Feature
codes that you can scan with your iPhone camera or Android
app if you want more information – not unlike interactive
packaging. So, print is being used to drive eyeballs to thestar.
com website. And it works, although newspapers don't make
as much money from digital ads as they do from print ads. I
mean, how could anyone resist headlines like: “Novelist who
wrote How to Murder Your Husband charged with murdering
her husband” or “Boy survives after meat skewer pierces
skull.” Now that’s what I call good, old-fashioned
journalism!
But newspapers are employing other interesting strategies.
One of the most contentious is whether to set up a pay wall
(i.e. charge for content). Whether it’s a subscription-based
model or a pay-per-article model, the key is how to create
value for readers that they’re willing to pay for. One idea is
to generate sites or mini-sites where readers only pay for
content covering specific areas of interest – such as sports,
medicine, politics, etc. Some papers require readers to pur-
chase a paid subscription before accessing any online content,
while others have established ‘metered access’ models (i.e.:
first 10 articles free, then readers are asked to pay).
Going niche can also work, as readers are finding value in
the specific subjects or areas they find most interesting, or
that impact them personally. The idea of printed, sectioned
news stuffed into one physical newspaper seems to be less
valuable, especially to today’s younger readers. I grew up on
flipping through printed newspapers, but I’m a stubborn
70-year-old. For me, reading news from a computer screen
after working in front of one for six hours, is simply too
exhausting. That being said, newspapers and news outlets
need to concentrate on what they do best and report on that.
Think politico.com, TSN, or The Food Network.
Integrating real-time reporting with social media platforms is
another option for newspaper websites. For example, break-
ing news stories are usually huge traffic generators. But today,
when news breaks, it often happens first on Twitter. Some
newspapers have integrated Twitter into their websites or
news operations, being very careful to avoid repeating con-
tent that’s already in a story.
Investing in mobile e-readers or smartphones is another
strategy. In fact, news organizations are becoming the fastest
growing iPhone app category. One strategy is for news organ-
izations to partner with carriers to automatically include their
news app on these phones.
Adding more community news is another option. In Canada,
community newspaper readership remains strong. Three
quarters of Canadians (73%) in non-urban centres read a
community newspaper. This steady readership suggests that
community newspapers continue to remain relevant to local
residents for news, information and advertising.
Diversifying digital ads is another possibility. Most news-
papers sell classified or display (banner) ads online. Yet only
40% of newspapers are devoting significant efforts to selling
30 | October 2018 | GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE
smart or targeted advertising – the category widely predicted
to eventually dominate local markets.
It’s a given that reader feedback is important. But it surprised
me that many newspapers still either don’t have this feature
on their websites or have various rules as to which stories
allow comments and which don’t. Ok, in many cases it’s
because the comments are vulgar, but rules for feedback
should be clearly spelled out. “The one thing most likely to
make the public value newspapers, is for newspapers to value
the public,” one expert said.
The bottom line
A profound shift in the newspaper business model, evolving
for years, has arrived. Global newspaper circulation revenues
are larger than newspaper advertising revenues for the first
time this century, according to the World Association of News-
papers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). And newspaper
ad revenues are falling nearly everywhere globally, despite
circulation revenues remaining relatively stable. A recent
WAN-IFRA study summed it up best: “Print used to be one of
few traditional marketing channels and the logical branding
choice for marketers. This direct relationship of mutual
dependence no longer exists. Advertisers now have more
than 60 different advertising media channels available to
them.”
The really ugly news
I have a shocking revela-
tion! In every study I’ve
seen as far back as the
1950s (and having worked
as a writer in the Communi-
cations Department of the
Toronto Star from 1969-
1989), people read
newspapers primarily to
keep them abreast of the
news. The balance read
them for the advertising
information. What they do
NOT read newspapers for,
is a reporter’s personal opinions – which in those days was
strictly reserved for the editorial pages and a few fact-based
columnists. That’s all changed now, as many news outlets
have abandoned their principles and become blind mouth-
pieces for left-wing or right-wing opinions or politics. This
represents one of the worst traits of our species – tribalism!
And it’s absolutely destroying the faith that readers have in
objective reporting. For more, see my column on page 8.
Global newspaper
circulation revenues
are larger than
newspaper advertising
revenues for the first
time this century
Tony Curcio
Editor, Graphic Arts Magazine
[email protected]
graphicartsmag.com