A comparative study of the factors affecting the growth/development of the rural community newspaper the Zoutpansberger and Mirror, Northern Province

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The print media, especially newspapers, play an important role in providinginformation in any society. In the rural communities of South Africa, informationavailable to the people is scanty. Growth of a newspaper is necessary if a newspaperis to fulfil its duties. The Zoutpansberger and Mirror are two of the few localnewspapers that circulate in the Far North Region of the Northern Province.The Zoutpansberger, which started in 1985, has experienced negative growth in thevarious departments of the newspaper, while the Mirror, which started in September1990, has experienced slow growth. Several factors have been responsible for this.Therefore, there was a need to examine and compare the factors that have affectedthe growth/development of the newspapers over ten years.The aims and objectives of the study are to examine and compare the factors thataffect the growth and development of the Zoutpansberger and Mirror, givesuggestions to facilitate future growth and the best ways of utilising the availableresources. A literature survey was carried out to get the perspectives of otherresearchers.Data was collected after conducting personal interviews, using the interviewschedule. It was analysed and interpreted with the use of graphs and charts. Thefindings reveal that economic, social, cultural and geographical factors affect thegrowth of the newspaper. A few recommendations have been given to highlight waysin which the paper can make full use of the available resources.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University