The Razor newspaper launches in Uganda

Competition for readership in Uganda's print media industry is set to intensify following the launch of The Razor, a new tabloid newspaper in the country.

The 32-page newspaper was unveiled on Monday, 10 January 2011 by Razorcom Media, with the first issue focusing on "extortion" in the Uganda police force and other the security organs.

Responsible tabloid

In its inaugural editorial, Robert Mukasa, managing editor of The Razor and former news editor at the Daily Monitor, said the tabloid will serve its readership with a blend of cutting edge municipal, metropolitan, business, political and personal stories.

"We aim to prove to be a responsible tabloid newspaper at the cutting edge of the news."

"If you slice beneath the surface of any story what you will find is the human interest angle, the story behind the story. And that is what we are going to give you our readers," Mukasa said.

The managing editor is deputised by Richard Oundo, news editor and Edward Ojulu, deputy managing editor business, with support from a team of experienced journalists who have been poached from other media houses.

Uganda's newspapers

It becomes the 14th newspaper to hit the newsstands in recent times. Other newspapers in the country include; The New Vision, Daily Monitor, The Observer, Bukedde, Rupinyi, East African, East African Business Week, Etop, Orumuri, Red Pepper, Onion, The Movement Times, East African, The Sunrise, and Rolling Stone. But The New Vision, a public-private newspaper, and the Daily Monitor, which is owned by the Nation Media Group, control the largest market share of the newspaper industry.

In total, the newspapers have a readership of less than 100,000 per day according to a report by the Public Broadcasting in Africa Series - Uganda. The report says more than 80% of Uganda's 32 million people rely on radio for news and information. Mainstream media is however facing stiff competition from new media and electronic media as readers make a switch to digital platforms. Educated and technology savvy Ugandans are beginning to heavily rely on the internet and mobile phones to get information on new developments.

Competition

The Razor will largely compete with the Red Pepper, Onion and Rolling Stone which offer tabloid news to Uganda readers. To make a difference, it has pledged to deliver "a fair and balanced" product to the market.
"We will also not shy away from saying sorry when in error, giving credit where it's due and providing positive criticism where we deem necessary," the tabloid says.