Mail & Guardian and The Media magazine to extend media and advertising coverage

For the past 12 weeks Bloom has been writing a weekly column for the Mail & Guardian business section focusing on economic trends in the media sector. The column will continue to run in 'Friday', but will be augmented by contentious and opinionated pieces from leading figures in the local advertising industry, a selection of the best international media coverage from the United Kingdom's esteemed Guardian newspaper and biting 'Krisjan Lemmer' type snippets on relevant developments at local advertising agencies and media companies.

Says Garry Rogers, the Mail & Guardian's sales & marketing director: "When we first contemplated including media and advertising industry coverage The Media was an obvious match for the Mail & Guardian owing to their commitment to uncompromising content.

"Although the extended media and advertising coverage is sure to attract the attention of the media fraternity at large, our goal with the extended coverage is to provide our readers with more of the content they requested in a recent research project conducted for the Mail & Guardian by Barbara Cooke. Media and advertising is currently the fourth most likely sector for our readers to be employed in."

As part of the same agreement, the Mail & Guardian Online, South Africa's first and highly respected online news source, will host and maintain The Media's new website, which will be rebranded The Media Online. The site will host an archive of The Media magazine's hard-hitting cover stories, features and columns and will offer regularly updated media and advertising industry content.

Sandra Gordon, The Media's publisher, is confident that the Mail & Guardian venture will enhance her title's rapidly growing status: "The Media is very focused on the Fourth Estate, so the opportunity for me to once again cover the advertising industry means that the really contentious issues facing that sector and their clients will be brought to the fore. There is no one else brave enough to do it properly. We will, and in so doing will further enhance The Media's reputation."

A major stimulus for the agreement has been the similar editorial attitude of both parties, framed by a common commitment to uncompromising, credible and thought-provoking editorial content.

The Mail & Guardian has a solid reputation as the most politically relevant newspaper in South Africa. Its fierce independence has resulted in the consistent publication of tough but important stories no other newspaper will touch.

The Media has received critical acclaim from media professionals and journalists for its frank and intelligent approach to the difficult issues faced by the media industry. Its claim to be "the first magazine to treat the subject of media with serious intent" is based on its independence.