https://zimbabwe.misa.org Impact of Covid 19 on Media Sustainability newspapers did not generate income derived from copy sales since they were forced by circumstances to suspend their print editions,” declared Botswana’s Mmegi.34 In South Africa, two magazine publishers, one independent and one the magazine division of listed Caxton & CTP, were closed as the lockdown started to wreak havoc the news media industry. This was a result of a change in the behaviour of readers, who deserted the kind of content magazines published, as well as in some cases the rising cost of the royalties that had to be paid to overseas owners of the magazine brands as the local currency depreciated against the dollar.35 At one stage the rand depreciated by around 36% against the dollar. Currency depreciation also increased the cost of newsprint in South Africa, which is priced at import parity even though it is produced in the country. This too had an impact on print publishers in South Africa and the region, which imports newsprint. Media24, owner of many of South Africa’s iconic newspaper and magazine titles, was frank in assessing the damage to the business of the lockdown in a July 7 statement, in which the company said it was, “considering the closure of five magazines and two newspapers, outsourcing and reducing the frequency of its remaining monthly magazines, taking two newspapers digital only and reducing staff in related support services.” Ishmet Davidson, CEO of Media24, was blunt about the effect of the crisis on Media24’s print operations and the necessity of focusing on digital: … The pandemic has accelerated the pre-existing and long-term structural decline in print media, resulting in a devastating impact on our own already fragile print media operations with significant declines in both circulation and advertising since April. For many of our print titles the benefits of prior interventions to offset the structural declines and keep them on the shelf no longer exist and they’ve run out of options in this regard. Even with a return to pre-Covid-19 economic levels, the impact of the pandemic on our print media operations will be unrecoverable. Sadly, we have no choice but to restructure our business now to curtail the losses in our print portfolio and allow us to focus on keeping the retained titles sustainable and in print for as long as possible.36 34. Mmegi Editor, “Mmegi Online : Media under Threat,” Mmegi Online, June 5, 2020, http:// www.mmegi.bw/index.php?aid=85764&dir=2020/june/05. 35. Rumney, “SANEF’S COVID 19 Impact on Journalism Report (Interim),” 24. 36. Media24, “Media24 Media Release,” July 7, 2020. 11