The Citizen (South African newspaper)

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The Citizen
The Citizen logo.png
Logo of The Citizen newspaper in South Africa
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatTabloid
Owner(s)CTP/Caxton
PublisherCTP/Caxton
EditorTrevor Stevens
Founded1976
HeadquartersJohannesburg
Websitecitizen.co.za

The Citizen is a tabloid-style newspaper distributed nationally in South Africa. While its core readership is mainly in Gauteng, it also distributes to surrounding provinces such as Mpumalanga, Limpopo and the North West. In 1998, The Citizen was acquired by CTP/Caxton. The Citizen embarked on its digital evolution in 2013. The website went live on 1 August 2013 with a fresh look and more responsive design adaptable to mobile, tablet and desktop. Since then, citizen.co.za has established itself among the top South African news websites. While it is a general news site, it also reaches niche audiences, catering to its readers’ varied interests.

History[]

The paper was founded in 1976 during the apartheid era by Louis Luyt,[1] at which time it was the only major English-language newspaper favourable to the ruling National Party. In 1978, during the Muldergate Scandal, it was revealed that the money to establish and finance the newspaper had come from a secret slush fund of the Department of Information, and ultimately from the Department of Defence.[2]

In 1998, the paper was bought by Caxton and CTP Publishers and Printers Limited,[3] one of the largest publishers and printers in South Africa. The company is involved in various fields of publishing and printing such as newspapers, magazines, commercial print, book printing, stationery, packaging and labels, as well as manufacturing ink for web presses.

In 2012, Eureka Zandberg took over from Greg Stewart as the publisher of The Citizen. Along with Editor Martin Williams, she brought in renowned design guru Dr. Mario Garcia[4] to give the newspaper a complete revamp. In Dr. Garcia's words, "In South Africa, The Citizen decided to face those challenges and seize the opportunities, while sending a message to its devoted readers: you have changed, and so have we." The new edition hit the streets on 1 August 2013.

Zandberg told South African media blogsite GrubStreet[5] that while The Citizen had had makeovers before, it was never to the extent of this one: "If you put The Citizen next to other papers, it felt tired. We thought that we owed our readers a face lift, a better product and a better experience."

On 7 October 2013, The Citizen announced[6] that Editor Martin Williams would be stepping down. Williams, who had been with The Citizen for 19 years, and contributed to its many successes, retired at the end of October.

His replacement was named as Steve Motale, who at the time was the executive editor of Pretoria News. Motale had started off as a reporter at The Citizen in 2002, later becoming political editor and then editor of Citizen Metro.

The editor is now Trevor Stevens. Stevens, who joined The Citizen in 2001 as a sports reporter, became editor of The Citizen in 2017. He is also the current Saturday Citizen editor – a position he held from 2010.

Supplements[]

  • City (Mon.-Sat.) – lifestyle and entertainment supplement
  • Racing Express (Mon.-Sat.) – horse racing supplement
  • Phakaaathi (Tue.) – local and international soccer supplement
  • Motoring (Wed.) – motoring and local motorsport supplement
  • Gaming (Thu.) – gaming supplement
  • Buy in Bulk (Thu.) – weekly wholesale supplement
  • Hammer & Gavel (Fri.) – auctions supplement
  • Travel (Sat.) - travel supplement

Distribution areas[]

2019 2020
Eastern Cape
Free State Y Y
Gauteng Y Y
KwaZulu-Natal Subscriptions only Subscriptions only
Limpopo Y Y
Mpumalanga Y Y
North West Y Y
Northern Cape Y Y
Western Cape

Circulation figures[]

Circulation[7]
Total circulation
Apr-Jun 2021 29 678
Jan-Mar 2021 29 800
Oct-Dec 2020 30 012
Jul-Sep 2020 28 316
Jan-Mar 2020 36 359
Oct-Dec 2019 36 966
Jul-Sep 2019 38 270
Apr-Jun 2019 39 349
Jan-Mar 2019 40 481

Readership figures[]

Estimated readership[8]
PRINT AIR
FUSION 2021 INTERIM MODELLED UPDATE 219 000
PAMS 2019 276 000

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Anton Harber, (September 13, 2006). "Lies, truth and good Citizen-ship" Archived 15 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine, The Harbinger Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  2. ^ "Eschel Rhoodie, 1979/80" Archived 23 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Rob Marsh. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  3. ^ "About us - The Citizen - The Citizen". citizen.co.za. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  4. ^ "Blog: The Citizen of South Africa: it's a totally new product. × García Media". García Media. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  5. ^ "Grub Street - Your Business News Digest". Grub Street. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  6. ^ "New editor for The Citizen, Steve Motale - The Citizen". Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  7. ^ Audit Bureau of Circulations (S.A)
  8. ^ PAMS 2019 (PAMS 2019, AIR, PRINT)

External links[]

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