ABSTRACT
The general agreement about indigenous language newspapers in Africa is that they struggle to survive. The content, audiences and survival strategies of these newspapers have also been explored. However, studies of the editorial policies of the publications and their impact on indigenous language development are missing. This chapter deploys insights from several theoretical approaches, including Salawu’s (2015, “A Political Economy of sub-Saharan African Language Press: The Case of Nigeria and South Africa,” Review of African Political Economy, 42(144): 299–313.) indigenous language media management models, to interrogate the editorial policies of Caxton Media and Independent Media. We unravel the policies’ impacts on isiXhosa language development at the respective subsidiaries, BONA magazine and Isolezwe lesiXhosa, of the two media houses. Using archival research, interviews, document analysis and thematic analysis, we find that a Eurocentric culture pervades both companies, stifling the isiXhosa language. Finally, the findings demonstrate that the selected indigenous language publications are treated as secondary by their publishers due to economic considerations and enduring colonial attitudes.
