In a poignant address at the launch of the African Barometer Botswana 2023, Titus Mbuya, Managing Director of Dikgang Publishing Company, painted a stark picture of the challenges facing Botswana's print media as the elections loom large. Mbuya lamented the reducing capacity of newspapers to cover such significant events, attributing it to their declining profitability in the face of digital dominance. "This year, newspapers are not going to be able to cover the General Election as they always did in the past, the space for newspapers is diminished because newspapers are no longer profitable," said Mbuya.
Mbuya pointed to the digital shift as a major factor in this decline. "The future of print lies in digital platforms. Newspapers traditionally relied on selling their audience to advertisers. However, the rise of digital giants like Facebook and Google has disrupted this model, these tech giants dominate the digital advertising space, leaving newspapers struggling to compete and attract advertisers," he explained. Highlighting the impact on local coverage, Mbuya lamented the closure of regional bureaus. "Mmegi, for example, had bureaus in three northern towns that we have had to close due to financial constraints. This means we can no longer cover those areas adequately," he noted. Furthermore, Mbuya says investigative journalism, that was once a pillar of newspapers, is also under threat. "Newspapers can no longer afford dedicated investigative desks. This has severely limited our ability to uncover corruption and hold the powerful accountable, the working conditions for journalists have also deteriorated as revenues decline, leading to a loss of experienced reporters in newsrooms," Mbuya added.
