Although many scholars identify the first newspaper in South Africa as The Cape Town Gazette and African Advertiser / Kaapsche Stads Courant en Afrikaansche Berighter (1800), it often does not receive in-depth or prolonged attention. In this article various reasons are suggested as part of a critical review of the historiography of the first newspaper, from (contemporary) critics of the early nineteenth century to latter-day seminal historians. The selected contributions are discussed as a first step to revisit the role and legacy of the newspaper. In the process the article identifies gaps in the field of research and suggests avenues and approaches for further research.

尽管许多学者认为南非第一份报纸是《开普敦公报》和《非洲广告商》/Kaapsche Stads Courant en Afrikaansche Berighter (1800)，但它往往没有受到深入或长期的关注。在这篇文章中，作为对第一份报纸的史学的批判性评论的一部分，从十九世纪初的（当代）批评家到当今的重要历史学家，提出了各种原因。讨论选定的贡献是重新审视报纸的作用和遗产的第一步。在此过程中，文章确定了研究领域的差距，并提出了进一步研究的途径和方法。