‘Digital First’ as a Coping Measure for Malawi’s Print Newspapers

Abstract

This chapter investigates whether (and in what ways) the decision by Malawi’s leading print newspapers, Times Group (Times) and Nation Publications Limited (NPL), to adopt the digital first strategy of news reporting has helped the news organizations to remain relevant and competitive in the fast-paced digital world. Both Times and NPL were quick to embrace technology and establish online desks in the early 2000s. The desks later became custodians of the digital first strategy designed to complement the print newspaper. This was to avert the competition posed by social media and to ensure their readers have access to timely and credible news while waiting for the print newspapers. While some stories are published online only, most news stories end up on the front pages of the print newspapers. This study focused on news stories that were first published on Facebook pages and later as front-page stories the following day. A total of fourteen news stories were sampled. Two news concepts: slow news and 24-hour news cycle, which explain the different mechanisms involved in live coverage of daily news for digital platforms and print newspapers, were employed to guide the investigations. The major finding is that the digital first strategy has helped the two media houses to remain relevant at a time social media have become the source of real-time news for the citizens. However, the tendency of publishing on front page news stories that made headlines on social media the previous day without adding value risks the future of the print newspapers.