Writing community-based stories might be easy to write, but can be hard to find. For community-based newspapers like the Fourways Review, navigating the local news environment entails a balancing act. The publication is tasked with giving stories space on the pages, while relying on local businesses to take out advertising space in order to generate revenue.
This was according to Khomotso Makgabutlane, a journalist for the Fourways Review, a free community newspaper in Johannesburg.
The impact of lockdown
The impacts of Covid-19 and lockdown in 2020 pushed the publication to cut costs by cutting pages and staff, according to Makgabutlane.
“In May of 2020, the paper was printed every week, but two weeks before lockdown level 4, we stopped printing and moved online,” said Makgabutlane. “Printing of 37,000 copies started again in September, but the paper went from being 20 pages to on average 8 to 10 pages,” she added.
From June 2020, the Fourways Review, published by Caxton, experienced a negative domino effect due to Covid-19, said Makgabutlane.
“For a long time in lockdown, there was not enough content to cover, [so] businesses were pulling advertisements. The team was cut down to a skeleton staff in an effort to cut costs, as the paper relies heavily on advertising,” Makgabutlane noted.
For journalists like Makgabutlane, the page limit in the shorter version of the newspaper meant covering stories outside of what she had always covered, said Makgabutlane.
“I usually write about sports and sometimes a little bit of lifestyle, but I was in uncharted waters writing about other things – uncharted waters was covering stories during a pandemic!” she added.
With community reporting, there are the community factors like sport, schools, and people, as well as news factors such as crime or potholes, according to Magbutlane, whose reporting shifted from sport to focus on Diepsloot.
William Nicol Drive, one of the major roads that cuts through Fourways, is currently under consideration to be renamed to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Drive. PHOTO: Supplied/Khomotso Makgabutlane
“During lockdown, I wish there was more national recognition on how [Covid-19] impacts people living in extreme poverty, trying to make ends meet, especially after being promised service delivery,” described Makgabutlane.
Serving a wide-ranging community
“In terms of distribution, the paper is delivered every Wednesday, covering areas of Fourways, Lonehill, Diepsloot, Kya Sand, and sometimes Sunninghill,” according to Makgabutlane.
Residents of Lonehill, one of the suburbs the Fourways Review covers, fixing a notorious pothole Crestwood Drive, one of the main roads in Lonehill. PHOTO: Supplied/Nduduzo Nxumalo
The Fourways Review is in a unique position, serving up-market suburbs like Fourways and in contrast covers news in Diepsloot, the nearby township, explained Makgabutlane.
“We cover the usual school, crime, and community stories for Fourways, but we also cover a lot of issues in Diepsloot, which for example, hasn’t received infrastructure promised by the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA),” Makgabutlane explained.
The Johannesburg Development Agency was tasked with clearing the land to build a sports field for children. These plans have been left unmaintained since phase one of the project in 2019. PHOTO: Supplied/Khomotso Makgabutlane
The shortened version of the Fourways Review continues to remain a challenge for the paper, said Pasinello. She explained that, with the limited page numbers, balancing content with advertisements has been difficult.