M.B.A. / Newspapers traditionally have had little trouble in producing profits. This is no longer the case and aspects such as the number of newspapers competing with each other for marketplace, have definitely brought in a sense of business to the world of communication. Coupled with ever increasing and very strong competition from both broadcast and new internet media for the same advertising slice, newspapers are slowly realizing that the media-marketplace is very different in the 21s t century. In a changing world, newspapers have to adapt or die. The challenge newspapers of 2002 and beyond face, is to appeal to even more readers and advertisers, to segment those readers better than ever before, to control costs while still investing in new technologies and to compete better with television yet retain the essential characteristics of newspapers. Change in the newspaper business is inevitable and in order to survive, newspapers will have to look more and more towards sound Media Management Principles, including Strategic Media Management, in order to turn newspapers into businesses and ensure survival

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

Print newspapers in South Africa are the oldest formal mode of news and information dissemination but which has come under tremendous pressure with the advent and spread of technological innovation involving information communication infrastructure and processes, but specifically the internet. The main challenge facing print newspapers in terms of circulation growth of print and advertising revenue is speed to market. The internet has not only provided a new avenue for news and information dissemination but has the distinct advantage of tremendous speed to deliver news and information to readers. Meanwhile, print newspapers whose production is still almost entirely dependent on traditional structures, processes and physical mode of delivery are battling to stay afloat as the chase for readers' attention is gaining more ground on digital platforms. This new competition landscape has now cast focus fully on traditional print media‟s production processes competency levels as well as their suitability for the nature of competition posed by digital news platforms. The processes involved in the production of a print newspaper can be described as hybrid (Davis and Heineke. 2005: 220) in that they involve different types of processes at different stages to produce the final product. The focus of this study at Avusa Media (Port Elizabeth) was on the post production processes involving the printing and distribution of printed newspapers with the objective of gaining an understanding of the extent and impact of the information technology advancement in the post production phase of printed newspapers. v In pursuing the goal, the case study research followed a phenomenological paradigm involving exploratory and descriptive research processes as described by Yin (1994) in Collis and Hussey (2003: 69) and Clifford Geertz (1973) in Babbie and Mouton (2005: 272) The research found that the traditional business structure for printed newspapers is increasingly becoming unviable due to poverty of technological innovation in critical parts of the production value chain; namely post production processes that encompass printing and distribution of printed newspapers. The research established and revealed that while there are some technological innovations and advances in the print newspaper publishing industry value chain worldwide, they are not only severely limited and disjointed but are also seemingly moving apart rather than towards consolidation in terms of the speed to market need faced by print newspaper publishers.

The problem of this study was to determine how Chinese students obtain news from home. The study was conducted in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Denton, with 182 respondents from six universities. The study determined that Chinese students obtained Chinese news from Chinese newspapers circulating in the United States. The longer Chinese students remained in the United States, the fewer letters they received from home and the fewer newspapers and clippings their family and friends sent them. The conclusion of the study was that Chinese students read Chinese newspapers because they wish to maintain ties with their hometown and culture. Students stated that Hong Kong local news was their primary item in reading Chinese newspapers.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The economic viability and continuity of any publication is determined by two critical factors, being: • The circulation of the publication, thus the readership, as well as • the advertising volumes of the publication. This particular study started by the realisation by management of the publication, Paarl Post, that these two critical factors had in real terms actually been declining since 1996, albeit marginally. The theme of continuous improvement was identified as critical in the process of eliminating "highs and lows", thus certain key areas had to be addressed. Furthermore these areas had to be continously evaluated and monitored. The process of change started with a process of gathering of information by means of questionnaires and personal interviews with certain key personnel by external consultants. A two-day session was scheduled where this information was processed with the help of the consultants and key personnel and the conclusion was made that the growth in circulation and advertising volumes and ultimately the growth in the publication was a function of certain key areas to be managed in the following way: • Cost efficient • Initiatives that lead to product growth • Optimizing of service • Continuous improvement of processes • Optimal use of manpower. The key areas of Marketing, Product, Communication, Processes and Information Technology were identified as key projects, which led to certain recommendations by these project teams based on abovementioned criteria. The "final" phase in the formal process, essentially a phase which never ends, is the implementation of the recommendations, and the continuous monitoring and following-up of the initiatives which ultimately develop to a continuous process of improvement, with the result: • Continuous circulation growth and • continous growth in advertising volumes, and ultimately continuous real growth in the community publication, Paarl Post. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Enige publikasie se ekonomiese lewensvatbaarheid en kontinuïteit word deur twee kritieke faktore bepaal, naamlik: • Sirkulasie, m.a.w. die lesergetalle van die publikasie en • advertensievolumes Hierdie studie is gebore in die bestuur van die publikasie se waarneming dat hierdie twee aspekte van die gemeenskapskoerant, Paarl Post, sedert 1996 afneem in reële terme en dus die ekonomiese kontinuïteit van die publikasie bedreig. Die tema van voordurende verbetering is geïdentifiseer as krities in die totale proses ten einde "highs and lows" uit te skakel. Dus moes sekere sleutel-areas aangespreek word, maar hierdie areas moes verder ook deurlopend geëvalueer en gemonitor word. Die proses van verandering is begin deur 'n proses waarby eksterne konsultante betrek is om die eerste fase van die proses te fasiliteer in terme van die inwin van inligting deur middel van vraelyste en persoonlike onderhoude met sleutelpersoneel soos deur bestuur geïdentifiseer. 'n Tweedag sessie is geskeduleer waarby hierdie inligting met die hulp van die konsultante en die sleutelpersoneel deurgewerk is en die slotsom bereik is, dat groei in sirkulasie en advertensievolumes en dus uiteindelik die groei van die publikasie 'n funksie is van die mate waartoe sleutelareas van die Paarl Post as volg bestuur word: • Koste--effektief • Inisiatiewe wat tot produk-groei lei • Dienslewering optimaliseer • Voortdurende verbetering van prosesse • Optimale benutting van mannekrag. Die sleutelareas van Bemarking, Produk, Kommunikasie, Prosesse en Inligtingstegnologie is as projekte geïdentifiseer, waarvan die uiteinde is dat elke projekspan sekere aanbevelings moes doen aan die hand van bogenoemde kriteria. Die "laaste" stap in die formele proses, wat uiteindelik 'n stap is wat nooit eindig nie, is die implementering van die aanbevelings, asook die voordurende monitering en opvolging van die inisiatiewe wat uiteindelik ontwikkel in 'n deurlopende proses van verbetering, met die resultaat: • Volgehoue sirkulasiegroei, asook • volgehoue groei in advertensievolumes en uiteindelik voordurende reële groei van die gemeenskapspublikasie, Paarl Post.