The Competition Commission of South Africa has launched a market inquiry into distributing media content on South Africa's digital platforms and advertising technology. This is a summarised and edited version of Daily Maverick's submission.

1. Daily Maverick's history

Launched in 2009 by a team of five, Daily Maverick set out to continue the essence of Maverick magazine on the web. After securing initial investments from angel investors, the plan was to monetise through online advertising.

Focusing on high-quality, feature-length journalism, Daily Maverick distinguished itself in a landscape still dominated by print media. Without legacy constraints, the publication fully embraced digital, growing its audience through dedicated online publishing and newsletters. This digital-first approach allowed Daily Maverick to navigate the tumultuous first decade, continually reinvesting in its core: the newsroom.

Daily Maverick's "Defend Truth" mission underscores its commitment to empowering South Africans with insightful journalism to enhance public knowledge and democratic participation. Rejecting the conventional paywall model, we adopted voluntary membership to ensure broad access to its content, emphasising the importance of reach for impactful journalism.

Reflecting on 15 years amidst an evolving and contracting news industry, Daily Maverick's journey highlights the relentless challenges and personal sacrifices of sustaining quality journalism. It's a miracle we survived.

The media landscape's digital transformation has intensified competition, signalling a broader industry disruption.

2. Business model choices & competition

In the early days of Daily Maverick, the digital...