South African Associated Newspapers

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South African Associated Newspapers (SAAN) was an English language South African newspaper group formed in 1995. Its three important newspapers were the Rand Daily Mail, Sunday Times and Sunday Express. It was at one time the second largest newspaper group in the country.

History

The Rand Daily Mail was founded in 1902 by businessman Harry Cohen and managed by editor Edgar Wallace.

Lord Milner who feared it would be purchased by Boer nationalists, and Bailey formed a company called the Rand Daily Mails Ltd.[3]: 41 [4]: 314 [5] Bailey leased the paper out to three people, George H. Kingswell, who became the general manager, Ralph Ward Jackson its editor and A. V. Lindbergh its distributor as CNA chairman.[3]: 41  The three men would go on to form The Sunday Times which worked in conjunction with the paper.[3]
: 42 

By May 1915, Rand Daily Mails Ltd (RDM) absorbed the Transvaal Leader and the Sunday Times Syndicate Ltd, the Sunday Post when the Cape Times Ltd sold it for shares in the RDM and became the only morning and Sunday newspapers in Johannesburg but the Times' shareholding was soon bought out by Abe Bailey.[3]: 42 

In 1934 I.W. Schlesinger's created competition when he formed the Sunday Express and then in 1937, the Daily Express.[4]: 318  In an attempt to control the newspaper market, the RDM, Sunday Times and Argus group bought out Schlesinger's newspaper interests in 1939, closing down the Daily Tribune (Durban), Daily Express (Johannesburg) and Sunday Tribune (Durban) but kept the Sunday Express (Johannesburg).[3]: 44 

In 1955, the two companies, Rand Daily Mail Ltd and the Sunday Times Syndicate Ltd were formed into a single company called South African Associated Newspapers (SAAN).

Port Elizabeth.[3]: 44  It also had a minor shareholding in the Pretoria News with the Argus Group.[3]
: 61 

By 1962 Kingswells share was sold to Bailey's and the two others to private trusts just before the company was listed on the stock exchange the same year with the Bailey's estate owning just over 50% after the stock listing.[3]: 62  SAAN bought 20% of the Cape Times in 1963 and by 1973, it owned all of the newspaper.[4]: p322 [6]: 133 

1968 saw Syfrets, the company managing the Bailey's interest, and other shareholders sell 65% of the shares in SAAN to the Argus Group.[3]: 63  The government stepped in, and the offer was limited to 33% which the Argus Group purchased.[4]: p322 

In October 1975,

The Citizen.[7]
: 30 

In 1981, the Argus Group was the largest single shareholder in SAAN, with 39.39%.[8] Other major shareholders, include Anglo American 20.96%, Nedbank 7.54%, Bailey Trust 8.21% and Stephen Mulholland, 1.18%.[8] The group also included the Financial Mail.[8] SAAN closed the Rand Daily Mail and the Sunday Express in April 1985 as they were losing large amounts of money.[9] The company became Times Media Limited in 1987, which later became Johnnic Publishing and finally, from 20 November 2007, Avusa Media Limited. In 2013, the name was changed back to Times Media Limited.

References

  1. ^ Nathan, Manfred (1919). The South African commonwealth. Johannesburg, Cape Town: The Specialty press of South Africa Ltd. p. 242.
  2. ^ "Latest Foreign News". The Jewish Times and Observer. L (34). 25 August 1905.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-87471-445-6
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8298-0659-5
    .
  5. ^ History of the press in South Africa
  6. ISBN 978-1-55728-167-8
    .
  7. ISBN 0 86954 089 0
    .
  8. ^ a b c Davies, Rob; O'Meara, Dan; Dlamini, Sipho (1984). Struggle For South Africa Volume 2. London: Zed Books. p. 408.
  9. ^ "Death of a newspaper visionary". The Star. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
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