SA media group buys Irish and Australian newspapers

This in turn, means that South Africa will have full control over the Irish group's substantial Australian newspaper holdings.

A Sekunjalo insider said this was a "blindingly obvious" strategy given falling circulations of most SA newspapers and the need to "rationalise editorial resources."

The deal, which is due to be announced officially later today, apparently involves an innovative "content rationalisation strategy" which will include the "redeployment" of editorial staff.

The insider explained that "the current political situation in South Africa and indeed that in Ireland and Australia means that local journalists are unable to be objective, particularly here in South Africa where there have been numerous resignations due to journalists feeling that they have moved from an anti-government newspaper group to one that is too close to the ruling party."

Australians say SA should have won

He said the same situation existed to different extents in Ireland and Australia and that the only solution towards creating objective newsrooms was to "move South African editorial staff to the Australian papers and Australian staff to Ireland with Irish editorial teams taking over newsrooms in South Africa."

Senior editorial staff at Independent News and Media in South Africa refused to comment on the basis that on one hand their proposed litigation meant that the matter was sub-judice and on the other than they were "unaware of any takeover."

However, those Australian newspapers that will now be wholly owned by South African proprietors were a lot less secretive about the deal.

The clearest indication that Australian editorial staffers seemed to have accepted the situation was encapsulated in a headline that adorned the sports pages this morning: "South Africa Should Have Won The World Cup".