Sunday Times going Zulu

29 Oct 2010

An isiZulu edition of the Sunday Times will launch in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday, 7 November 2010. This brand extension is the culmination of a project led by former Sunday Times editor Mondli Makhanya, who is now editor-in-chief of Avusa Media newspapers, and is part of the title living up to its claim to be 'The paper for the people'.

According to Makhanya, who will oversee the operation until the new editor joins in January, this development is a vote of confidence in the future of the newspapers: ""The message we are sending through this venture is that print is here to stay and will remain the lodestar of the media universe for a long, long time."

First time not in English

The newspaper, formally called the Sunday Times Zulu Edition, will be distributed in KwaZulu-Natal throughout Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Northern Natal and Zululand. It will be the first time in the newspaper's 104-year history that it will be published in a language other than English.

The decision to produce an isiZulu edition was motivated by great reader interest, with research conducted by Sunday Times using focus groups showing that there is a great demand for first-language publications - just as Bizcommunity.com columnist Gill Moodie pointed out earlier this year in her column "siZulu papers' success highlight gap in the market".

The isiZulu edition is intended to continue the tradition of the Sunday Times' hard-hitting journalism, insightful analysis and entertaining writing and will carry the best of the Sunday Times national news section, sport, opinion, business and lifestyle copy in a single section.

Initiate conversations

The edition will also be strong on KwaZulu-Natal provincial politics, municipal news, celebrity news and sport. The paper will endeavour to initiate conversations about issues that should be a priority on every KwaZulu-Natal reader's agenda. Only the full Careers section and the television guide will be in English.

"We have already had several dry runs with a team of sub-editors translating stories and laying them out with Zulu headlines. We have established an operation dedicated to serving this edition in our KwaZulu-Natal bureau," says Sunday Times editor Ray Hartley.

The 28-32 page broadsheet will be offered at a lower price than the full paper and will cost R8 a copy. It will be widely available at supermarkets, retailers, spaza shops, garage shops and purchasable from street vendors.

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