EFFECTIVENESS AND VIABILITY OF THE INDIGENOUS AFRICAN LANGUAGE NEWSPAPERS

The primary functions of the newspapers are to inform, educate and entertain the readers in the mass communication process. The indigenous African language newspapers are not an exception to the above mentioned sentiment. The indigenous African language newspapers should fulfil the primary functions of the media (newspaper) in an effort to satisfy the demands of the target audience.

Historically the indigenous African language newspapers have been marginalised in the South African print media industry. As a result the English and Afrikaans newspapers have been at the forefront of South African press and that has somewhat left the indigenous African language newspapers in isolation. Despite their conspicuous existence in the print media sector the indigenous African language newspapers have been overshadowed by the English and Afrikaans newspapers. It is therefore imperative to examine the effectiveness and viability of the indigenous African language newspapers.