The Daily Maverick has shut down for today, 15 April, to highlight the global state of emergency in journalism.
If you go to Daily Maverick’s website, you’ll see a black page with a message stating that the publication has closed down for today. According to The Media Online, the shutdown was not taken lightly. Rather, it is an attempt to highlight ‘the global state of emergency in journalism’.
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‘This crisis in journalism affects South Africa’s democratic functioning and impacts the state of our economy. Journalism is experiencing a market failure and is at risk of collapse, with effects that will be catastrophic,’ the publication states.
Over the past 15 years, nearly 70% of South Africa’s media workforce has been lost.
In the past, public journalism has helped remove corrupt ministers and a president, exposed State Capture and helped protect democratic institutions.
However, the economic climate is no longer viable to continue supporting journalism, writes The Media Online.
While advertising once sustained a large part of the industry, it is now mostly directed at foreign-based technology platforms. Furthermore, some newsrooms just do not have enough readers to help fund the size of newsrooms required to fulfil their duty.
‘Today’s shutdown aims to highlight what will happen if journalism does not receive the support it needs from the business community, the public and policymakers,’ The Media Online reports.
‘Journalism urgently needs financial support and policy reform to improve the environment in which it is asked to protect democracy and serve the public’s information needs.’
#DMShutdown pic.twitter.com/kpiehAo95V
— Daily Maverick (@dailymaverick) April 14, 2024
The Daily Maverick will return later today at 11:59am.
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