https://zimbabwe.misa.org there were also initial health concerns about the Coronavirus spreading through contact with newsprint,18 a concern soon dispelled by research19 and apparent medical de-emphasis of the virus being spread through surface contact.20 In the region, government regulation saw steep falls in circulations, as seen in newspapers that submitted figures for auditing by the Audit Bureau of Circulation, or, in South Africa, by the very fact of circulations being so low they were not worth submitting. Apart from circulation revenue foregone, some print readers may be lost forever and third and fourth quarter figures will establish the extent of the damage. Lower circulation figures make newspapers less attractive to advertisers who face having to drop their prices for adverts or see advertisers move to social media or other online platforms. This is the bigger threat, since globally “as advertisers are switching to digital channels, they are switching to advertising via Google and Facebook.”21 This strengthens the digital duopoly, which in South Africa swallow an estimated 82% of digital ad revenue.22 Second, the lockdowns and contraction in economic activity saw advertising for online, broadcast and print media plummet. Advertising revenue has been the bedrock of news media, and for print media often providing much more Impact of Covid 19 on Media Sustainability income than the cover price.23 Globally, it is difficult to gauge exactly how steep the plunge in advertising was because it differed from country to country. For example, it made no sense to advertise when buyers could not see the ads, for instance on billboards (known as Out-ofHome or OOH advertising) or in retail advertising in South Africa, when government regulations restricted what could be bought or sold in the initial, strict period of the lockdown as well as severely limiting individual movement. Initial estimates in South Africa were of declines in advertising revenue of 30% to 65% or even 100%, a wide range, which does not reflect any recovery in advertising as the lockdowns have eased.24 Retail advertising in South Africa, necessary to get feet through the doors of retailers, rebounded after the lockdown as predicted but brand advertising was expected to be muted.25 Also, in some markets advertisers have had blacklists stopping ads appearing next to certain categories of news and this has included news about Covid19, which was clearly the main topic of news even before the lockdown period.26 Lockdowns differed across the region, but the economic recession predicted as a result of Covid-19 regulations across the world means advertising is likely to have contracted in most other Southern 18. Konopo, Botswana INK media. 19. Earl Wilkinson, “Zero Incidents of COVID-19 Transmission from Print Surfaces,” International News Media Association (INMA), March 23, 2020, https://www.inma.org/blogs/earl/post.cfm/zero-incidents-of-covid-19- transmission-from-print-surfaces. 20. Stephanie Watson, “Coronavirus on Surfaces: What’s the Real Risk?” WebMD, September 3, 2020, https://www.webmd.com/lung/ news/20200903/coronavirus-on-surfaces-whats-the-real-risk. 21. Harry Dugmore, ed., “PAYING THE PIPER: The Sustainability of the News Industry and Journalism in South Africa in a Time of Digital Transformation and Political Uncertainty” (Digital Journalism Research Project, School of Journalism and Media Studies, Rhodes University, South Africa, May 2018), 13, themediaonline.co.za/.../PAYING-THE-PIPER-The-sustainability-of-the-news-industry-a... 22. Dugmore, 62. 23. Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, “The Changing Economic Contexts of Journalism,” in ICA Handbook of Journalism Studies, (Routledge, 2018), 24. Rumney, “SANEF’S COVID 19 Impact on Journalism Report (Interim),” 31. 25. Rumney, 26. “Newspaper Publishers: COVID-19 - Research and Markets,” Research and Markets, n.d, https://www.researchandmarkets. com/issues/newspaper- publishers?utm_source=dynamic&utm_medium=GNOM&utm_code=t874gn&utm_campaign=1409740++Newspaper+Publishers+See+Drop+in+Advertising+Revenues+as+a+Result+of+COVID- 19&utm_exec=jamu273gnomd. 9