IOL says it has secured R200m from shareholders to finance a national expansion drive. The announcement came at a busy moment: Iqbal Surwe Sekunjalo is stepping down as president, independent media is being reestablished and a court battle involving the Southern African Textile and Clothing Workers' Union has once again put the group's media history under scrutiny.
IOL has R200 million shareholder-backed investment announced To fund this it has been described as a bold national expansion strategy, which will include hiring at least 200 media personnel and launching a new flagship publication, The National.
The company said the money will be used in three areas: building national digital infrastructure and AI-powered publishing technology; expanding its editorial staff; and launching a new publication, The National, for South African readers.
Viasen Subramaniam, chief executive of IOL, said an iol article tThe investment was a “decisive vote of confidence” in South African journalism and the company intended to become the country's largest and most influential digital publisher within three years.
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The ambition for appointment is sufficient. IOL says it plans to recruit at least 200 journalists, multimedia producers, designers and digital experts in the coming weeks, rapidly building one of the largest digital newsroom teams in Africa.
It's a surprising move in a media market where newsrooms are mostly shrinking, not swelling. Print circulation has collapsed, advertising revenue has scattered across global technology platforms, and many local publishers have had to choose between paywalls, donor funding, subscriptions, events, branded content and aggressive…