MacG predicts mass job cuts as sponsors go digital

Last week marked more than the closure of a newspaper. It signalled the end of an era. With the announcement that City Press will shut its doors, South Africa’s media industry lost one of its most enduring voices.

The symbolism was impossible to ignore as one print giant bowed out, digital-first players, Podcast and Chill were simultaneously celebrating a new chapter of expansion underscoring the relentless speed of the industry’s transformation.

A fundamental shift, not a failure

In a candid conversation, media personalities MacG and Sol unpacked what this moment truly represents. Far from a simple business collapse, they see it as proof of a deeper structural shift, traditional media print, television, and radio is being overtaken by digital platforms, with artificial intelligence (AI) poised to rewrite the rules entirely.

Sol captured the scale of the disruption:

"The reality is, the world is changing and it’s not just how people consume media. There’s a huge shift. I saw a tweet from a YouTube co-founder saying this is the last year of meaningful work, everything is going to be AI, we’re going into a new world. I don’t know how it looks like, but definitely the media space is changing, it’s going digital."

Digital hype vs Traditional silence.

MacG pointed to the stark contrast in impact when their digital platform released its new line-up compared to traditional broadcasters.

“In terms of hype and influence you’ve got to give it to digital. For example, we released our line-up and it was everywhere, everybody was talking about it. A week before, SABC 2 released their new line-up and can you tell me who it is? No one cares.

“In the next few weeks, radio stations will be doing their new line-ups and let’s see how much traction they get. Yes, traditional media still has a place because that’s where the money is for now. But last year most advertising agencies went digital. It’s only a matter of time before that money filters fully into digital.”

Gone are the days when a press release and promotional photo could dominate national conversation.

Sol explained:

“Previously, a press release and a photo of the new line-up was enough, the whole country would know because they’d get massive coverage. But those days are gone. People have cellphones and they’re going about their business. They’re not sitting and waiting for the news.”

Digital migration will trigger major radio job losses

The most sobering warning came for radio, still the cash cow of traditional media in South Africa.

McG predicted:

I fear for radio. For now they have the money but once that money goes into the digital space there’s going to be a lot of job cuts. I feel like radio will just be breakfast and drive-time shows. The rest will just be music. Once sponsors jump ship it’s going to be the end of it. Shows that are not making money will be the first to get the chop.

The revolution is already here.

The tweet Sol referenced may sound dramatic, but the trend lines are clear. The closure of City Press and other media outlets is painful for journalism veterans. Yet it is also a wake-up call. The future increasingly belongs to agile, digital-first operations that combine human creativity with AI efficiency.

The new era announced this week is not simply another platform launch. It is a declaration that the media revolution is no longer approaching it has arrived. Traditional media still retains legacy reach and advertising muscle for now. But as MacG and Sol made clear, the money, the attention, and the technology are flowing in one direction: online, digital, and increasingly AI-driven.

The question is no longer whether traditional media will change. It is how quickly those who refuse to adapt will disappear.