SECTOR 2 “There has to be a distinction between what makes a business good and what makes public sense. From a democracy and governance perspective it would be better if there were 20 different newspapers, but from a business point of view it does not make sense. What may be needed is legislation to promote diversity, or even government provision of subsidies for newspapers - not with the intention to control but with the aim of assisting an integral component of the democratic process,” explained one panellist. The Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), established by law in 2002, had precisely this objective: “To help create an enabling environment for media development and diversity … (and) redress exclusion and marginalisation of historically disadvantaged communities and persons from access to the media”. The Agency is a public-private partnership, funded jointly by government and the big media players, both broadcast and print. Since its formation, the MDDA has awarded grants of around R80 million (US$ 11 million) to community radio stations and small newspapers. . Quite a number of the newspapers funded by the MDDA collapsed and were forced to close down, while others that made it to some kind of sustainability were bought out by the media conglomerates. One or two of the local staff members usually survive the transformation and so the front part of the paper will still have local news, while the rest has a more national flavour. “It seems that the MMDA was funded more as a greenhouse type facility for the industry to see where markets are located to support the production of a newspaper,” pointed out one of the panellists. In recent years the most significant transformation in community media has been effected by Media 24 whose method of takeover is slightly different. They will only acquire 51 per cent of the business while the outstanding 49 percent remains in the hands of the owner. Media 24 will leave the people who run the paper in place and instead assist with the professionalisation of management and administration structures. The organisation will end up with local staff running the paper, while outside staff will assist with accounting, administration and advertising. The success rate of this formula has differed from publication to publication, depending on the editor and the area. Access to printing presses is a big concern for small independent publishers. Since the majority of presses are owned by a few large companies, the MDDA is currently undertaking a feasibility study on whether it should buy a press that will be available to independent print media owners. This is a costly option as the MDDA will have to employ staff, hire premises and pay for maintenance of equipment. An alternative and perhaps more cost-effective, efficient and high impact solution for the MDDA would be to make arrangements with people who own presses. The agency would pay the owners directly and buy time on 28 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER SOUTH AFRICA 2010