Reimagining the future

While improved funding, capacity building (especially in the area of language) and journalistic and digital competence are essential in the continuous operations of indigenous language newspapers, their survival also requires a digital reimagining. Digital technologies have become pervasive, occupying a central place in the way we articulate and experience our beliefs, culture and everyday life. Their application to journalism is increasingly removing barriers to truth discovery, for which traditional methods are ill-equipped. There is no denying that the indigenous language press must leverage digital technology if they are to thrive in the Digital Age. For instance, South Africa’s IsiZulu language newspaper, Ilanga, has survived amidst political and economic pressure because of its ability to adapt to new technology (Buthelezi 2016). The adoption of the mainstream model of management has also helped Ilanga and Isolezwe in South Africa and Alaroye in Nigeria to remain relevant amidst stiff competition from English language newspapers (Salawu 2015).

However, simply migrating online or adopting and adapting to twenty-first-century digital technologies with a twentieth-century mentality will not suffice. There is a need for a holistic assessment of the future of the indigenous press because of the digital transformation. Technological and scientific innovation is complex and volatile. For instance, digital technology is continuously evolving; sometimes the pace of development is faster than adoption. While some businesses, especially in Africa, are just now adapting to the ‘Internet of Things’, mobile technology is increasingly emerging as the future of business and social life. With an already circumscribed market, the challenge facing indigenous language newspapers is not how to stave off the migration to digital media, but how best to exploit the shift to boost readership and advertising revenue.

Social media thrives on interactivity; this is already shaping the future of journalism. Part of the appeal of future indigenous language newspapers would be the ability to offer a feedback mechanism that not only allows meaningful interaction but also engenders a two-way flow of information - where readers can become input- or content-providers. To achieve this requires a rich pool of talent, especially in the digital field, which the indigenous language newspapers must endeavour to attract.

The reimagined indigenous language newspaper must be one that strikes a balance between commercialisation and its role as a repositor}' and custodian of linguistic and cultural heritage. As noted by Gumucio-Dagron and Thomas (2006), excessive commercialisation has the potential to commodify indigenous language newspapers such that they will lose their essence of providing access to ordinary citizens. As noted above, Susen (2011) warns that the ‘invisible hand of the market ... is strong enough to neutralize the rational-critical force of the public’ (58), and this includes consumers of local language newspapers.

While indigenous language newspapers seek to attract advertising revenue, this must not detract from their primary function as alternative media that provide information and continuity and mobilize groups who may be precluded from conventional media because of their language. Content also matters. Given their complete dependence on indigenous languages in the construction and sharing of meaning, indigenous language plays a crucial role in identity negotiation. So in embracing digital media, indigenous language newspapers must endeavour to provide reporting or content that reflects the oral tradition and cultural motifs of their readers. While Bamgbose (cited in Mpofu and Salawu 2018, 296) acknowledges that the media can standardise and reinforce language, they can also vitiate it.

The reimaging of indigenous language newspapers must factor in its future role in the preservation of local languages. As highlighted earlier, indigenous language newspapers have become the locus of the revitalisation of endangered mother tongues, and this role is bound to intensify in the future. How they can incorporate digital media in realising this role will enhance their sustenance and social relevance. Technology continues to evolve, orchestrating paradigm shifts, but the focus and purpose of indigenous language newspapers must be consistently towards building a cohort of readers that stays with them for the long haul because they provide an arena for debate and discursive interaction on issues that concern them in a language that enables them to express their thoughts more profoundly. A good example is Ilanga, which has maintained its essence as the institutionalised arena for the discussion of Zulu history, culture and social development (Buthelezi 2016).

The indigenous language newspaper that will endure over time will be one that is not confined to satisfying narrow interests or dramatising unimportant community issues, one geared towards preparing people for effective participation in national life. Mpofu and Salawu (2018) argue that indigenous language newspapers must not only focus on addressing the specific needs and aspirations of the people but also be concerned with empowering and galvanising them to participate in national and international socio-economic programmes. This envisages a development-oriented indigenous language press that transcends the provision of information to promoting and galvanising the populace for change.