Stunted growth: An exploration into the failures of African-language newspapers, Imvo Zabantsundu in focus

Abstract

Publishing newspapers in African languages has largely been a precarious business, as many disappear no sooner than they appear on the newsstands. Several factors may be responsible for this short life-span, including apathy towards indigenous languages in Africa, which results in low patronage in terms of copy sales and advertisement placement. Yet, a number of local language newspapers actually endured, only to finally disappear after a long time. A good example was Imvo Zabantsundu, a Xhosa-language newspaper that existed, although with some interruption, between 1884 and 1997. This research examines the problems of managing local language publications, with a particular focus on Imvo. It also examines the success stories of the isiZulu newspaper, Isolezwe; the isiZulu, isiXhosa and Sesotho editions of Bona magazine; as well as the Alaroye titles in Yorubaland, Nigeria.