It says that while the change may be typographically minor, the intent is enormous. "By committing ourselves to this new slogan, News24 is making a clear break from a bygone era where being first with the news was the most important currency for a digital news publication.
"In this old world of the internet, where clicks alone reigned supreme, too many mistakes were made and too much nuance was lost. The clicks economy encouraged publishers to value traffic over quality.
"Those days are finally gone. Truth be told, they have been gone for a while at News24," says the statement.
2015 marked the beginning of a major investment by Media24 to build a quality digital newsroom in South Africa.
"In the past six years, we have almost doubled the size of our newsroom and introduced new, slower news streams to allow for the production of investigative journalism, analysis, opinion, podcasts and documentaries in a fast news environment," says Media24.
The news company appointed Professor George Claassen as public editor to keep a check on its standards and be a voice for its readers when it errs. It grew its production team and added a slew of award-winning journalists to its politics, news, investigations, sport and business desks.
"When it launched a subscription service in late 2020, it promised its readers it would produce a consistent stream of quality journalism that keeps power to account," it adds.
"Because of your support over the past 18 months, we were able to shine an investigative spotlight on Eskom, the State Security Agency, Bosasa, the KwaSizabantu cult in KwaZulu-Natal, Steinhoff, Daybreak Farms, rugby boss Jurie Roux, the killing of top cop Charl Kinnear and the scourge of child abuse and grooming at high-end private schools," says the statement.
In a world where the majority of digital advertising ends up in the pockets of the tech behemoths of Silicon Valley, it says it simply had to turn to its readers to help it build a sustainable future for quality journalism in South Africa.
Looking at the success of international publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, Globe & Mail, Aftenposten and Expressen with their subscription offerings and it decided to follow a model where it would fund our journalism from advertising and reader revenue – much like the newspaper model of old.
Today, only a few quality news publications globally don't have some form of subscription service.
"Committing to prioritise trusted news over being first is the next step in building a relationship with our readers and subscribers. Of course, any journalist worth her or his salt wants to break their story first. But we will never compromise facts and fairness just to get the scoop," says News24.
According to the latest report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, 83% of South African participants said they trusted News24.
"We are extremely proud and honoured to have been voted by the public as South Africa's most trusted source of news for the past three years.
This is an immense privilege and responsibility that we don’t take lightly.
"Trust is not only a word; it is a commitment that we make to you, our reader, to always bring you factual news steeped in the truth. Please continue to hold us to this promise," News24 states.
