In a world obsessed with extinction, where the instinct is seemingly to protect anything and everything from extinction, an extinction is seemingly occurring unnoticed in South Africa. Is the lack of a protest against this extinction indicative of an acknowledgement that doing so would be a lost cause?

In recent weeks, Caxton & CTP Publishers announced that it would no longer be publishing ten of its titles: Bona, Country Life, Essentials, Food & Home, Garden & Home, People, Rooi Rose, Vrouekeur, Woman & Home and Your Family. That leaves only two titles – Farmers Weekly and Living & Loving – in the company’s stable. For its part, Associated Media Publishing has closed its four titles: Cosmopolitan South Africa, House & Leisure, Good Housekeeping South Africa and Women on Wheels.

These publications are not migrating to electronic platforms – they are being discontinued completely. Besides these well-known national publications, there are specialist titles that have also been discontinued. Granted, the latter had smaller circulation figures.

Although we all acknowledge that life does change, somehow, as with death, we react with shock and disbelieve when change occurs. What we, however, never expect is a pandemic, such as Covid-19, which will be blamed for many an economic ill, no doubt including the termination of publishing titles, but that would be too simplistic.

Ironically, not many South Africans have read about the demise of these publishing titles, simply because they are not readers. Actually, don’t take my word for it – an article that was published on www.bizcommunity.com on February 13 and was titled ‘Magazines ABC Q4 2019: A subdued quarter for magazines’, indicated that there had been an increase in a magazine’s circulation. (ABC is the Audit Bureau of Circulations of South Africa.)

Owing to a lack of readers, advertisers, which are essentially the lifeblood of magazines, are evidently feeling that they are no longer getting bang for their buck when they place advertisements in magazines.

You need not be a genius to predict that the ABC figures for the first quarter of 2020 will be worse than figures for the fourth quarter of 2019. Just before stepping off the ABC figures, it is important to remember that there are two types of circulation figures: paid circulation and free circulation. The worry, of course, is that free-circulation magazines rely on advertising revenue only. Another consideration is that circulation implies that the magazines are indeed read.

As for newspapers, they might well survive in their present form for a few more years, before eventually migrating to electronic platforms. But whether readers will be willing to pay for electronic content is another matter, as there is a perception that online content is free.

As for the future of bookshops in South Africa, I am less certain. Why would people read books when they do not read magazines or newspapers? In the instance of bookshops, I have to declare my affinity for Exclusive Books, as unfortunate and as telling as its name is – for what rivals its atmosphere? Why is the name unfortunate? Years ago, while working on an assignment in India, I was astounded to discover book prices were marginal, compared with satellite television. Yet in South Africa the inverse is true. Why are books ‘exclusive’?

South Africa does not have a reading culture. An article published on www.theconversation.com on May 17, 2018, titled ‘South Africa’s reading crisis’, stated: “Calling it a crisis is no overstatement. South Africa ranked last out of 50 countries in the 2016 Progress in International Reading Literacy study.”

As READ (www.read.org.za) reminds us: “Literacy has been recognised not only as a right in itself but also as a mechanism for the pursuit of other human rights, just as human rights education is a tool for combating illiteracy.”

Why are South Africans not exercising their right, with responsibility?