Surviving without sponsors

By Sixtus Mbom 

 

Mbom Sixtus

It goes without saying that advertisement is as vital for every newspaper as is oxygen to humans. Advertising is a great subsidiser of the press. In a recent review in the US, on the importance of advertising, media economists are said to have found that advertising has traditionally provided about 70% to 80% of support for newspapers and magazines, opining that advertising has entirely paid for broadcast TV and radio media.

The Guardian Post does not benefit from ad sales to mainstream advertisers in Cameroon as its sister newspapers, despite the fact that it has become undoubtedly the leading language newspaper in the country. Apparently Ad placements from state institutions and corporations are issued to newspapers based on their orientations – judging from their editorial line.

Most managing directors have preferred to distance selves from The Guardian Post, certainly as a result of its hard editorial line on national issues. I quite remember very well a general manager of a South West-based state corporation who refused to pay an advertisement we carried on grounds that The Guardian Post was an SDF newspaper.

I can also recall vividly an encounter with another general manager who advised that to benefit from government adverts; we must not harp on the idea of strict checks and balances of government action in our editorial line. By this, I immediately decoded that he wanted us to be government’s songbird even during the most deceptive moments.

It is worth mentioning that while the regime barons’ standpoint appears to suggest that The Guardian Post is of the opposition, some leaders of the very opposition have been quoted as saying that the regime has hired the newspaper to play the role of its destroyer.

A majority of media experts worldwide share the opinion that where ad sales are dropping, low or almost on-existent, media outlets turn to explore the possibility of benefiting from philanthropic support, either from individuals or non-governmental organizations which can sustain some media content; but such support has proven quite limited in the past, especially in Cameroon. The so-called philanthropic support for print media in the country often more or less has strings attached, this could, to an extent, justify the type of newspapers that are privy to such support. 

In the backdrop of these hurdles, The Guardian Post has the challenge of living up to the expectations of its ever-increasing readership, by providing unique content, through hard news, in-depth and analytical reports and innovative columns. The newspaper has equally increased communication with its readers by by-passing conventional opinion leaders and communicating with readers through regular editorials and vox-pops.

Apart from simply reporting news as processors of information who transform raw materials into articles, The Guardian Post has gone the extra mile and now provides its readers with regular news analysis in which reports and events reported earlier are contextualised.

Thirteen years on, The Guardian Post stands tall and stands out from the crowd as the lone English language daily which enjoys priceless support from readers who have on several occasions, tagged it one of the most credible and best edited newspapers.

It is on this premise that we remain heavily indebted to these our most glorified patrons who for thirteen years have stood by us – the readers. Their patronage to The Guardian Post has been valued more than even millions that someone would have invested in the newspaper.

Few newspaper owners would confess that the survival of their news organs rests solely on sales. Even though we continue to battle on the field with vendors who at times prove dishonest to render account of their sales, we however remain indebted to them for not only encouraging us but telling us the blunt truth that we remain unchallenged in the market, a consoling idea, isn’t it? 

The reticence of state corporations to patronize us has most often been considered an asset rather than a loss to the newspaper, owing to the fact that the strength of our editorial line remains uncompromised.

This giant feat has pulled down the stripes of even newspapers that have been in the kiosks for a longer period, rendering them uncomfortable at the mention of the name of the newspaper.