By STATE controlled media publishing company Zimbabwe Newspapers (Zimpapers) feels pushing their digital strategy is the way to go in this digital age as a majority of its readers prefer consuming their content online.
Over the years, the company launched various news websites such as BH24, SportZone, NewsHub while streaming its radio stations live on the internet.
By Kudakwashe Pembere
Zimpapers survived recent technological storms, serious website turnovers and social media blunders which called for top changes with the appointment of its first ever Chief Technology Officer, Mr Darlick Marandure and Chief Koti’s appointment was a sign that the company takes technological advancements seriously.
The Herald has got a fully fledged online team that supports all the editorial content to update their content on the website, a process that has been flawless to beat the slagging NewsDay online team. However, this team is mainly comprised of editorial experts with a fair understanding of technology hence they are not technical.
Chief Koti
The technical support has been a baby of the Herald IT department, which basically recommends the technical back end of the websites in consultation with Webdev, their webhosting partner for years.
“The company continues to push its Digital First Strategy by ensuring that we are embracing the change brought on the media industry by the digital revolution. A good number of our readers have migrated to Digital platforms and it is our mandate to continue providing them with the same quality content they previously enjoyed on our print platforms.
“Digital platforms have also become a good alternative revenue stream helping our business diversify its sources of income. As a company we commit to invest more in the digital space because we believe that we will continue to discover new possibilities that will help our business grow stronger in this digital age,” he said in a statement accompanying the Year Ended December 31, 2016 results,” he said.
With 51 percent of urban listeners tuned in to Star FM as espoused in the Zimbabwe All Media Product Survey, the company’s broadcasting division saw a 27, 3 percent rise in revenue to $4, 3 million from $3, 4 in the previous period.
Zimpaper’s revenue marginally slumped by 6, 3 percent to $37, 6 million in the year ended 31 December 2016 compared to $40, 1 million in the same period last year.
“The decrease in revenue was caused by the continued general economic environment slowdown characterised by liquidity constraints that affected consumers disposable income. Resultantly, both circulation and adverting revenues were adverse to the same period last year,” said Lupepe.
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