ETHIOPIA: Newspaper vendors in Addis Ababa are doing a brisk business renting out papers to readers who would rather not buy them

Record ID: 601746

  • Title: ETHIOPIA: Newspaper vendors in Addis Ababa are doing a brisk business renting out papers to readers who would rather not buy them
  • Date: 19th April 2011
  • Summary: COMPUTER SCREEN
  • Embargoed: 4th May 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ethiopia, Ethiopia
  • Country: Ethiopia
  • Topics: Communications,Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA80X3I0S88TIOKCJJYQCIKVT60
  • Story Text: Early morning in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa and residents are scrambling to get the news of the day.
    The norm at busy newspaper stands around the capita is to rent rather than buy.
    Vendors rent out various newspapers and magazines at a cost of about 1 birr (0.06 US dollars) for no more than one hour.
    And the demand is high -- buying one newspaper costs anywhere from 30-50 US cents.
    Buyers say it is cheaper to rent a number of newspapers at a time, read them and give them back, while the sellers say they are also making higher profits than they would by making a one off sale.
    Newspaper vendors like Daniel Tesfaye buy their stock from printers at a subsidized fee. He says that after renting out his stock to several readers, he still manages to make more money by selling the same papers to people who are willing to buy them at a lower price.
    "I rent most of my newspapers but I also sell some of them. However, I prefer to rent them instead. I could just sell them and go home but I get much better benefits when I rent them. I can rent a single paper to three, four, five or more people as long as there is a demand. After renting the paper to many people it is still profitable to sell for less value than its original price at any time," said Daniel Tesfaye, a newspaper vendor.
    Renting newspapers is a practice that started out with cash-strapped university students who wanted to stay informed.
    The students would browse through the headlines and give the vendors a tip.
    Haymanot Asmamaw a university student, said renting gives him the opportunity to read as many papers as he can.
    "Anyone interested can rent and read different newspapers for as long as he likes and only pay 50 cents or 1 birr and get a lot of information. This benefits not only the readers, it also benefits the newspaper vendors. They can rent a single paper to different people and earn a better income to support themselves and their families," he said.
    Only a handful of local newspapers and local magazines circulate in Ethiopia, with a total weekly circulation that barely equals that of neighbours like Kenya, whose main paper, the Daily Nation has a 50,000 daily print run.
    Fortune, reportedly the leading English weekly in Ethiopia, publishes 7,000 copies a week at most.
    Ethiopia's government has a tight grip on the media -- press freedom organization, Reporters Without Borders raised concerns in the run up to elections last year that there was harassment and intimidation of independent journalists critical of Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi.
    Even professionals who might afford to buy a newspaper say renting gives them an opportunity to enjoy a variety of views at a low price.
    "I look at this situation in a positive way. Here you can find any newspaper. In addition to that you'll get the chance to read a newspaper you like by paying 50 cents. Otherwise, if I was going to buy every newspaper I want to read, I would be expected to pay from 3 to 5 birr for each paper. Therefore, instead of buying every paper, you'll get the chance to read as many papers as you like for 1 or 2 birr," said Messay Addis, a laboratory technician.
    The new trend has newsmakers rethinking their business strategy.
    Melaku Demissie, Chief Editor of Reporter Newspaper, an Amharic biweekly issue says they plan to cut down on printing costs by publishing online and maximizing on advertising revenues instead.
    "As much as possible, we are planning to go online instead of depending on paper because the new generation is becoming more digital. Therefore, paper based news and its related problems will soon become history," said Demissie.
    But Ethiopia has one of the lowest levels of internet access in Africa and efforts to reach the country's largely rural population are slow mainly because the telecommunications market is closed to private investors, leaving the government as the sole internet provider.
    In the meantime, Tesfaye and other newspaper vendors in Ethiopia are happy to be taking home some extra money.
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