. Katema

By BRIAN HATYOKA –
IN AUGUST this year, Information and Broadcasting Minister Joseph Katema launched the first electronic (e)-times newspaper in Zambia.
Since the launch of the product, which was the first of its kind in the country, the system has continued to attract interest from various stakeholders as more than six million people have already subscribed to it.
E-times is an Internet-based electronic version of the full Times of Zambia and Sunday Times of Zambia Newspapers with complete editorial and advertorial content.
It is an online innovation which gives sufficient confidence of reaching a wider audience in urban and rural areas as well as worldwide through smart phones, tablets, Ipads, laptops, palmtops and other similar gadgets.
The price to subscribe for e-times, which is accessed daily around 22: 00 hours a day before hardcopies are distributed, is currently K1 per copy up to January 31, 2015 from the normal price of K2 for a digitalised version and K3 for a hard-copy.
For first user clients, they have to open www.timesepaper.com and create their personal accounts after which they should subscribe for specific copies they intend to receive and the period in which they should receive.
Times Printpak Zambia, the publisher of Times of Zambia and Sunday Times of Zambia newspapers, has started holding public fora with various stakeholders on the benefits of e-times and technology usage in the media and business organisations.
Early this month, Times Printpak Zambia hosted the first public forum at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka where a number of students debated on the subject.
On December 14, 2014, the company hosted the second public discussion in Livingstone at Limbo Lodge in partnership with the Livingstone Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
This forum attracted more than 50 participants from the Livingstone business community as well as tourism and agricultural sectors.
Times Printpak Zambia Sales and Marketing Manager Mark Nyasulu said the company was undergoing a critical shift in organisational structure by introducing innovative products which were in line with global developments.
Mr Nyasulu said the company was making strides in advancing online advertisements which were convenient and a smart way of doing business.
“We have realised the importance of partnering with the Chamber of Commerce in Livingstone and across Zambia and hence we will be going across the country to roll out the e-times product.
“The whole idea is to allow the business community to interact with us meaningfully,” Mr Nyasulu said.
He called for continued partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and other stakeholders across the country.
“We are not lagging behind in terms of innovations and so far we are the first newspaper in Zambia to introduce a full version of an electronic copy with advertorial and editorial contents.
“People can now access Times newspapers in any paper of Zambia and abroad provided that they have internet and electronic gadgets,” he said.
Mr Nyasulu said the business community would have access to instant information instead of waiting for hard copies of the Times newspapers which were at times delivered late to the market.
In his presentation to participants during the public discussion, Times Printpak Zambia assistant Sales and Marketing Manager Timothy Kaputo said e-times publication was cheaper and convenient.
Mr Kaputo noted that hard-copies of the Times of Zambia newspapers were arriving late in Livingstone because they were printed in Ndola and they were transported to Lusaka before proceeding to the tourist capital.
“In this case, e-times is an appropriate product for the people of Livingstone and those who live in far-flung areas where they take long to access hardcopies of the newspapers.
“Our clients have different needs such as news, adverts and procurement matters and therefore e-times is a proper product.
“Some clients may not want news but they want advertorial contents and hence we have introduced a product which meets different clients,” Mr Kaputo said.
He said Times Printpak Zambia had already signed a contract with MTN mobile money while plans were underway to engage other internet service providers on the implementation of the e-times product.
During the public discussion, some members of the audience applauded Times for the innovation while others raised concerns on product.
Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI) vice president for Southern Region Chabuka Kawesha saluted Times Printpak Zambia for the e-times innovation.
Dr Kawesha said the introduction of e-times was a step in the right direction as it was a key platform for the business community to promptly access news and advertorial content to enhance growth for their businesses.
He said the digitalised newspaper was an incredible undertaking and a positive step in the right direction especially in the modern era.
“This is a job well-done. Your payment mode and subscription is quite amazing. Congratulations and kindly convey our happiness to the Board and Management of Times Printpak Zambia for this amazing e-times innovation.
“Globally, we have had an iron age as well as an industrial age and now we have information age. There is no other person who can explain well the information age rather than the renowned media organisation known as Times of Zambia,” Dr Kawesha said.
He however urged Times Printpak Zambia to enhance the accessibility of the e-times product by partnering with retail outlets as well as the hospitality industry and Internet Service Providers among others.
“There are people who don’t have electronic gadgets such as cell phones, laptops or ipads and hence you need to partner with supermarkets, hotels, lodges and internet cafes so that people can go to these entities at any time to access any copy of your newspapers.
“You should make this facility more accessible to all citizens. For example, I should be able to walk to supermarkets and tell them to give me any edition of Times Newspaper and they should be able to giveme at a minimal cost,” he said.
Dr Kawesha urged Times Printpak Zambia to engage all Chambers of Commerce across Zambia and pledged ZACCI’s support to the product.
He said ZACCI had 21 satellite chambers across the country and the Livingstone chapter was one of the active chambers.
“We also wish to appeal to Times Printpak Zambia to increase your pages on Business News like what international newspapers are doing.
