Nation Media Group (NMG) has stopped publishing Sunday Monitor in Uganda, marking the end of the journey of one of the most favourite news editions for many of its readers. The edition was rich in news features, opinion columnists, and political analysis.
Today’s edition was the last; the media conglomerate announced on its social media platforms yesterday.
The Sunday edition was started in 1995, three years after the Daily Monitor was founded.
While NMG did not give reasons for the shutdown, it is believed that the edition has been limping for years, and it had become economically unsustainable to print it.
At its height in the early 2000s, sources said Sunday Monitor sold as high as 35,000 copies. Currently, it sells less than 5,000 copies, according to impeccable sources at the Namuwongo-based newspaper.
Its closure is further evidence that Uganda’s once-thriving print media industry faces a slow, painful decline, partly because many younger readers have migrated to digital platforms such as X and TikTok for instant news updates.
To make matters worse, shrinking advertising revenues, high printing costs, and the harsh economic realities have squeezed newspaper circulation in Uganda and globally.
We have been told that NMG will starting March 7, consolidate its Friday and Sunday editions into one paper to be called Weekend Monitor.
This was the path taken by its local competitor, The New Vision, which stopped printing its Sunday edition in 2024 due to financial reasons. Vision Group came up with the Weekend Vision, which combines Saturday and Sunday.
Sources said 2025 was a bad year for Monitor Publications Limited, financially, and management, for a moment, considered laying off staff this year.
However, during a recent Heads of Departments (HODs) meeting, management informed panicky staff that they will not sack anybody for now, sources said.
