''The Zimbabwean'' is a newspaper in Zimbabwe. Founded by Wilf Mbanga in 2005, it was edited in London and printed in South Africa, near the border with Zimbabwe. By 2021 it had become a weekly paper with a large online presence.

Background

In 1999, Wilf Mbanga founded an independent Zimbabwean newspaper titled, with the goal of providing neutral coverage of events occurring in the country, but within three years Mbanga was arrested for anti-government activities. He was eventually acquitted, but was banned by the government, and Mbanga was declared an "Enemy of the People". Following several death threats, Mbanga fled to Europe, first to the Netherlands and then to England.

Foundation, audience, and funding

With monetary assistance from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, Mbanga founded ''The Zimbabwean'', a newspaper featuring stories provided by in-country correspondents, edited in London, and printed in South Africa, close to the Zimbabwean border. As its primary audience the newspaper targeted the Zimbabwean diaspora: a million Zimbabweans lived in the UK, and another two million in Southern Africa. It was to be a weekly tabloid, according to Mbanga, with "a heavy emphasis on Zimbabwean politics, but will also include arts and culture, business, sports, gender issues, social issues and news analysis". Within five years, ''The Zimbabwean'' had a daily print run of 150,000, the majority of which was exported to Zimbabwe itself. However, in June 2008, the country's government re-classified the newspaper as a

luxury Luxury may refer to: *Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, tax on products not considered essential, such as expensive cars **Luxury tax (sports), surcharge put ...

, imposing a 55% tax on its import from South Africa. This made it impossible for the paper to break even at a price that the average citizen could afford. By 2009, circulation of the newspaper fell from 150,000 to 30,000, and the paper had to cancel its Sunday installment.

2009 crisis and advertising campaign

Following the government decision to tax the paper as luxury, ''The Zimbabwean'' got

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

-based ad agency TBWA/Hunt/Lascaris to start an ad campaign. The pitch became the amount of currency used to purchase ''The Zimbabwean'': after years of hyperinflation, the

Zimbabwean Dollar The Zimbabwean dollar (sign: $, or Z$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies) was the name of four official currencies of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 12 April 2009. During this time, it was subject to periods of extreme inflat ...

had reached the point where the

face value The face value, sometimes called nominal value, is the value of a coin, bond, stamp or paper money as printed on the coin, stamp or bill itself by the issuing authority. The face value of coins, stamps, or bill is usually its legal value. Howe ...

of many

banknote A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable instrument, negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes w ...

s was less than the value of the paper itself. With a limited budget TBWA devised a campaign in which advertisements were printed on real banknotes, using the collapse of the currency as an analogy for the collapse of Zimbabwe itself. The campaign was launched in March 2009, using politically charged slogans and outdoor advertising, and became successful immediately both in Southern Africa and internationally. In the first week following the launch, hits to the paper's website spiked and by June 2009, sales of the paper had increased by 276%, according to TBWA/Hunt/Lascaris. In the end, finance minister

Tendai Biti Tendai Laxton Biti (born 6 August 1966) is a Zimbabwean politician who served as Finance Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He is the current Member of Parliament for Harare East Constituency and the second Vice President of Citizens Coa ...

did away with the tax.

Notable contributors

Chenjerai Hove Chenjerai Hove (9 February 1956 – 12 July 2015), was a Zimbabwean poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both English and Shona. "Modernist in their formal construction, but making extensive use of oral conventions, Hove's novels offer an in ...

, Zimbabwean novelist, columnist for the paper

References

{{reflist Newspapers published in Zimbabwe

Background

Foundation, audience, and funding

2009 crisis and advertising campaign

Notable contributors

See also

References