In mid-September, one of Cameroons most respected independent publications, Le Messager, went daily. A lot is at stake for one of the bravest voices in Central Africa. RAP 21 spoke to editor-in-chief Pius Njawe.
RAP 21: Why did you make the decision go from appearing three times a week to every day?
Pius Njawe: A number of factors explain our decision to go daily. First, we wanted to fulfil a long-time promise to our readers. We have been promising to make Le Messager a daily since our 15th anniversary in 1994. Unfortunately censorship and various types of repression has taken a toll on the press in Cameroon and did not allow us to take this risk. Weve contemplated this change many times since then, but each time we have confronted obstacles that have stopped us from taking the final leap. Another reason behind our decision to go daily was to respond to the increasingly precarious financial situation of Le Messager, which is a result of the depressed economy in our country. We thought that in increasing our weekly production while maintaining the same operating costs, we could make a supplementary income, which would allow us to fill-in some of the holes.
RAP 21: Have you noticed an increase in circulation since becoming a daily?
Pius Njawe: No. In fact, circulation decreased slightly in the first week. This could be explained by the fact that our readers were taken somewhat by surprise. By the second week, sales had re-stabilised. Therefore the two additional days of production are what actually constitute an increase in circulation.
RAP 21: How have your readers reacted to Le Messager becoming a daily?
Pius Njaw: We have received a number of positive reactions from our readers. It must be said that many did not believe that we would actually become a daily, but now people say they are content to be able to read their newspaper every day!
RAP 21: Did the number of pages of Le Messager decrease when you went daily?
Pius Njawe: Even when Le Messager appeared three times a week, the number of pages fluctuated between 12 and 16, depending on the amount of adverts. This remains the case today. Whenever we have four pages of adverts (although this unfortunately does no happen very often) we increase to 16 pages. Also, from time to time, when we are inundated with news, we offer 16 pages to our readers.
RAP 21: Do you think that advertisers will be more interested in buying ad-space now that Le Messager is a daily?
Pius Njawe: The general economic situation in Cameroon makes revenue from advertising somewhat precarious. In addition, advertising here is not always given on the basis of the impact it will have, but rather on the ideological leaning of the newspaper. The fact that we are an independent publication also distances us from potential clients, notably publicly owned businesses, government institutions or private companies who dont appreciate our editorial outspokenness. For this reason it is difficult to know if our going daily will increase our advertising revenue.
RAP 21: Finally, how have you managed the increase in workload for your staff now that Le Messager is appearing more frequently?
Pius Njawe: Even when Le Messager appeared tri-weekly, there was a large amount of work. So far, it has been enough to make a few adjustments on an organisational level to put things in order. Weve consciously avoided hiring new staff out of a fear to increase our production costs, and were now waiting to see how things evolve during these first few months to reward the extra efforts made by our existing staff.