ZIMBABWE’S most influential national newspapers, the Daily News and the Daily News On Sunday, continue to perform strongly both in print and online since they came back from the dead in March 2011.
This is according to the latest report of the independent Zimbabwe All Media and Products Survey (ZAMPS) for the first six months of 2021.
The report shows that the two newspapers, which recently celebrated a remarkable 10 years back since their seemingly impossible relaunch — having been shut down unjustly by the government of the late former president Robert Mugabe in September 2003, for ‘telling it like it is’ — are firm favourites among readers on all platforms.
The Daily News’s share of the keenly contested national daily print and online readership is recorded at a notable 28 percent and 34 percent respectively — where competitor NewsDay, for context, had a comparative share of 13 percent and 23 percent respectively.
Similarly, the Daily News On Sunday’s share of the weekly print and online readership stood at 11 percent and 15 percent respectively — where one of its competitors, the Standard, failed to register on the radar during the study period.
ZAMPS is a continuous local media study that is commissioned by the Zimbabwe Advertising Research Foundation (ZARF). Its main objective is to gather data on the consumption and usage of different media platforms and commercially produced products.
It provides comprehensive information to stakeholders about the audience for all media — both electronic and print — and thus provides stakeholders with an industry-wide, single trading currency for advertisers, advertising agencies and media owners for the buying and selling of media space.
ZAMPS is currently the only credible bird’s eye view of Zimbabwe’s media sector — with the rest of what is bandied about as “studies” on and “awards” to the industry patently untrustworthy.
Commenting on ZAMPS’ latest survey yesterday the Editor-in-Chief of Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ) — publishers of the Daily News and the Daily News On Sunday — Guthrie Munyuki said it was most pleasing to see that the company’s newspapers continued to perform strongly in the current difficult operating environment.
“This continuing solid performance is all thanks to our loyal and most valued readers and advertisers, as well as our wonderful staff across all departments in the group.
“The success of our two inimitable titles is even more remarkable when one factors in their unjust closure in 2003, which effectively makes the newspapers in their current reincarnation and market segments the country’s youngest national newspapers.
“When we relaunched our operations in 2011, very few people gave us a chance then, with Mugabe’s minions who had presided over our forced closure for eight long years especially sure that we would go nowhere.
“A decade later, we are not just still here, but thriving — both editorially and commercially — to the disbelief of our few remaining detractors. Not surprisingly too, our stunning success has sometimes spawned neurotic conspiracies about us,” Munyuki said.
“In addition to the support of our readers and advertisers, our success has also been underpinned by a winning strategy premised on offering unique, riveting and balanced content — which is what differentiates us from other local media houses.
“Our solemn vow to our valued readers is that the Daily News and the Daily News On Sunday will continue to tell the Zimbabwean story like it is, as we have always done — without any fear or favour.
“On this, history has vindicated our honest, fair and credible journalism time and again,” Munyuki added.