June is Youth Month in South Africa. It’s a time when the country is encouraged to think about the bravery of the young people who, on 16 June 1976, put their lives on the line during the uprisings that started in Soweto and spread around the country.
This Uprising is said to have changed the socio-political landscape of the country as the youth fought against the oppressive policies of the Apartheid era.
At the South Africa Media Innovation Program (SAMIP) we are driven to make an impact in the media landscape by empowering the youth with our focus on digital native products and funding projects and organizations producing content that serves underserved communities and indigenous languages.
In the past couple of months the program has on-boarded several new participants that can be seen on our website. These new members of our family showcase our commitment to accelerating innovation and transformation in the local media space.
Independent media thrive in elections coverage
During the month of June two of our participants (The Daily Voxand Daily Maverick) were ranked high in Media Monitoring Africa’s Report on Media Coverage of the 2019 Elections. The report rated news media on a number of factors including the diversity of voices, issues reported on, and the political parties covered by media houses.
The Daily Vox and Daily Maverick got special mentions for being small independent publishers who managed to produce quality journalism in the period Media Monitoring Africa observed.
Young voices speak out
The Daily Vox managed to impress the team at MMA by being a publication staffed by five permanent writers and yet able to deliver engaging content leading up to the elections in May.
The publication ran a dialogue series, sponsored by Telkom, that asked the youth of South Africa to say what issues need to be addressed in the current climate. The dialogue series culminated in a roundtable moderated by The Daily Vox managing editor Sipho Hlongwane.
[SPONSORED] #YouthIgnites: We asked, and you answered. Now watch @CoruscaKhaya, @Kgotsi_Chikane and @NovaTruly on what the youth should be talking about to change history. pic.twitter.com/qGziMsxX3M
— The Daily VOX (@thedailyvox) June 11, 2019
Our latest addition, the Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh Experience (#SMWX), also hosted a youth panel at Menlyn Mall which was moderated by #SMWX host Sizwe. The panel discussed everything related to young people including activism and business:
Diversify diversify diversify
The rest of our participants had a busy month in June as they got advice on how they could fundraise and diversify their revenue streams from fundraising and strategy consultant Carolin Gomilia.
As advertising revenue and digital sales come under strain from shrinking budgets, a struggling economy and the dominance of platforms such as Facebook and Google, it’s more important than ever to look for diverse sources of income.
As the year progresses we will be taking deep dives into the world of podcasting, memberships, audience development and newsletters with our participants. We look forward to updating you all.