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Other articles in the RAP 21 Newsletter n° 78/2002:
Newsletter n° 78
THE BUSINESS OF NEWSPAPERS NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Betting on a publication about New Technologies of Information and Communication

As New Technologies of Information and Communication (NTIC) start to develop on the African continent, Yves Bona, a journalist for almost ten years in Cameroon, took the bull by the horns and set up in April 2001 Micro-Pratique, the only lay publication on NTIC in the country.

M. Bona, editor of this monthly magazine, started with a circulation of 1,000 copies for Micro-Pratique. "We had a dilemma: beginning with a strong circulation and the consequent financial means without really knowing the reaction of the public, or rather beginning with a weak circulation susceptible to be increased according to the creation of our readership. We adopted the second possibility," he says.

Attracting a significant number of readers towards a magazine specialising in a still embryonic sector is an audacious bet. Audacious but nevertheless possible, says Mr Bona: "Along with the development of Internet and the other classical means of communication (cable television, newspapers, radios, etc.), the African countries are fast informed about the recent technologies being born in the countries of the North. It is true that NTIC remain less developed on the continent but, since year 2000, a number of African states show a real interest for the popularisation of new technologies."

In fact, the craze for NTIC spreads. "In Cameroon for example, the government exempted computer materials from customs duties. And the tendency is the same in Gabon, in Benin, in Senegal and in the Ivory Coast," he says.

Micro-Pratique’s aim is to create a need for information on NTIC to encourage the government or private sector investment and initiatives in this sector. "The problem of the NTIC currently lies in the lack of appropriate infrastructures. Micro-Pratique draws the attention of its readership to the inconvenience provoked by this lack of infrastructure. Our approach is simple: informing people and companies about new technologies, inciting the Cameroonian government to accelerate reforms in the sector of telecommunications and training on NTIC," says Mr Bona.

Sales and subscriptions represent, however, less than 20 percent of Micro-Pratique’s turnover and the monthly magazine needs to convince advertisers in order to survive and develop.

"The publicity sector is not always apparent for niche newspapers," says Mr Bona, who also confesses that, "for the moment, our financial means do not allow us to make classic advertisements, such as radio commercials or appearances on TV."

Micro-Pratique therefore adopted a policy of dynamic distribution to attract a bigger number of readers and then to encourage advertisers to support the magazine. "We opted to make the magazine known in places where NTIC arouse a real craze. This is why Micro-Pratique is distributed in data processing training centres, points of Internet access commonly called Cybercafes, phonebooths, universities, etc.," he says.

Far from negating the difficulties linked to the survival of a niche magazine on NTIC in his country, Mr Bona remains confident and rely on the readers’ young generation. "Computer science has been a part of the scholastic programme since last year, young pupils get interested in Micro-Pratique and we are planning to insert columns which are specific to them," he says.
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