Shaping the Future of the Newspaper Blog - Print Data

Australian publishers pressured to reveal daily figures

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:15:24 -0600

After media buyers and advertisers said they did not want rolling averages of circulation data each month, newspaper publishers are now being pressured by the Media Federation of Australia (MFA) to disclose individual weekday sales figures, The Australian reported today.

Currently, newspaper publishers release data each quarter. Publishers had put forth a plan in which they would release two audited bi-yearly statements, in addition to 13-week average sales figures that would be released each month. This alternative proposal, among others issued by publishers "do not address key concerns raised by our members," which include top media buying agencies, the MFA stated in a letter to the country's four largest publishers.

Poll: 25% of Americans trust print news

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 09:06:11 -0600

Americans' confidence in newspapers remains low, as only a quarter of the population says it trusts the press, a Gallup poll revealed on Friday.

Yet the greatest confidence (49 percent) comes from people between 18 and 29 years old, "the same demographic often blamed for the precipitous decline in U.S. dailies' subscription rates," Agence France Press pointed out. Nonetheless, the newspaper industry is not the only media field experiencing low confidence. According to the poll, 78 percent distrust television news.

Analyst: Fairfax should axe two print papers

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 16:43:22 -0600

An analyst for a big Australian-based investment bank suggested that Fairfax Media Ltd. could gain its earnings by shutting down the print editions of The Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne's The Age and focusing on e-readers and online, The National Business Review reported.

According to the report from Macquarie, Australia's biggest investment bank, dropping print editions and delivering content via e-readers could "boost earnings from the two papers to A$55 million - $5 million more than the bank's 2010 forecast, the Australian reported.

U.S. Q2 newspaper sales: "Less bad but not good"

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:31:38 -0600

Ad sales for most newspaper publishers in U.S. were less bad in the second quarter of this year, compared to the previous quarter.

However, "less bad is not the same as good," according to the Business Insider, which pointed out that the outlook for the rest of the year is "decidedly murky".

Report: Newspapers growing digital readership & revenue streams; those in developed nations most vulnerable to market threats

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:52:06 -0600

Newspapers in developed nations are generally facing steeper declines in advertising revenues, titles and circulations than their counterparts in more developing countries, a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development shows.

The Paris-based think tank said overall, however, the industry is finding new sources of revenue, while publishers in developing countries are continuing to grow their readership numbers, Canwest News service reported today. The report, "The Future of News and the Internet," examines the news business in 31 OECD member countries.

Chart: OECD (click on chart to enlarge)

Moody's: Newspaper revenues stabilise, for now

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 16:32:40 -0600

"Revenues set to stabilise in 2010-11, but long-term outlook is still negative," the title of the latest forecast for the U.S. newspaper industry released by Moody's Investor Services pointed out a "very cautiously optimistic forecast," Media Post reported.

According to the report, newspaper ad revenues will drop another 10 percent to 15 percent this year, but "may" finally bounce back in 2011, as the forecast for next year is ambiguous, ranging from another 3 percent decline to a 2 percent growth.

Mail Online tops 40 million monthly unique users

Mon, 31 May 2010 11:27:26 -0600

According to the latest data released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations Electronic, Mail Online stayed on the top as the most visited UK newspaper Web site in April, Media Guardian reported.

Associated Newspapers' Web site network had more than 2.3 million combined average daily browsers in April, up 5.33 percent month-over-month and 74.5 percent year-over-year.

U.S. newspaper Web sites drawing record high traffic

Tue, 25 May 2010 16:03:53 -0600

U.S. newspaper sites continue to see increases Web traffic, according to the latest comScore figures released by the Newspaper National Network. Online newspaper operations in the top 25 media markets drew 83.7 million unique visitors in April 2010, up 10 percent from March, 12 percent from February, and 15 percent from January, Media Post reported.

Total page views in April reached more than two billion, compared to 1.6 billion page views in January.

Australian newspaper sales down in Q1

Fri, 14 May 2010 15:09:32 -0600

Australian newspaper circulations in Q1 continued to go down due to lack of news, declining consumer spending and tight marketing budgets, according to the latest data from the the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the Australian Financial Review reported.

National and metropolitan titles have the circulation down by an average of 3 percent year-over-year, Media Guardian reported.

Sun-Times' Tyree: Print newspapers will survive for 10 years

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:44:07 -0600

Printed newspapers will probably survive a decade before digital news completely substitutes for it, according to James Tyree, chief executive of investment firm Mesirow Financial Inc., who also led the October buyout of the Chicago Sun-Times' publisher, Bloomberg reported.

"Newspapers have got a good strong 10 years. By then you'll have to evolve into something else - maybe five years evolve into something else - or you'll just be out of business," said Tyree in an interview in Chicago last week.

Virginia paper outsources page production to Chicago Tribune

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:41:44 -0600

As a part of the Tribune Co.'s efforts to reduce costs and direct resources to focus on local coverage, the Daily Press of Newport News, Virginia will outsource page design, formatting and editing pages to the company's flagship paper, the Chicago Tribune. This announcement came to the staff at both the newspapers on Monday, the Tribune reported.

The transfer of responsibilities from the Daily Press suggests elimination of copy editors and designers, Hampton Roads reported. The newsroom staff will likely be reduced by 15 percent, Digby Solomon, president and chief executive of the Daily Press, told the Tribune.

3D newspaper published in Belgium

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:40:03 -0600

Belgium's La Derniere Heure released an edition Tuesday in which all photos and advertisements are in 3D, and readers are given cardboard 3D glasses with every copy, ABC News reported today. Text is not three-dimensional.

It took two months to create the 3D edition, which had a print run of 115,000, higher than usual. Editor Hubert Leclercq told ABC News that the paper was following the trend of the recent rise in popularity of 3D films, television and video games.

News International ads showcase power of print

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:58:07 -0600

News International Commercial has launched outdoor and print advertisements that aim to show the power of newspapers and magazines, MediaWeek.co.uk reported today.

The ads are based on research from Microsoft Advertising, which in December stated that for large retailers, print advertising is more effective than online ads, and more than twice as effective as television ads. Each £1 spent on print ads garner £5 in revenue, while TV and Internet ads bring in £2.15 and £3.44, respectively.

Chicago Tribune, LA Times cut print size

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:55:12 -0600

To save on print production costs and to streamline operations, Tribune Co. papers the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune are rolling out changes this week and next. The LA Times today launched LATExtra, a new section that includes local and California coverage, as well as late-breaking news. It has also trimmed an inch off its print version, and is now 11 inches wide, LA Times Blogs reported today.

The Chicago Tribune, meanwhile, will also trim an inch from the width of its newspaper beginning Monday, according to MediaPost.

Sarkozy gives French youth free subscriptions

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:27:12 -0600

As part of a €600 million aid package, the French government is buying newspaper subscriptions for young readers, the Christian Science Monitor reported today.

Readers between ages 18 and 24 will receive a one-year subscription to the paper of their choice as part of the bailout. The offer is open to the first 200,000 who sign up for "Mon Journal Offer," and they can choose from 60 newspapers.