Covid-19: Caxton Local Media temporarily ceases printing Gauteng newspapers
Managing director of Caxton Local Media and Commercial Printing, Jaco Koekemoer, advised that the company still has core personnel operational who are continuing to publish hyper-local and national news on the group’s 72 digital platforms and will liaise with its clients and advertisers.
Caxton Local Media has decided to cease the printing of its Gauteng newspapers for the time being and will only continue to print in certain areas of Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo.
The announcement was made by the managing director of Caxton Local Media and Commercial Printing, Jaco Koekemoer. “It is with a heavy heart that we have, with immediate effect, decided not to continue with the publishing of our Gauteng newspapers. Our industry, like so many others globally, has been hard hit by Covid-19 and its associated regulations.”
Koekemoer said the company had incurred massive losses in advertising revenue since the beginning of the lockdown but kept on publishing until the end of last week (17 April). The extended lockdown will, however, impact heavily on the business and the costs incurred to continue publishing couldn’t be warranted.
“Should the lockdown period be extended, we will revise the plans we have implemented. We do however have core personnel still operational and we continue to liaise with our clients and advertisers,” he explained.
The company has its post-lockdown measures in place. Koekemoer said the group will help play a role in reigniting the economy.
While printing may have stopped, the group’s 72 digital platforms are still focusing on covering hyper-local and national news. Koekemoer said it was clear from the statistics that readers rely on its platforms as a source of accurate information, “We have seen unprecedented growth in traffic on our digital platforms, with over 10 million visitors and more than 20 million page views in March.”
*Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news
Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
