With a 21 percent yearly increase in sales since its launch three years ago, the Zulu language newspaper "Isolezwe" is one of the most prosperous newspapers in South Africa today. Through writing about daily life in a local language, Isolezwe has earned a reputation as being close to the its readers and valuing them.

RAP 21 spoke to editor Thulani Mbatha to find out about the factors behind the newspaper’s success.

The Language
The fact that Isolezwe is published in Zulu is the single most important factor behind its success (fact sheet about Zulu at the end of the article). The Zulus are very proud of their language and of their culture. Although many of Isolezwe readers are able to read English newspapers, they prefer reading in Zulu both because of the richness of the language, and because it’s a link to an identity they’re proud of.

The Attitude
Another strength of Isolezwe is its attitude. Mbatha recalls what a reader said about the paper: "He said that Isolezwe reflects what is happening right now, that it is close to the public. Its stories develop issues that affect our daily life." Also, the newspaper does its best to adopt a neutral editorial line. Mbatha explains that one of the newspaper’s main competitors, which has been on the market for much longer, has lost much of its credibility because they have pushed for a particular political party. "We are politically neutral. It’s a challenge to show both sides of an issue, but we give a high priority to doing it."

The Team
Another factor that explains the success, is the team working at the newspaper. Mbatha explains that the journalists all grew up in the Zulu community. "They understand the needs and the aspirations of the readers, which draws the newspaper closer to them."

The Content
"In view of content, there are very few differences between Isolezwe and mainstream newspapers in South Africa. However, even if we often deal with the same issues as other newspapers, we try to treat the information from a Zulu point of view," says Mbatha. The most successful articles are by far the ones about soccer, South Africa’s national sport. Every time there is a soccer game, there is a clear increase in sales. Another very popular feature is the column about Zulu cultural traditions. "Some traditions have been forgotten, so the readers appreciate learning about them," says Mbatha. Isolezwe also gives wide coverage to local news. "It is a modern newspaper that reflect what is happening now. Our stories are about people’s daily life," says Mbatha.

The Women
Although Isolezwe is not intended for women in particular, the coverage that concerns them is of great importance to the paper. Between 40 and 45 percent of the readers are women - probably thanks to the major efforts of the paper to develop issues that concern women. "Every Thursday, we publish a Women’s Section, which in particular deals with issues such as how women can empower themselves. Zulu society is historically very patriarchal, and there is currently a huge push by women to have equal standing. "The women also play an important role in developing reader loyalty. "Women are people you can trust, they are more loyal than men. Once you get them on board, they stay with you, while men can change overnight - for example if another newspaper publishes an article about soccer," says Mbatha.

The Advertisers
The success with readers has attracted the interest of advertisers for Isolezwe. "Three years ago, advertisers were very sceptical, they played a "wait and see game". But now, they are becoming much more interested. As a result, the newspaper’s advertising revenues are growing steadily.

Bright Future
Although Mbatha knows that a saturation point will be reached at some point in the future, he says that the newspaper is still growing at a steady rate. "When the trend changes, however, we will have to be smart so that the newspaper can continue to prosper." Isolezwe has several expansion projects for the future. One of the major ones is to get national coverage, another is to produce new supplements. The success story continues.

Zulu
Zulu is spoken by about 9 million people mainly in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and also in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and Swaziland. Zulu is the most spoken language in South Africa and became one of South Africa’s 11 official languages at the end of apartheid. Zulu is an agglutinative language which is part of the Nguni subfamily of the African family of languages. One of its most distinctive features is the use of click consonants. This feature is shared with several other languages of Southern Africa, but is almost unique to this region.

To visit the newspaper, go to: http://www.isolezwe.co.za/