The Citizen is a South African daily newspaper. Published in Johannesburg and distributed nationally, its core readership is in Gauteng.
The newspaper is owned by Caxton & CTP, a public company listed on the JSE Limited.
History and ownership The newspaper was founded in 1976 during the apartheid era by Louis Luyt,Anton Harber, (13 September 2006). "Lies, truth and good Citizen-ship" , The Harbinger Retrieved 10 March 2012. at which time it was the only major English-language newspaper favourable to the ruling National Party. In 1978, during the Muldergate Scandal, it was revealed that the money to establish and finance the newspaper had come from a secret slush fund of the Department of Information, and ultimately from the Department of Defence."Eschel Rhoodie, 1979/80" , Rob Marsh. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
In 1998, ownership of the newspaper was transferred from Perskor to Caxton and CTP Publishers and Printers Limited. The company is involved in various fields of publishing and printing such as newspapers, magazines, commercial print, book printing, stationery, packaging and labels.
Format The Citizen is a compact newspaper. In 2012, the newspaper layout and design was revamped by Dr. Mario Garcia. On 1 August 2013 the first edition of the revamped newspaper went on sale.
Editors (past and present) Tim du Plessis
Kevin Keogh
Martin Williams
On 7 October 2013, The Citizen announced that Editor Martin Williams would be stepping down. Williams, who had been with The Citizen for 19 years, retired at the end of October 2013.
Steven Motale
Martin Williams was succeeded by Steve Motale, who at the time was the executive editor of Pretoria News. Motale had started off as a reporter at The Citizen in 2002, later becoming political editor and then editor of Citizen Metro.
Trevor Stevens
Trevor Stevens, who joined The Citizen in 2001 as a sports reporter, became editor of The Citizen in 2017. He is also the current Saturday Citizen editor – a position he has held since 2010.
Online editors (past and present) Charles Cilliers (May 2016 - June 2020)
Hendri Pelser (Acting online editor: June 2020 - June 2021)
Earl Coetzee (October 2021 - April 2023)
Earl took over from Hendri Pelser as acting online editor in July 2021 and was appointed online editor in October 2021.
Gareth Cotterell (June 2023 – present)
Gareth initially joined The Citizen as digital news editor. Beginning of May 2023, he took over from then digital editor, Earl Coetzee, in acting capacity. On 6 June 2023 he was appointed digital editor of The Citizen.
Regular columnists Ben Trovato
Isaac Mashaba
William Saunderson-Meyer
Carine Hartman
Jennie Ridyard
Sydney Majoko
Brian Sokutu
Eric Naki
Reitumetse Makwea
Cliff Buchler
Danie Toerien
Martin Williams
Dirk Lotriet
Kekeletso Nakeli-Dhliwayo
Muzi Yeni
Bruce Fordyce
Wesley Botton
Jonty Mark
Ken Borland
Jonathan Mokuena
Titles/products The Citizen
Saturday Citizen (Previously Super Saturday Citizen)
The Citizen Online website
The redesigned website, citizen.co.za, went live on 1 August 2013.
The Citizen operated a subscriber paywall on citizen.co.za until 30 April 2024. On 1 May 2024, the paywall was removed and all content became free to read, with the publisher citing rising costs of maintaining the paywall and reduced value to readers relative to competitors' offerings. Existing subscribers were refunded and given a complimentary three-month e-edition subscription.
Supplements Personal Finance (Mondays) – supplement to help you manage your money City (Monday-Saturday) – lifestyle and entertainment supplement Racing Express (Monday-Saturday) – horse racing supplement Phakaaathi (Tuesdays) – local and international soccer supplement Motoring (Wednesdays) – motoring and local motorsport supplement Gaming (Thursdays) – gaming supplement Buy in Bulk (Thursdays) – weekly wholesale supplement Hammer & Gavel (Fridays) – auctions supplement Travel (Saturdays) – travel supplement Your Home (last Saturday of the month) – home renovations and DIY supplement
Distribution areas 20212022 Eastern Cape Free State Y Y Gauteng Y Y KwaZulu-Natal Subscriptions only Subscriptions only Limpopo Y Y Mpumalanga Y Y North West Y Y Northern Cape Y Y Western Cape
Circulation figures +CirculationAudit Bureau of Circulations (S.A)Total circulation Oct-Dec 2024 20 824 Apr-Jun 2022 26 142 Jan-Mar 2022 27 097 Oct-Nov 2021 27 492 Jul-Sep 2021 27 315 Apr-Jun 2021 29 678 Jan-Mar 2021 29 800 Oct-Dec 2020 30 012 Jul-Sep 2020 28 316 Jan-Mar 2020 36 359 Oct-Dec 2019 36 966 Jul-Sep 2019 38 270 Apr-Jun 2019 39 349 Jan-Mar 2019 40 481
Readership figures +Estimated readershipPAMS 2019 (PAMS 2019, AIR, PRINT)PRINT AIR Reader Audience Data 2021 (READ 2021) 471 000
See also List of newspapers in South Africa
References
External links Official website