goals when he acquired the Independent Media group two years ago.

The newspaper would allow Africans to tell their own stories, he said.

It would initially be published in between 15 and 20 countries on the continent.

Surve said he expected this number to grow to 40 in time.

He said the newspaper had one year to become profitable, and in three years he expected it to bring in strong profits.

It had already secured 80 percent of its advertising before its launch.

Survé criticised government departments for not advertising enough in the Independent stable.

He said because newspapers in the Independent stable held 36 percent of national readership, the group was entitled to a similar amount of advertising.

Survé slammed competitor newspapers, saying they were working against the country’s democracy and wanted to see the government and particularly President Jacob Zuma fall.

Guest speaker Minister of International Relations and Co- operation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said the media had to change the pessimistic way it reported African stories.