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 Paarl
Post is a bi-lingual weekly tabloid newspaper published in English and
Afrikaans every Thursday, selling 17 033 copies per week in the communities
of Paarl, Wellington, Franschhoek and environs.
It has one of the largest paid circulations among weekly community
newspapers in the country and is the biggest selling community paper in the
Western Cape. The estimated readership is 92 000 (majority Afrikaans
speaking).
The content consists of general news, sports, youth news, lifestyle and arts
pages, social pages, letters/opinion page and a separate business section
(including classifieds, properties and vacancies).
Paarl Post is by far the dominant newspaper in its geographic area, with the
greatest market penetration of any news publication available in the area,
because it focuses exclusively on local news (irrespective of social class,
age, gender, income or creed). As a result it is also the leading
advertising medium for the area, producing excellent results for
advertisers.
It varies from 32 to 48 pages per week, with special monthly supplements
focusing on the town of Wellington, as well as other regular supplements on
motoring, eating out, education etc.
Special supplements are produced for events like Mother's Day, Women's Day,
Father's Day, Families in Business, Health, Holiday Getaways, Ramadan and
Christmas.
Awards
The newspaper maintains a high standard of content and has a lively,
colourful lay-out. It has won many awards for quality in journalism.
In September 2007, Paarl Post won the Cronwright Trophy for best design and
production in the community press for the fifth time in 12 years.
In 2003, Paarl Post won a merit award for design in the Mondi National Press
Awards.
Area and demographics
Paarl, Wellington and Franschhoek are located in the heart of the winelands
of the Boland.
Paarl has the largest population of any town in the Western Cape, outside
the Cape Metropole. An estimated 150 000 people live in the circulation area
of the newspaper.
The area is well-known for its top schools, the Wellington campus of the
Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and the headquarters of Boland
cricket, athletics and rugby.
History
The Paarl Post was
first published on 14 January 1905 as direct successor to the famous rebel
newspaper Die Afrikaanse Patriot, the first Afrikaans newspaper in South
Africa.
Die Afrikaanse Patriot first appeared on 15 January 1876 in a small format
as a monthly magazine promoting Afrikaans as an alternative to Dutch. It
eventually grew to a popular weekly paper that was nationally famous for its
pro-Afrikaans and anti-British sentiments.
In 1878 it became a weekly paper. There were many subscribers all over the
country and its circulation rose to 3700 in the 1880s due to its support of
Afrikaner politics and its opposition to the British colonial government. It
was founded by the Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners and was published by DF
du Toit & Co, which published many other Afrikaans periodicals and books.
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Rev SJ du Toit - Editor (1876-1904) |
Under the editorship of Rev SJ du Toit, the
newspaper changed its political support to favour the British government's
imperialism before and during the Anglo Boer War. Its heavy criticism of Paul
Kruger caused it to lose most of its readers.
When the newspaper fell bankrupt and closed at the end of 1904, DF du Toit & Co
decided to launch a new, less political newspaper, the Paarl Post, circulating
locally and publishing in English and Afrikaans. The company changed
hands in 1923 and was renamed the Paarl Printing Company under ownership of Dr
AL de Jager (MP). In 1938 the Retief family purchased it.
In 1988 the newspaper printing section split from the Paarl Printing Company
into a separate entity, still owned by the Retief family.
Media 24 obtained a 50% share of Paarl Post in 1995, which was increased to 75%
in 2002, while the Retief family retained management control. Since 2002, Paarl
Post is part of the Boland Newspapers group, consisting of 14 community
newspapers within the Media 24 stable. The company publishes and prints Paarl
Post, and also prints a large number of newspapers distributed in the Boland and
Peninsula, as well as pamphlets and niche magazines.
The office is located at 8 Jan van Riebeeck Drive, Paarl (postal address PO Box
248, Paarl 7620, telephone +27 +21 871-1170, Fax 872-9280). Key members of staff
are Conrad Rademeyer (manager), Colin Pretorius (production manager), Anne
Kruger (editor) and Ilse Fourie (advertising manager).
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