City Press (South Africa)

The newspaper was established in 1982 as the Golden City Press by James R. A. Bailey and the South African Associated Newspapers (SAAN) group. The following year, "Golden" was dropped from the newspaper's name. SAAN later withdrew from its partnership with Bailey and the newspaper ran into financial difficulties.^{[citation needed]}

Nasionale Pers took over the publication of the newspaper as well as its sister publications, Drum and True Love & Family, on 1 April 1984.^[2]

In June 2024, Moneyweb reported the newspaper would cease print in October.^[2] Media24 declined to comment.^[3] 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.^[4]

In February 2026, it was announced that Media24 would be closing City Press.^[1]

City Press runs a daily morning newsletter called On a Point of Order, a play on the South African Parliament scene, which frequently sees members of Parliament rising "on a point of order" to protest against something that somebody has said.

The publication's other newsletters include:

• Football Fever, a thrice weekly curation of news and analysis on the beautiful game;
• Sundays With City Press, which features all the highlights of the print edition; and
• #Trending – The Good Guide, a guide to all the latest culture, entertainment and tech news.

The editor in chief of the City Press news brand is Mondli Makhanya. He has been at the helm of the news brand since 1 August 2016.^[5] Prior to Makhanya, the news brand was edited by Ferial Haffajee, who joined City Press on 1 July 2009.^[6]

It counts among its ranks of former editors Khathu Mamaila,^[7] Mathatha Tsedu and Len Kalane, who wrote a book about his experiences as editor of City Press, entitled The Chapter We Wrote: The City Press Story.^[8]

The newspaper is distributed nationally and in neighbouring countries, including Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland. It has a readership of about 2.5 million (source: AMPS 2001A).^{[citation needed]}