Less than a week after rumours began circulating about the potential closure of four print publications at Media24, the company has confirmed that about 800 jobs will be directly affected.

Citing changes in media consumption with a marked move towards online publications, managing director Ishmet Davidson said structural declines in circulation and advertising for decades, combined with rising fixed distribution costs, had a devastating impact on print operations.

"As a result, our titles in the northern region have been on life support for a while. Combined losses are projected to mount to R200-million over the next three years. After years of cutbacks, we've reached the end of cost reductions to try save these print operations. We've simply run out of options," he said.

Media24 is set to start a consultation process with affected staff, to be completed over the next three months, with 30 September earmarked as the last day of publication for the affected newspapers.

"We anticipate that the proposed restructure could result in at least 400 job losses, with 400 more positions transferring to Novus Holdings with the sale and some roles possibly needed beyond 30 September," Davidson said. "We also intend reducing our corporate and support services and operational costs in line with the changes made in our business."

"We are fully committed to managing this highly sensitive consultation with compassion while following the processes prescribed by...