Association of Independent Publishers’ joint venture with Google invests R114m to save local journalism

26 Nov 2024

A partnership between the Association of Independent Publishers and Google throws a lifeline to community media following thousands of job cuts in the journalism industry.

The launch of the Digital News Transformation (DNT) Fund this week by the Association of Independent Publishers, in partnership with Google, marks the largest investment in community media in South Africa. This historic initiative aims to revolutionise local journalism and provide a lifeline to the grassroots media sector.

The DNT Fund, a partnership between the Association of Independent Publishers and Google, will deliver R114-million over the next three years starting from March 2025. This fund will provide targeted support to media organisations that produce original public interest journalism, develop their digital operations, and promote diversity and inclusion.

Association of Independent Publishers chairperson Anita Mangxaba said: “We understand the challenges of our publishers and recognise the devastating impact Covid-19 has had on our sector, with many of us forced to hold printing. However, we believe this fund serves not only as a lifeline, but also as a launchpad for something new and exciting, local and independent publishers, long underfunded and underresourced, now have a chance to rise.”

Mangxaba went on to add that publishers are the heartbeat of democracy. “They hold power to account, tell the stories of the marginalised, speak to people in their own mother tongue languages, capture our local history and culture, and work actively to wrestle and defeat misinformation and disinformation at the local level.”

The DNT Fund’s overall objectives are to strengthen local and independent news organisations, develop their digital operations, produce original public interest journalism, promote diversity and inclusion, and foster long-term sustainability.

“The DNT Fund will provide targeted support to media organisations that support public interest journalism, ensure digital transformation and product development, focus on financial sustainability and revenue development, promote audience engagement and [are] product agnostic. DNT support projects do not need to make use of Google products and services,” said Mangxaba.

The eligibility criteria for the fund:

Beneficiaries must be local or independent news publishers who produce original public interest journalism and have existing or planned digital news products.

Industry bodies that support the local and independent news media ecosystem are also eligible.

Beneficiaries must be members of the Press Council of South Africa to ensure a commitment to journalistic ethics, and display a genuine commitment to digital transformation and sustainability.

Applications for funding may be made by stand-alone publishers, consortiums and collectives.

Beneficiaries do not need to be members of the Association of Independent Publishers, or to make use of Google products or services.

Beneficiaries must be members of the Press Council of South Africa to ensure a commitment to journalistic ethics.

Publishers with more than a million unique monthly visitors to their websites do not qualify, unless they are eligible for the Google News Showcase agreement due to language or other restrictions. Additionally, publishers that qualify for or already benefit from a digital news showcase agreement are excluded from applying as individual beneficiaries.

News aggregators, general interest magazines without a clear commitment to public interest journalism, and broadcasting services are also not eligible for funding.

Funding administration

The DMT Fund will be administered by Tshikululu Social Investments, a prominent social investment fund manager and adviser. The fund’s oversight, governance and day-to-day management will be handled by several structures. These include the fund secretariat, which will manage daily operations, and an adjudication committee comprising five independent industry experts who will review and approve funding applications.

A multi-stakeholder oversight and advisory board will provide strategic and fiscal oversight, including representatives from the Press Council of SA and the Association of Independent Publishers.

The fund will prioritise transparency, publicly disclosing beneficiary information and adhering to conflict of interest policies. Notably, Google, the primary funder, will not be involved in funding decisions or participate in the fund's governance structures.

Funding allocation

Mangxaba shared that the DMT Fund will offer three tiers of support, depending on the needs and the capacity of each applicant.

The first tier will offer up to R380,000 per project per year for publishers with limited or no online presence to lay the groundwork for a solid digital foundation.

The second tier offers up to R950,000 per project, per year for publishers with basic digital projects seeking to expand their reach and capabilities.

The third tier will offer up to R1.9-million per project, per year, for digitally mature publishers looking to invest in new technologies to enhance their digital business models.

“We need to remember that this is not just a financial moment. We believe it is a historic turning point that invites all of us - publishers, journalists, editors, activists and academics - to take action,” Mangxaba said, urging academics, journalists and publishers to seize this opportunity to innovate and bring their stories to life.

Marianne Erasmus, Google News partner lead for Sub-Saharan Africa, explained that the DNT Fund is designed to empower local, independent and community-focused news publishers, particularly those serving vernacular language audiences, to establish a robust digital presence, grow their readership, enhance audience engagement and develop effective data-driven strategies to achieve long-term financial sustainability.

Echoing Erasmus, Dr Glenda Daniels, who is the Secretary-General of the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef), emphasised the importance of recognising the robust civil society in South Africa, which will serve as a kickstart for promoting diversity, plurality and otherness in the media industry. Daniels also highlighted the challenges faced by the industry, including job losses and declining revenue streams.

In line with the Association of Independent Publishers initiative, Sanef has established several funds to support journalism in South Africa. One such fund is the Sustainability & Media Relief Fund, which provides financial assistance to journalists and community media organisations impacted by economic pressures since 2020. Already more than R2.1-million has been distributed, helping hundreds of journalists.

Journalism shrinkage

The funding comes after the journalism industry has faced significant upheaval characterised by widespread job losses and substantial restructuring in the past few years.

Several prominent media outlets - including Media24, which cut more than 800 jobs, Independent Media, which let go of more than 120 journalists, Arena Holdings and even Daily Maverick, which reduced its workforce by 5% and operating costs by 15% - have undergone drastic cost cutting.

Read more: State of the Media

The primary cause of this trend is the decline of traditional revenue streams, particularly print advertising, which has been severely impacted by the shift to digital media. As a result, many newspapers and magazines have been forced to reduce their workforce, leading to widespread job losses among journalists, editors and other media professionals.

Furthermore, the rise of online news sources and social media has also disrupted the traditional journalism business model, making it increasingly challenging for media outlets to remain profitable and sustain employment opportunities. DM

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The eligibility criteria for the fund:

Funding administration

Funding allocation

Journalism shrinkage