South Africa, Sept. 11 -- From a 144-year-old local newspaper launching its first digital presence to community publishers reaching audiences of more than a million people, independent South African newsrooms are showing strong early digital growth thanks to support from the Digital News Transformation Fund (DNTF).

The Fund's half-year progress report, covering January to June 2026, shows how 21 independent newsrooms are using R10.5m in funding to strengthen their digital operations. Ten have launched their first-ever websites, more than 300 stories have been published by newsrooms starting their digital journeys and more than 65 journalists and media staff have received training.

The DNTF supports independent and community news publish...