True Love magazine is facing an uncertain future, that the January 2027 issue is expected to be its final edition before the magazine closes.
Asource close to the publication telling Buzz Life News claims that more than 180 employees have been issued retrenchment letters as part of the process.
“The staff have been informed that the January 2027 edition is expected to be the final issue of True Love. More than 180 retrenchment letters have been issued, and there is a great deal of uncertainty among employees about what happens next. This is not simply a restructuring of a department – it affects the future of a publication that has been part of South African media for more than five decades,”the source revealed.
Media24 has not publicly announced the closure of True Love, and the company continues to list the title among its magazine brands. Its online shop has also continued to sell True Love editions during 2026.
The reported closure would bring an end to one of South Africa’s longest-running magazines aimed at Black women.
A publication dating back to 1972
True Love was launched in South Africa in 1972 and has spent more than five decades covering fashion, beauty, relationships, careers, entertainment, health, lifestyle and issues affecting Black women.
Academic research on the publication records its launch in 1972 and describes it as a significant publication in the history of South African women’s magazines.
The magazine became part of the portfolio of Drum Publications, which also included Drum and City Press (now discontinued). In 1984, Nasionale Pers acquired Drum Publications, bringing True Love and its sister titles into what would later become the Media24 stable.
The title was known for its focus on Black South African women and became an important platform for fashion, beauty and popular culture.
The Khanyisile Dhlomo era
One of the most significant moments in True Love’s history came in the 1990s when Khanyisile Dhlomo-Mkhize became editor.
Academic research records a major relaunch of True Love in 1995 under Dhlomo-Mkhize. She was only 22 when she became editor, and later accounts of her career have credited the relaunch with helping transform the magazine and increase its circulation.
The relaunch helped establish True Love as a major publication for an increasingly influential Black female readership during the transition into post-apartheid South Africa.
By 2012, the magazine was celebrating its 40th anniversary, with Media Update describing it as a publication that had been resonating with South African women for four decades.
It celebrated 50 years in 2022, marking five decades of publishing.
It survived the 2020 print crisis
True Love came close to another major disruption in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic triggered a sweeping restructuring of Media24’s print operations.
At the time, Media24 announced that it was considering closing five magazines and two newspapers, while outsourcing editorial production and reducing the frequency of several remaining titles. True Love was among the magazines affected by the proposed changes.
Media24 said the pandemic had accelerated an existing structural decline in print media.
Then CEO Ishmet Davidson said the company had experienced significant declines in circulation and advertising and that, for some print titles, previous measures to counter the decline were no longer sufficient.
“Even with a return to pre-Covid-19 economic levels, the impact of the pandemic on our print media operations will be unrecoverable,” Davidson said at the time.
He added that Media24 had “no choice but to restructure our business” in order to limit losses and keep the remaining titles sustainable for as long as possible.
True Love survived that restructuring.
In November 2020, Media24 confirmed that the publication was continuing.
The magazine therefore did not permanently close in 2020, although its distribution and print operations were disrupted during the pandemic. Reports at the time said Media24 stopped distribution of titles including Drum, and Move because of the Covid-19 crisis however continued True Love.
Another round of Media24 job cuts
The reported True Love retrenchments come against the backdrop of another major restructuring at Media24.
In July 2026, Media24 announced consultations on what it called a “new editorial operating model” for its media division.
Outgoing CEO Raj Lalbahadur said the consultations were intended to create a new operating model, particularly for editorial management. Media24 said the restructuring was part of its longer-term effort to strengthen its digital focus.
The process has already generated concern among employees and unions.
In August, Solidarity said another 19 positions in Media24’s business news editorial operation were under threat. The union said the number came in addition to previously disclosed positions in sports and lifestyle editorial teams.
Earlier this year, Media24 also closed City Press after more than four decades. The company began consultations with staff in February 2026 over the closure of the newsroom. The South African National Editors’ Forum said the closure ultimately resulted in the loss of 19 editorial jobs.
The company had already undergone major restructuring in 2024, including plans affecting several print titles as it moved further towards a digital model.
In announcing those changes, Media24 said it was continuously reviewing its operations to protect viability and long-term sustainability as it transitioned towards an increasingly digital media landscape.
The wider media jobs crisis
The reported True Love cuts are also part of a much broader crisis facing South Africa’s traditional media industry.
In August 2026, eNCA began a Section 189 consultation process that could affect 171 employees. The proposed cuts cover more than half of the broadcaster’s 309-strong workforce and form part of a move towards a digital-first newsroom.
eNCA has stressed that the 171 positions were at risk and that final decisions had not been made. The broadcaster said employees would be consulted on possible retrenchments, restructuring and selection criteria.
Media24 is not alone in facing restructuring. Business Day reported in August that companies including Media24, Daily Maverick, Independent Media, Primedia and Arena Holdings had gone through retrenchment processes in recent years as traditional media businesses grappled with declining advertising revenue and structural changes in the industry.
Independent Media has also gone through several rounds of retrenchments, while the Mail & Guardian faced Section 189 notices in 2025. The South African National Editors’ Forum raised concerns about the impact of the job losses on journalism and the country’s media environment.
A changing media business
The pressure on magazines has been building for years.
Research into South Africa’s magazine industry has documented a sharp decline in print sales, with monthly magazine sales falling from about 13.5 million copies at the beginning of 2016 to fewer than 10 million two years later.
The shift of advertising and audiences to digital platforms has placed additional pressure on traditional publishers, while the cost of producing and distributing print publications has remained high.
Media24 itself has described the decline of print as structural rather than temporary. In 2020, Davidson said the company had been dealing with the long-term decline of print even before Covid-19 accelerated the crisis.
If the source’s information is confirmed, the reported January 2027 final issue would mark another major moment in that transformation.
For more than 50 years, True Love has survived changes in ownership, editorial direction, technology, audience behaviour and the economics of publishing.
The reported decision to close would therefore not simply mark the end of another magazine. It would mark the possible end of one of South Africa’s most recognisable media brands created specifically around the lives and interests of Black women.
