a triple whammy of slumping advertising
revenues, soaring newsprint costs, and
competition from the internet; leaving
newspaper executives struggling to contain
their own inferno.’ Covid has exacerbated
the situation by further reducing copy
sales and advertising revenue.
Carole Mandi, Editor of True Love
magazine wrote; ‘Covid has affected our
ability to distribute our magazines due
primarily to lockdowns which have a real
impact on physically moving the magazine.
Copy sales had been further damped by
reduced household incomes which mean
that spending is around essentials such
as food and medicine, not magazines. To
add salt to the wound, the fact that the
sales person cannot meet their potential
advertisers has meant selling on phone
or Zoom’. She says about this ‘there’s a
missing rapport, body language, alertness
that all contribute to closing the sale’
That print media which earns revenue
from copy sales and advertising, unlike
electronic whose only source of revenue is
advertising, could be witnessing such a fall
in fortunes is almost ironical.
I’ve come to realize that how the world
works at any given time can be explained
from a historical perspective. Therefore,
the lower consumption of print by
the young generation stems from the
difference between the world they are
growing in today far removed from that
one their parents did. Growing up in the
’70s, 80’, and early ’90s, were the golden
years for print industry especially in
Kenya. Newspapers and magazines were
doing well enjoying growing readership,
copy sales, and advertising revenue. The
main reason was that the electronic media
space, more so radio, was largely controlled
by Government. There was only one TV
and radio station, KBC. There were few
entertaining programmes for young people
and the broadcast hours were limited.
Today, this may look like a boring life but
it had unintended consequences. It gave us
more time to play and read beyond school
books. For a number, there was a daily
newspaper bought by the parents, or in the
school library or when we started working,
in office. This cultivated a newspapers and
magazine reading culture and as old habits
die hard some of us continue to this day.
The other reason print media did well is it
was the only one that one could read hard
hitting truthful and critical news. Radio
and TV were state controlled and to them
all was sunny and rosy.
Today’s world is different, and the youth
who should ideally be taking over the
mantle of buying and reading papers
and magazines, have other more exciting
and relevant sources of information and
entertainment. This generational gap with
its different values, needs, and consumption
habits has adversely affected newspaper
consumption the world over.
Indeed this is one of the challenges
the aforementioned webinar identified.
Attracting and retaining young audiences
is a big challenge for traditional media.
This audience has an array of choices from
the Internet, such as TikTok, YouTube,
Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Netflix and
Amazon Kindle. They are characterized by
a short attention span and not interested
in reading long analytical articles (like this
one!). The internet has liberated them and
given them power to choose and curate and
share their stories, conveniently, quickly
and cheaply.
Sammy Thuo, Media Director at Saracen,
said that audiences are moving away
from ‘appointment viewing or listening’
referring to fixed programming. They now
want to watch or listen on demand hence
the growing popularity of digital media.
He referred to it as ‘what I want when I
want.’ I would describe this as the pull of
immediacy or allure of instant gratification.
With their limited time and wondering
minds they are more interested in width
rather than depth. Moving quickly from
one story or tweet, to the next they have
no time or appetite for long in-depth
articles, unless it is school work. Moreover
their interests are different and may not be
found in the traditional media of today.
Another reason print media is finding
itself in such a dire position is historical.
For a long time they ruled the roost,
commanding huge audiences and the
largest chunk of the advertising budget. To
their credit they invested in what it took
to be successful. More importantly they
had no viable competition especially for
advertising revenue. KBC was Government
funded and didn’t have an advertising sales
strategy or an aggressive commercial team.
In effect, the two large newspapers were
each other’s competition, like a forest with
only lions. All they have to worry about are
other prides of lions never the leopard or
the cheetah. The result was a newspaper
industry that did not know how to compete,
was rigid, slow, and reluctant to innovate.
Edward Roussel wrote, ‘newspapers still
tend to define themselves by their paper
rather than their news. By doing so, they
make a critical error at a time when readers
and advertisers alike are going cold on paper
and turning their attention increasingly to
Web media’, and to electronic media in the
case of Kenya I may add. Even when the
political space opened and getting a radio
license became easier, the launch of radio
stations did not look like a threat in any
way, especially the vernacular ones. And so,
in the short run, these new stations, who
were still learning the ropes, did not pose a
threat to the print media. They continued
commanding the lion’s share of the total
advertising revenue.
But it was just a matter of time before
the new kids on the block put their ducks
in a row. Today they control the highest
percentage of spend, especially radio,
given its high reach (translating to cost
efficiency), relevant content, creativity,
and flexibility. The stations developed hard
skin quickly having had to compete from
the word go. They had to fight for licences
and frequencies, search and nurture talent
which was in short supply, put together
advertising and production teams. Like
a lioness with many cubs born during a
drought, they learned the art of survival
from day one.
The large print media companies did
eventually launch their own radio stations.
But those have had mixed fortunes with
constant re-launching and some even
throwing in the towel. They realized as time
went on, ‘kwa ground vitu ni different.’
The same can be said about those that first
launched electronic media then ventured
into newspapers. Their newspapers have
not had the same commercial success as
their electronic media. May be they should
‘stick to their lane’ and focus on what they
do best, especially today.
Even though traditional electronic media
is doing much better than print, in terms
of audiences and share of advertising
budget, they must not release their foot
from the pedal. DSTV, GOTV, Star TV,
and the Internet, are growing and gaining
a foothold and encroaching on their turf.
Digital in particular is catching the eye of
advertisers. As Sammy Thuo informed me,
for some products, especially now during
Covid, digital is the primary media, with
mainstream media being the support, a
reversal of roles. Advertising on digital has
the advantages of pinpoint targeting hence
cost-efficiency as rates are low (for now),
and flexibility. It is also ideal for “direct
response” campaigns - those encouraging
quick purchases by consumers. Thus
an advertiser has the dual advantage of
creating awareness and purchase at the
same time. Another reason for concern is
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