“Currently, you only one page for Business News and yet there was a lot of things happening in the business world,” Dr Kawesha said.
He also wondered on what measures Times would put in place to avoid the possibility of people abusing the system by forwarding the copy to unsubscribed people.
In response, Mr Nyasulu challenged ZACCI to consider introducing a column on business matters in the newspaper as experts were free to introduce and manage their own columns at no cost.
On the possibility of abusing the e-times, Mr Kaputo said measures would be put in place to safeguard the publication against such acts.
LCCI president Miles Daka said members of his Chamber would utilise the e-times product as the innovation was in line with trends in the global market.
Mr Daka said the Livingstone Chamber of Commerce started operating in 1939 but it later went down after the demise of the manufacturing industry in the tourist capital.
“Four years ago, the Chamber was rejuvenated and this innovation from Times of Zambia is important to us as Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) play a critical role to support the business growth.
“We need to move with latest innovations in the global market and utilise e-times which is one of the key platforms for our businesses,” Mr Daka said.
He said LCCI was one of the oddest and growing Chambers of Commerce in Zambia and hence e-times was an opportunity for the growth of the Chamber.
Livingstone Tourism Association (LTA) vice chairperson Thomas Banda said e-times was an important platform as most modern tourists were searching for destinations to visit through online networks.
Mr Banda said the international world was currently championing e-marketing and hence e-times was an important product.
“Our tourism businesses can only make progress if we embrace online platforms and we will therefore expect a lot of support from Times on this new product,” Mr Banda said.
He urged Times to seek ways supporting small and medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the online innovation.
In response, Mr Nyasulu said his entity already had different advertising rates for big and small corporations as low as K10 for 10 words.
He challenged the business community in the tourist capital to engage the Times Livingstone Bureau on matters of advertorial and editorial contents.
Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) Livingstone and Kazungula District Farmers Association (DFA) chairperson, Ruth Hensen, commended Times for introducing a digitalised newspaper.
Ms Hensen, who is also LCCI vice chairperson, said Internet provided multiple opportunities for economic and educational spheres if it was accessed and used properly.
She however wondered if Times had plans where clients could advertise to specific clients and not to the entire country and officials responded in affirmative.
Ms Hensen urged Times Printpak Zambia to provide relevant contents at relevant cost in terms of news and adverts.
“You must improve on your news and advertorial contents if you have to remain relevant on the market.
“Secondly, I would like to know your subscription levels since the e-times product was introduced in August this year? Thirdly, your price of K1 or K2 for an online copy seems to be expensive to us farmers.
Remember that you are competing against free news in the online media and so you must an uphill battle to convince farmers to subscribe to your system,” Ms Hensen said.
In response to Ms Hensen’s concerns, Mr Nyasulu said about six million clients had already subscribed to the e-times innovation from the time the system was launched in August this year.
Mr Nyasulu however questioned the authenticity of some online publications which were publishing free news as most of their contests had to do with gossip and unverified information.
He said the news content for Times newspapers was reliable and authentic as the publication had professionally trained journalists who were always adhering to media ethics in their reporting.
“Some news items we get from free online publications are false and at times mere insults which are not newsworthy while Times is providing newsworthy stories.
“We also have to provide transport and food to our journalists covering events and hence we have to attach a minimal price to the e-times product,” Mr Nyasulu said.
In supporting Mr Nyasulu’s response, Mr Kaputo said the e-timesproduct had so far received an overwhelming support locally and abroad.
He said what made Times different from other free online publications was that the new innovation was carrying full adverts such as tender documents in addition to complete news and feature contents.
“News provided by online publications usually do not follow proper journalistic ethics as anyone can post anything without following required standards.
“I don’t want to name some online sites which are victims of unprofessional conduct,” Mr Kaputo said.
Kariba Texitiles accountant David Kazabu wondered how effective the e-times would operate as many people were having challenges with web-based systems because of slow internet in the country.
“For example, the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has introduced an online system for tax payers but we are still finding a lot of challenges to use the system.
“You have to partner with internet service providers to improve the speed of internet like the case in other countries. Our market targets are urban and rural populations and it won’t be a viable project for
Kariba Textiles to advertise on your system when internet is slow and unable to download the newspaper,” Mr Kazabu said.
In response, Mr Kaputo expressed hope that internet service providers would soon improve on internet speed to enable more people to access the product.
Naleli Initiative director Namakau Siyanga said her organisation, which comprised of women entrepreneurs, was appreciative of the e-times as it was a key platform to promote business growth.
Ms Siyanga is a member of LCCI and she also owns a construction known as Nas Glass and Aluminium while she was early this month awarded by ZACCI as Woman Entrepreneur of the Year.
LTA member Michael Musenga congratulated Times Printpak Zambia for the e-times innovation.
Mr Musenga, who is Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) national legal advisor, however urged Times to introduce a page dedicated for environment and sanitation issues in the country.
It is only hoped that more people will subscribe to the e-times to enable them have prompt access to the newspaper.