''Isolezwe'' is a

Zulu-language Zulu ( ), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in, and indigenous to, Southern Africa. Nguni dialects are regional or social varieties of the Nguni language, distinguished by vocabulary, pronunciation ...

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

launched in 2002 by

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. It is published daily in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

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, in the tabloid format. Editor Kiki Ntuli describes their target market as "the modernising Zulu ... meone who may go back home to the rural areas to slaughter a cow to amadlozi he ancestors but is as equally comfortable taking his family out for dinner and a movie in a shopping mall". In 2024, ''Isolezwe'' received a nomination for "Most Informative Online Publication" at the Behind The Scenes Awards (BTSA ) Other nominees in the same category included Zimoja Lezinto
Sunday World

Daily Sun The '' Daily Sun'' is the largest daily newspaper in South Africa. ''Daily Sun'' may also refer to the following newspapers: United States * ''Arizona Daily Sun'', Flagstaff, Arizona * '' Bowdoin Daily Sun'', Connecticut, published by Bowdoin Coll ...

MDNtv
and

Times Live ''TimesLIVE'' ( aka ''TshisaLIVE'') is a South African online newspaper that started as ''The Times'' daily newspaper. ''The Times'' print version was an offshoot of ''Sunday Times'', to whose subscribers it was delivered gratis; non-subscrib ...

. The Behind The Scenes Awards celebrate excellence in various media and entertainment fields within South Africa.

History

In June 2004, ''Isolezwe'' launched their online edition; their fellow Independent News & Media publications described it as the first Zulu-language news website. In the five years after its founding, it performed much better than Independent's English-language South African dailies, growing from a circulation of under 30,000 to more than 95,000, according to

Audit Bureau of Circulations An Audit Bureau of Circulations is a private organization that provides industry-agreed standards for media brand measurement of print publications and other media outlets in a given country. The International Federation of Audit Bureaux of Circulat ...

figures. Much of their circulation consists of single-copy sales rather than subscriptions. It continued its strong performance in the first quarter of 2010, with a 34% increase in circulation to 104,481, as compared to industry-wide 2.3% drop in sales. Circulation for their Sunday edition, '' Isolezwe ngeSonto'', also reached 71,219. Paper insiders disagreed on the reasons for the growth; editor-in-chief Mbathi credited

human-interest stories In journalism, a human-interest story is a feature story that discusses people or pets in an emotional way. It presents people and their problems, concerns, or achievements in a way that brings about interest, sympathy or motivation in the reader o ...

and local news, while joint managing director Brian Porter mentioned editorial content and sports as "vital ingredients".

Language

''Isozwele'' is known for using a more urban form of Zulu, in contrast to its competitor ''Ilanga'', which describes itself as using a "purer form" of the language.

Distribution areas

Distribution figures

Readership figures

References

External links

''Isolezwe'' online edition

SAARF Website
Mass media in Durban Daily newspapers published in South Africa Newspapers established in 2002 Zulu-language mass media 2002 establishments in South Africa {{SouthAfrica-newspaper-stub