Cape Town - Controversial media outlet the Daily Maverick embarked on an unprecedented 24-hour shutdown on Monday to highlight the financial challenges experienced by journalism at large.
The private online and weekly print news publisher, which has faced intense scrutiny over its funding model and donors, shut down its web page at midnight on Sunday.
Visitors to the site found a blacked-out landing page with the following message: "Daily Maverick has shut down for today, 15 April 2024.
“Without journalism, our democracy and economy will break down. Journalism helped save South Africa. Now we need your help.”
At the bottom of the page were web links where businesses and individuals could donate money to the media company.
Daily Maverick had issued a statement at midnight saying: “The decision to do this was not taken lightly, but it was made in an attempt to highlight the global state of emergency in journalism.
"This crisis in journalism affects South Africa’s democratic functioning and impacts the state of our economy.
“Journalism is experiencing a market failure and is at risk of collapse, with effects that will be catastrophic.”
It painted a grim picture of the future of the media, where tech companies absorbed the bulk of online advertising revenues, “newsrooms globally are closing down and retrenching journalists”.
“In the last 15 years, it is estimated that South Africa has lost almost 70% of the news media workforce.”
The statement insisted Maverick was not currently in crisis, and it has not had to retrench any staff. However, it could not expand its newsroom.
While its public appeal claimed to campaign for “every legitimate newsroom in the country that needs public and corporate support“, the Maverick appeared to use the funding drive to only fill its own coffers.
The website yesterday urged private individuals to purchase subscriptions for R75, R150 and R200 per month, and businesses could contribute through “annual sponsorships, grants and tax-deductible donations”.
The Cape Argus asked the Maverick if the company was indeed in a financial crisis.
Cape Argus requested copies of its financial statements.
Maverick was also asked, again, to disclose its full list of funders.
A spokesperson referred queries to the “FAQs attached (at the bottom of the release)”, however the relevant information was not available there.
The Maverick, which was founded in 2009 by Branislav Brkic, its editor-in-chief, claims to operate on a membership model trend that invites audiences to pay to become part of a readership community.
It reportedly receives philanthropic funding from the Open Society Foundation, Donald Gordon Foundation, Elaine & David Potter Foundation and ABSA.
However, its links with the wealthy Oppenheimer mining family, the “Stellenbosch mafia” business community and the CIA have also been widely reported on, which has cast a shadow over its credibility and editorial objectivity.
While claiming to be “at the forefront of exposing State Capture” and “protecting democratic institutions”, media commentators have repeatedly called out the Maverick for pandering to white monopoly capital institutions and furthering the pro-US Western agenda, at the expense of black and African interests.
Analyst, Mighti Jamie, from Africa Media Desk, said of Maverick and their shutdown stunt: “I have been sceptical... The final one for me was watching the quality of coverage of Gupta leaks vs the quality of coverage for CR17 donors and moreover Phala Phala. Brave on Guptas, leaking everything, showing everything, mild on CR17 donors and Phala Phala.”
National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa’s (NUMSA) spokesperson, Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, tweeted: “Daily Maverick is the mouthpiece of the neo-liberal agenda and a defender of apartheid Israel whilst masquerading as ‘journalism’. The crisis in the media is that these platforms pretend to advance democracy, while they are actually advancing the interests of their financial backers.”