Media24 declines to confirm or deny report it's shutting down 4 newspapers

Media24 is reportedly set to close several of its mainstream print publications.

These include City Press, Rapport, Beeld, and Daily Sun, according to Moneyweb.

The media company has since responded, saying it does not comment on 'rumours or speculation'.

Moneyweb said that four unnamed sources at Media24 had independently confirmed the closures, which apparently may take place as soon as October.

Bruce Whitfield discusses this development with William Bird, director at Media Monitoring Africa.

While phasing out the cited titles might make economic sense in view of the shifting media landscape, it certainly 'doesn't make sense for our democracy', Bird says.

"It's sad for our democracy... but these organisations are facing increasingly tougher circumstances and these things aren't going to get better until and unless we start to shift our understanding that news is a public is a public good."

"It's as important as having a Parliament."

William Bird, Director - Media Monitoring Africa

While it is possible that Media24 might continue the threatened titles in an online form, the group hasn't done its own titles many favours, Bird comments.

"For instance, every Sunday morning instead of having to go out and buy your Sunday paper... you'd just look on your News24 app and the same stories would be there, so you had increasingly less incentive to go and buy the physical copy."

William Bird, Director - Media Monitoring Africa