Market similar projects initiated by the The media explosion in over the past European, North American and J^[Jhkj^m[j[bboek decade has seen over forty newspapers emerge but Latin American members the Daily Monitor has maintained its leadership of the World Association of M[jebZoekm[Wh[ij_bbK]WdZWÊiDe$'?dZ[f[dZ[djd[mifWf[h position as the leading independent and most Newspapers. NiE seeks to influential newspaper in Uganda. The Daily supplement Ugandan primary Monitor is published by Monitor Publications Ltd school education by using (MPL), a subsidiary of the , newspapers as a learning tool NMG, which is the largest media house in East in the classroom. The objective and Central Africa. MPL’s other media Platforms is to enhance the reading culture of the children; upgrade 9edij_jkj_edWbF[j_j_edDe$'(e\(&&+Ced_jehFkXb_YWj_ediB_c_j[Z"Q7dZh[mCm[dZWWdZJ^[;Wij7\h_YWd include the 93.3 KFM radio , the Monitor Business C[Z_W?dij_jkj[SLi7jjehd[o=[d[hWb$@kZ][c[djZ[b_l[h[Zedj^[(+j^ZWoe\7k]kij(&'&$ Directory (hard copy and online) as well as their literacy and numeracy Monitor Digital. skills; and improve on their In order to provide easy access for its readers general knowledge, consumer The Daily Monitor is distributed through a network awareness, civic consciousness of agents, vendors and supermarkets across the and essential life success skills. country. The Daily Monitor is circulated from the Daily Monitor NiE has so far Ugandan Capital, . The publication of served over 2000 primary schools. 9edij_jkj_edWb7ff[WbDe$(e\(&&(Ced_jehFkXb_YWj_ediB_c_j[ZQ9^Whb[iEdoWd]eEXXeWdZ7dZh[mCk`kd_ the newspaper is in English for the convenience Cm[dZWSLi7jjehd[o=[d[hWb$@kZ][c[djZ[b_l[h[Zedj^[''j^ZWoe\<[XhkWho(&&*$ of most people in the country and those who The Monitor became the first newspaper in Uganda to J^[:W_boCed_jeh^WiWbmWoiX[[dWXh[Wj^e\\h[i^W_h visit or interested in information from Uganda. \ehZ[ceYhWYo_dK]WdZWWdZm[^Wl[Zed[_jW]W_d$ Daily Monitor’s circulation is outstanding among computerise its newsroom and Oekademm^ejeJhkij$ the higher income, more educated sections of the to inaugurate a web presence community. in addition to being the first The Daily Monitor brand provides a wide newspaper in Uganda’s history range of news covering current affairs, national to own a radio station: then the and international news, politics , sports, arts and Monitor FM radio. culture, entertainment, business and finance, news features , health and children’s content. According History to the 2010 UAMPS report, the brand boasts a The brand started life in readership totaling 1,778,241 and its future plans 1992 as a weekly newspaper aim to attain at least a 50 percent market share of and went daily in 1996. The total newspaper circulation in Uganda. Monitor was started by a group of six journalists from very Achievements: humble beginnings. Following • The Daily Monitor successfully petitioned the dictates of the market, the and challenged the law on false news in the Daily Monitor begun colour constitutional court in 2004 printing in 1997 and in 2000 the • The brand is a member of the Audit Bureau Nation Media Group acquired a of Circulations (ABC), an independent body majority stake in the publisher that verifies newspaper sales figures in order of the Daily Monitor: Monitor to protect advertisers from false information Publications Ltd. and circulation figures. The main challenge facing • The newspaper successfully challenged the the brand was the low level of law on sedition in The Constitutional Court advertising that characterised which found, in a landmark ruling, that a relatively young industry but the crime of sedition was considered to be it has overcome this to register unconstitutional and therefore struck it off the double digit growth in revenues law books in a judgment that was delivered over the past years. on 25th August 2010 Nation Media Group is • The Daily Monitor is Uganda’s only newspaper now cross-listed on the Uganda with an e-paper version, a replica of the hard Securities Exchange. The copy that is available on the internet -based Nation Media In 2007, the Daily Monitor launched its Group, owners of the prominent Newspapers in Education (NiE) programme, Kenyan daily the , the first in East Africa, which was inspired by owns a majority share in

38 39 Monitor Publications Ltd, with the remainder held newspapers of Uganda and upholds the spirit of promises its readers ‘Truth Every Day’. by individual local shareholders. development of the country. In the pursuit for professional excellence the brand holds the values of truth, independence, Recent Developments precision and integrity as sacrosanct and relies The Product In order to remain competitive MPL has invested on teamwork and creativity to report on current The brand carries three product lines: The Daily in a new state of the art printing press and has events in the interests of their customers. Monitor, Saturday Monitor and Sunday Monitor, thus enhanced its colour and printing capacity. all published by Monitor Publications Ltd (MPL). This new press delivers a full colour high quality The Daily Monitor is a renowned source of news newspaper to the market at a speed which allows and information in Uganda. Its trusted, award- for the latest news with the earliest arrivals to the THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT winning local coverage has resulted in increased readers. DAILY MONITOR market circulation and readership. The Monitor Advertising Centre at Crown The Daily Monitor is highly quoted and has House, Plot 4, Kampala Road is open to cater for m The Daily Monitor is Uganda’s leading earned more respect than any other newspaper in all advertising needs and the paper has extended independent daily and its most influential Uganda. The brand prides itself on also giving a its news reportage with the opening of a Bureau newspaper voice to those without influence. in Fortportal, a town in Western Uganda. The web version of the Daily Monitor, www. m The brand website www.monitor.co.ug monitor.co.ug, is the most visited Ugandan website Promotion is Uganda’s most read online newspaper with over a million visitors a month (Google The Daily Monitor engages with its target market (Google analytics 2011) analytics 2011). both offline and online. The brand has rolled out The Monitor brings out news on different new, highly visible innovations and advertises with m It is Uganda’s only newspaper with an fields categorised under Frontpage, Letters, its own and other leading media channels. e-paper version that is a replica of the Features, Sports, News, Regional special etc. The The brand has been distinctive in its innovations hard copy showing all adverts Saturday edition also carries a popular magazine, running unique promotions like ‘Match for Cash’, Full Woman on top of news and sports features Monitor ‘Fantasy Football’ for the Premier league m The paper reaches 1,778,241 people. while the Sunday edition carries the family enthusiasts, Top 100 Medium sized companies (Source, UAMPS, 2010) magazine Sunday life with Rainbow magazine survey in partnership with KPMG as well as its for children. well-known social investment project, The Monitor m It is the most read paper by the high The Monitor in Uganda is therefore a mixture Bus which mentors the brightest minds in Uganda income earners and therefore the most of news, entertainment and information on various to grow and achieve their dreams. influential in business and purchase subjects. The newspaper blends different aspects decisions of life and provides news and information while at the same time reflects the culture, society and Brand Values m It’s a fun read! (Guess you knew this the entertainment of Ugandans. The Monitor brand The Daily Monitor is committed to the highest already?) is one of the most important and sophisticated journalism standards, customer satisfaction and

38 39