Sunday Times joins euphoria in Zimbabwe
The South African newspaper has drafted advertising agency, Upton, Fulton, MacCann Advertising to manage its campaign in Zimbabwe.
In an advertisement featuring a hot chilli under a flame, the Sunday Times announced Thursday, 25 March 2010: “The hottest news in town...Just for $1...The Sunday Times Zimbabwe edition now hits the streets on Sunday mornings.”
It's certainly a move to position itself against expected competition on the local market, where ANZ, publishers of The Daily News and its sister publication, The Daily News on Sunday are just waiting for a nod from regulators to hit the street.
“We are ready to take off as soon as our outstanding licence...is issued to us,” said Jethro Goko, the promoter of the Daily News project in Zimbabwe.
NewsDay, to become part of the ZimInd group which also publishes The Zimbabwe Independent and The Standard weekly newspapers, is already staffed and waiting for regulatory sanction to hit the streets.
Upton, Fulton, MacCann Advertising has also started flighting advertisements for new staff on Thursday 25 March on behalf of the ANZ.
Speaking in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's public newsletter, deputy minister of information and publicity, Jameson Timba, said soon after a meeting between Tsvangirai and the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC): “Smell the coffee; this is the beginning of the inevitable end to a decade of media madness and repression in the country.”
About Dumisani Ndlela
Dumisani Ndlela is a Zimbabwean journalist specialising in business and financial reporting, with experience reporting on commodities, stock and financial markets, advertising, marketing and the media. He has previously reported from a number of regional countries as well as from the UK and Germany on commodities and regional integration. He can be contacted on ku.oc.oohay@aleldnd.
