South Africa, Nov. 13 -- Yet, the global transition to digital platforms has severely undermined traditional revenue models and has eroded the financial positions of news media.

In South Africa, declining advertising income and the limited ability of audiences to pay for subscriptions have led to shrinking newsrooms, closed bureaus, and constrained reporting capacity.

Meanwhile, digital platforms exacerbate these pressures by capturing audiences and monetisation opportunities that traditionally sustained news outlets.

The Inquiry found that major global platforms (Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok, X and AI companies such as OpenAI) dominate key gateways through which South Africans access information, namely search, social media, and AI...