Saving Zimbabwe's Media Through A Hybrid Model

Zimbabwe's printing newspaper readership is plummeting. There are various reasons including poor content delivery, budgetary constraints, diminished ad revenues and that more and more readers are consuming content online. Digital is changing the way that publishers need to interact and engage with their prospects and customers.

Connectivity has happened so quickly catching many newspaper executives unawares, and there is no let up to . The rise of social media, mobile apps, and push notifications means readers want short content instantaneously. News organizations are being forced to respond quickly and efficiently.

It's not necessarily a first in the world. But it's causing seismic shifts to an industry that has long regarded itself as a high tower of some sort. Egos are being shaken: old models that worked perfectly well are being torn apart.

Traditional media groups are feeling the pinch because they just can't seem to look beyond old ways of doing business. Or whatever ideas they have tried to come up with just ends up in the dustbin, at serious cost.

Like in most parts of the world, journos are finding themselves out of jobs. Some have turned to the rat race of freelancing or have abandoned the profession altogether. With the exception of a few radio stations, no sustainable media companies have been established in the recent past in Zimbabwe.

Web platforms that are focused on news have not been spared either: there is none that have really established a solid footprint. Or business model. In fact, Zimbabwe's online space is characterised by a content copying and pasting model thereby diminishing diversity of online media.

It is far fetched to suggest that media companies in Zimbabwe can generate enough digital advertising to offset the declining revenue from its shrinking print base.

Fact of the matter is that the media business model is broken. Picking up the pieces will not be easy. Zimbabwe has its own unique circumstances that simply replicating solutions from other markets will not be enough. It's important to keep this is mind as we seek solutions to save the face of the newspaper.

The traditional print newspaper maybe on its way out but it still commands a lot of respect in the marketplace especially among the older generation. Packaging content in new, dynamic ways can result in audience growth among young people.

A hybrid model that incorporates online and offline approaches is required if the newspaper industry is to be fullproofed from the many pressures it currently faces.

Though most people dismiss the print newspapers as dying, I think it still has a significant lifetime, especially given its gravitas within our society.

In the digital space, the biggest challenge is fighting for attention. That’s because there’s more content in more places, with more topics and more faces.

The more that newspapers can win attention in the digital space, the more they can be relevant. Newspapers will have to convert attention, which tends to be fickle on the internet, close it and delight with content that create multiple streams of revenue.

Zimbabwe publishers can harness the power of technology to manage quick and quality news distribution. Specifically, digital publishers need to personalize the entire reader journey, engaging people at every touch point.

Digital publishers need to think beyond the click as it were. New models of storytelling need to be employed to grow a new kind of readership in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe's future newspapers will have to provide the kind of expertise or long-lead-researched content that not everyone can provide. In this scenario, click baiting or copying and pasting articles from elsewhere will simply not work. Newspapers will need to provide niche dimensions of news.

Newspapers will have to work extra harder to build ca community of highly engaged and loyal readers around their brands.

In conclusion, its vital for newspaper publishers to stay curious and wary of digital transformations that have an impact on their industry. The idea of resting on laurels is long past.