Associated Media Publishing (AMP) - one of South Africa’s most powerful independent media houses - will be closing shop permanently. AMP chief executive Julia Raphaely has on Thursday announced the company will cease trading and publishing its magazines - includingCosmopolitan,House & LeisureandWomen on Wheelsfrom 1 May 2020.
The company was launched in 1982 by Jane Raphaely, a pioneering woman in the media industry, and in 2010, her daughter Julia took over the company to try and adjust to the changing times where print has begun losing its charm with readers who prefer to find their content online and without paying for it.
"The unexpected and devastating impact of Covid-19, causing the closure of printing and distribution channels, the global halt on advertising spend as well as the inability to host events for the foreseeable future, have made it impossible to continue trading, despite large amounts of personal funds having gone into AMP," the company said through a statement on Thursday.