Media24, the media company that owns publications such as Beeld, City Press, Rapport and DailySUN, has reversed its recent decision to close some of its print publications and keeping these brands as digital-only.
Last month, the company announced its plans to do away with the print versions of four of its titles, citing difficult economic conditions as the reason for the closures.
However, at the weekend, media reports said this decision had been halted, pending regulatory approval for the planned sale of its distribution business On the Dot to Novus.
In June, Moneyweb revealed that Media24 had decided to close the print editions of publications as such as City Press, Daily Sun, Beeld, Rapport, , and Soccer Laduma, as well as the digital (PDF) editions of Volksblad and Die Burger Oos-Kaap and the digital hub SNL24 before September, which would have resulted in the loss of more than 400 jobs.
Earlier in the week, while not writing off the possibility of retrenchments, the company said it will not implement Section 189 retrenchments (or newspaper closures) until the Competition Commission approves its proposed sale of On the Dot and several community newspapers to Novus.
“It never was our intention to do so before approval from the relevant authorities since the sale of On the Dot is a direct consequence of our intention to close the affected titles. However, it is important to note that this undertaking does not include ceasing the Section 189 consultation process related to the affected newspaper titles. As we have said on numerous occasions, we intend to comply with the relevant regulatory and statutory requirements, said Media24 CEO, Ishmet Davidson in a statement.
Moneyweb also reported at the weekend that Media24 has not filed a merger application with the Competition Commission thus far.
The company has also not informed staff that the newspapers will not be closed and no one will be retrenched until the competition authorities approve the transaction.
However, on Saturday, News24, reported that Davidson indicated that the company will not be stopping Section 189 consultations with staff over potential job losses as the company awaits the outcome of a Competition Commission hearing.
He said the deal will have to be given the go-ahead by the Competition Commission, which will investigate whether the sale will “substantially lessen or prevent” competition in SA’s media market.
Davidson added that the proposed sale of On the Dot was a “direct consequence” of the group’s intention to close the print editions of the newspapers.
“It therefore needs regulatory certainty on whether it can sell the logistics business before ending the print runs of the newspapers. There is nothing new about this, since we have said on numerous occasions that we have every intention of complying with the relevant regulatory and statutory requirements. This can take two to three months,” he said.
Last week, Solidarity made an urgent appeal to Media24 to stop the process of closing down its print publications saying it was aware of the offer made by the competing Caxton Group to buy the titles concerned.
“Caxton has already approached the Competition Commission to oppose the closure of the titles and the sale of Media24’s On the Dot media logistics business. Solidarity also requested that this litigation process should be fully concluded before a process regarding the closure continues, and Solidarity will also consider entering into this process,” Solidarity said.