Financial performance of print media in advent of social media : a case of the Manica Post

Abstract

PURPOSE: The print media industry is on a declining trend in both the number publications and revenue even though the print medium remains relevant in news dissemination. The Zimbabwe newspaper industry has recently been suffering from financial challenges as indicated by the published financial reports for the period under study, one of the reasons for the decline in revenue being the looming of social media. It is due to this background that the researchers sought to investigate the financial performance of print media in advent of social media.

METHODOLOGY: A quantitative research methodology was adopted. Data was obtained from The Manica post using questionnaires. Regression of data gathered was analysed using SPSS software.

FINDINGS: The study reveal that social media has caused the print media, particularly the newspaper division a huge loss in revenue and advertisement and it indicated that there is a negative relationship between financial performance and social media. However other macroeconomic variables like politics and legislation should be taken into consideration.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The print media sector should adopt new technologies and establish plans to increase its online audience’s clientele base.