The Daily Sun is a tabloid daily newspaper in South Africa.[1] It has a circulation of more than 28,006 copies making it the second largest daily newspaper in the country to the Sunday Times in terms of largest circulation among all papers.[2]
The newspaper is based in Randburg, Johannesburg, but is printed countrywide. It targets readers in and around the major urban centres. These readers are predominantly black, English-literate with high-school or further education, and working-class earners – the economic core of South Africa.[3]
In addition to its print publication, the Daily Sun has also transitioned to digital, with a monthly pageview count of 4.7 million and an active user base of 3 million in 2023.
History
The Daily Sun was launched on 1 July 2002 by Media24, a division of the Naspers group. It was the brainchild of veteran journalist, Deon du Plessis, who remained its publisher and minority shareholder until 11 September 2011, when he died suddenly at his Johannesburg home.[4] The newspaper has been overseen by editor Amos Mananyetso since 2022.[5]
In June 2024, Moneyweb reported the newspaper would cease print in October.[6] Media24 declined to comment.[7] A month later Media24 announced it will suspend the planned closure until the Competition Commission approves of its plan to sell newspaper distribution company On-The-Dot to Novus, which was the reason behind the paper's planned shuttering.[8]