Your Voice Matters: A message to our readers about newspaper delivery disruptions
To Our Beloved Orange Farm News Readers,
We hear you. Many of you have reached out to us through various channels—visiting our offices, calling, and posting on social media—expressing your frustration about not receiving your copies of Orange Farm News. We understand your disappointment and we’re committed to addressing this issue.
Since our launch in 2012, Orange Farm News has been dedicated to printing and delivering copies without fail. Even during the height of Covid-19, we maintained our print runs, demonstrating our unwavering commitment to keeping you informed.
Here are some of your comments from Facebook, highlighting the affected areas:
- Ntombi Motaung: “In Orange Farm Lakeside Ext 3 near Naledi, we don’t receive the paper. I only see it when I go visit my granny’s house in Ext 1.”
- Melly Shabangu: “Hi, at Orange Farm Ext 3 near Thuli’s Old Age Home, could you drop the newspaper at the gate, please?”
- Zoe Kuli: “We would be glad if you could drop the newspaper at our gate in Kanana Park Ext 5 near the Nompumelelo Day Care Crèche. Thanks.”
- Mabaso Tk: “Hi, in Orange Farm Ext 8b, there’s no delivery of the newspapers.”
- Disebo Lipholo: “Hi, in Orange Farm Ext 8a, we don’t receive the newspaper.”
- Cboniso Mafalala: “Thank you, it’s been years since we at Drieziek 1 received the Orange Farm News. Please assist.”
- Sizakele Adelaide: “Here at Ext 2, we get it almost every month.”
- Sylvia Nobelungu Magwe: “Even in Extension 7b, we don’t receive the newspapers. Why is this?”
- Winnie Velile Mdakane: “Thank you for keeping us updated.”
- Stella Letoporo: “Hi, at Lakeside Ext 3 near Nando’s, can you please deliver for us at the gate? We are pensioners.”
We understand that we don’t reach every home as we’d like to, and we’d like to take this opportunity to explain why some areas are not receiving the paper. Print publications globally have been on a downward trend, with thousands folding or moving online. This decline is partly due to advertisers preferring digital platforms like Google and Meta (Facebook) over print. Closer to home, News24 recently announced it will be shutting down the print operations of some of its publications, including the Daily Sun, due to unsustainability. The group will also sell off its community media and distribution business, resulting in about 400 job losses.
Orange Farm News prints 40,000 copies/fortnight, distributed to Orange Farm, Drieziek, Stretford, Tjovitjo, Palm Springs, Lakeside, and surrounding areas. These areas have more than 250,000 households, making it practically impossible for everyone to receive the paper at their gates every fortnight. As Ntombi Motaung mentioned, she doesn’t receive the paper in Ext 3 but sees it in Ext 1. Our distribution strategy ensures we cover a broad region but not the entire area.
You might wonder why we print 40,000 copies/fotnight when there are over 250,000 households. The advertising support we receive from local businesses and corporates helps cover printing and distribution costs and other operational expenses. However, this support isn’t enough for us to increase our quantities and reach everyone. The reason you continue to receive the newspaper is because of our valued advertisers who enable us to deliver it to you for free every fortnight.
We believe news is a public good and shouldn’t have to be paid for by anyone, which is why we haven’t put a price on the copies. We love and appreciate all our readers and hope you understand that at the moment we do not have enough capacity to meet the demand for papers in all areas. We urge you to be ambassadors of your community newspaper and encourage businesses, big or small, to advertise with us. This will help us reach everyone and prevent news deserts in Orange Farm.
To stay updated, please visit our website, orangefarmnews.co.za, and follow us on Facebook: Orange Farm News.
Thank you for your patience and continued support. We are taking steps to address these issues promptly.
Sincerely,
The Orange Farm News Team
