South Africa's oldest newspaper closes printing press
Posted by Simon Day on July 2, 2009 at 1:40 PM
South Africa's oldest independent newspaper, the Grocott's Mail, has shut down its print shop and press after 140 years of operation out of Grahamstown, Dispatch Daily Online reported on Wednesday.
The Mail's general manager Louise Vale said the closure of the historic presses was "a very tough decision."
The Mail's general manager Louise Vale said the closure of the historic presses was "a very tough decision."
The move came with the retirement of former owner Jeff Grocott and the layoff of eight printing staff.
"It has been hell ... the retrenched staff are not just colleagues, they are also friends. It is heartbreaking for everybody," Vale said.
Vale sighted the economy and the need to "focus on its core business of publishing," as the prelude to the closure.
"The print shop was not profitable ... it had become less cost- effective over the past 18months," she said.
According to Vale the newspaper will now outsource its printing to Port Elizabeth, a decision which will leave the newspaper with much improved efficiency. The old, in house, press took a mammoth 16 hours to print each edition; the new takes just 30 minutes.
The newspaper was founded in 1870 by Grocotts's great grandfather and sold to the Rhodes University's School of Journalism. The newspaper then became a practical training field for young media students run by the David Rabkin Project for Experiential Journalism.
The head professor at the journalism school, Guy Berger, believes the new printing model will help "strengthen the company," and allow the newspaper to move forward into new media channels.
"We are not printers, we are communicators," Berger said.
"It has been hell ... the retrenched staff are not just colleagues, they are also friends. It is heartbreaking for everybody," Vale said.
Vale sighted the economy and the need to "focus on its core business of publishing," as the prelude to the closure.
"The print shop was not profitable ... it had become less cost- effective over the past 18months," she said.
According to Vale the newspaper will now outsource its printing to Port Elizabeth, a decision which will leave the newspaper with much improved efficiency. The old, in house, press took a mammoth 16 hours to print each edition; the new takes just 30 minutes.
The newspaper was founded in 1870 by Grocotts's great grandfather and sold to the Rhodes University's School of Journalism. The newspaper then became a practical training field for young media students run by the David Rabkin Project for Experiential Journalism.
The head professor at the journalism school, Guy Berger, believes the new printing model will help "strengthen the company," and allow the newspaper to move forward into new media channels.
"We are not printers, we are communicators," Berger said.
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