The Cameroon Newspaper Publishers Federation (FEDIPRESSE) recently held a seminar in Yaounde to address the pressing challenges facing the country’s print media industry and explore digital solutions to revitalize the sector.
Themed “The New Structural and Functional Paradigms of the Print Media“, the seminar on June 19 brought together publishers of newspapers to discuss the future of the written press in Cameroon. The event was organized against the framework of a print media landscape grappling with economic stagnation, job losses, and concerns over democratic press freedom.
FEDIPRESSE sounded the alarm about the structural and economic difficulties of the private print media in the country to the government seven years ago.
“The structural and conjectural difficulties of print media have continued to worsen, with high prices in manufactured goods used in the production of newspapers,” said Professor Felix Zogo, Secretary General at the Ministry of Communication (MINCOM) and a lecturer at the University of Yaounde I.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these challenges, leading newspapers to become increasingly dependent on sales revenue, rather than advertising, to sustain their operations. This has highlighted the need for the industry to adapt to the changing media landscape.
Y’ello Kiosk, the digital solution
In response to these pressures, FEDIPRESSE has implemented initiatives aimed at revolutionizing the private print media through digital migration. One of the key solutions discussed at the seminar was the Y’ello Kiosk, a mobile application developed by MTN Cameroon.
“Y’ello Kiosk presents an affordable and convenient way to access a wide range of news content from various local and international publishers, where customers can purchase individual newspapers or subscribe to a bundle at significantly lower prices compared to traditional subscriptions,” explained Melvin Akam, General Manager Corporate and Regulatory Affairs at MTN Cameroon.
The app targets budget-conscious news consumers, mobile-first news readers, and multi-source news enthusiasts, providing them with the ability to customize their news feeds, download articles for offline reading, and access a diverse library of content from a single platform.
Worthy to note that on May 3, FEDIPRESSE and MTN Cameroon signed a partnership to better digitalise the print media in the country.
As Cameroon’s print media industry continues to navigate the challenges of the digital age, the adoption of solutions like Y’ello Kiosk could play a crucial role in helping publishers adapt and thrive in the evolving media landscape.
