Media24 will close four of its KwaZulu-Natal community newspaper titles, the publishing group said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
“Media24 continuously reviews the performance of its entire portfolio. As a result we have in principle taken a decision to close a few loss-making local newspapers in our extensive portfolio of community titles,” spokeswoman Anika Ebrahim said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The affected titles were Zululand Fever, Ulundi Fever, Ballito Fever and Durban North Fever. Upper Coast Fever would not be closed.<\/p>\n
Ebrahim said a pre-consultation meeting was held with staff at the affected titles and the consultation process was explained to them.<\/p>\n
“During that meeting, staff were given an overview of the business, the cost-cutting initiatives which had already been implemented and the alternatives that had been considered.”<\/p>\n
The consultation process, which would begin next week, would determine how many staff would be retrenched, Ebrahim said.<\/p>\n
All payments to staff would be made in line with the Labour Relations Act once the process has been finalised.<\/p>\n
“Local newspapers remain a core component of our nationwide newspaper portfolio and we will continue to seek growth opportunities to expand our footprint,” Ebrahim said.<\/p>\n
Media24 launches new SA e-commerce enabler<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n