Die Burger

History

On 18 December 1914, sixteen prominent Afrikaners gathered in Stellenbosch to discuss the establishment of a national newspaper.

With considerable financial support from local philanthropists Jannie and Christiaan Marais, purchased a quarter of 20,000 £1 shares in the new holding company, the project soon got off the ground, with the founding of De Nasionale Pers ("the National Press") and the selection of Dr. D. F. Malan as editor of its daily paper, De Burger (Dutch for "The Citizen").

The first issue was published on 26 July 1915. It consisted of 10 pages and featured numerous graphic advertisements on the front page, seven columns, and domestic, international, cultural, and economic sections, along with a column for opinion pieces. Initially, the editorial team comprised 16 members, but this number dropped to nine within a year.

The newspaper quickly emerged as a competitor to the English-language Cape Times. All editors were proponents of the Afrikaans language and fluent in its use, which led to the appearance of the first Afrikaans-language articles as early as 1916.

Since 21 December 2024, Die Burger now serves as the only Afrikaans daily newspaper in South Africa, after the closure of titles such as Beeld (in Johannesburg and northern regions) and Volksblad (Free State + Northern Cape) as well as the weekly Rapport.

Language

Die Burger was originally published in Dutch. In 1916, the first Afrikaans-language articles were published. In 1921, the newspaper's Dutch title (De Burger) was translated into Afrikaans (Die Burger).

Weekly supplements

• Sake24 (Mon-Fri)
• Jip (Mon)
• Motors (Thur)
• Gesond! (every second Fri)
• Landbou (every second Fri, agricultural supplement)
• Versnit (Sat)
• BY (Sat)
• Eiendomme (Sat)
• Veilings (Sat)
• Snuffelgids (daily, Mon-Sat)

Political affiliation

Die Burger was a newspaper that supported the nationalist cause and apartheid, and used to be the mouthpiece of the National Party. This only began to change after 1985, when then editor Piet Cillié, a staunch supporter of the government under B. J. Vorster and P. W. Botha, retired.

In 1990, the National Party was officially informed by editor Ebbe Dommisse that the paper would no longer serve as a political mouthpiece. The disaffiliation continued in 2000 with the appointment of a more progressive editor, Arrie Rossouw. In 2006, Henry Jeffreys became the first Cape Coloured editor of the paper.

List of editors

• D. F. Malan (1915–24)
• Albertus Geyer (1924–45)
• Phil Weber (1945–54)
• Piet Cillié (1954–77)
• Wiets Beukes (1977–90)
• Ebbe Dommisse (1990-2000)
• Arrie Rossouw (2000–06)
• Henry Jeffreys (2006–10)
• Bun Booyens (2010-2016)
• Willem Jordaan (2016-)

Distribution areas

Distribution figures

Readership figures

Sources

• Nieman Reports at Harvard University
• Die Burger 2000/8/05
• Die Burger 2005/7/26

References

References

1. https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/final-ever-edition-of-beeld-newspaper-published-picture/ar-AA1wlYhX?ocid=finance-verthp-feeds
2. "Die Burger. The History of the World's Largest Afrikaans Newspaper". Reporterzy.info.
3. https://www.mediamonitoringafrica.org/africas-biggest-media-group-naspers-has-finally-apologised-for-its-role-during-apartheid/
4. Pretorius, Fransjohan. (2014). "A History of South Africa: From the Distant Past to the Present Day". Protea Book House.
5. Dwornik, Małgorzata. (2024-05-13). "Die Burger. The History of the World's Largest Afrikaans Newspaper". Reporterzy.info.
6. "Die Burger Website".
7. [//www.abc.org.za/ Audit Bureau of Circulations (S.A)]
8. (8 May 2015). "ABC Analysis Q1 2015: The biggest-circulating newspapers in South Africa •".
9. [//www.saarf.co.za/amps-presentations/ SAARF AMPS (Previous Presentations)]
10. [//www.saarf.co.za/AMPS/presentations-amps.asp SAARF AMPS (Industry Presentations)]