Shaping the Future of the Newspaper Blog - Print Data

Trends to watch in 2011

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 15:07:13 -0600

Many news publishing related trends built up speed and began taking hold in 2010, and are worth watching and considering further in 2011.

In no particular order, those trends are:

Coupons and daily deals

Leading the pack in 2010 was Chicago-based Internet coupon service Groupon Inc., which turned down a US$6 billion buyout offer from Google in early December and secured $500 million (of $950 million) at the end of the month.

Publishers around the globe are trying out Groupon-like daily deals as a way to engage readers, and are beginning to see success.

Indiana paper changes delivery time, switches Monday edition for Saturday

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:22:37 -0600

The oldest newspaper in Indiana will begin delivering in the mornings instead of later in the day, and will also close its Monday edition in order to publish on Saturdays instead, The Associated Press reported today.

The changes at the Vincennes Sun-Commercial will begin Dec. 11, and were implemented because readers and advertisers prefer getting their news earlier in the day, as well as having an edition on Saturday, publisher Rob Eilts said.

Survey: Print media easier to read than digital

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:00:36 -0600

Most U.S. adults think printed media is easier to read than its digital equivalent, but they also prefer immediacy that can only be offered by using digital media, a survey by Harris Interactive has found.

"You can exchange a dozen emails in the time it takes to find a stamp for your snail mail, but a handwritten birthday card in your mailbox somehow means more than an identically worded email in your inbox," Nader Alaghband, founder and CEO, of Earthtone, which funded the study, stated in a press release. "Simply put, we choose new, digital media where it adds value and we opt for traditional media when that's what's best for us."

Image: Green Panthers

Study: half of Americans say traditional media could disappear in 10 years

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 07:04:10 -0600

Although two thirds of Americans prefer to get their news from newspapers and TV, 55 percent believe that traditional media "will not longer exist in ten years," according to a Harris poll conducted for 24/7 Wall St. website, Editor & Publisher revealed on Friday.

However, 81 percent said there "will always be" a need for print newspapers despite the decline of traditional print outlets. Yet, 46 percent get their news from local TV networks while only 31 percent turns their attention towards local dailies, the survey showed.

Photo: Getty Images via The Independent

Spanish newspapers have reduced staff by 39 percent since 2003

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:54:17 -0600

The four largest newspapers in Spain--El País, El Mundo, ABC and La Razón-- eliminated 906 work positions between 2003 and 2009, PRNoticias reported yesterday. These layoffs represent 39 percent of the 2,325 staff members the dailies had seven years ago.

El Pais, which continues to be the largest employer, has reduced its payroll by 43 percent from 891 employees to 507. According to PRNoticias, the reduction does not mean that all the jobs have been lost because the Prisa Group transferred some of the newspaper's divisions to other parts of the company.

Study: Canadian readership stays strong

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 15:47:26 -0600

Dailies still remain a "vital source of news, information and entertainment for consumers in seven of Canada's largest and most competitive markets," according to the latest NADbank Readership Study, released by Newspaper Audience Databank, principal research arm of the Canadian daily newspaper industry.

The study, conducted from fall 2009 to spring 2010 in markets including million-plus markets, such as Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Ottawa-Gatineau, Calgary, Edmonton, as well as Halifax, found that readership of daily papers, either print editions or web sites, remain stable in all these markets, Editor & Publisher reported.

Spanish newspaper market shrinks 14.1 percent

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 12:31:49 -0600

As publishers struggle to create new business models, Spanish newspapers saw their revenue go down in 2009 to €2.048 million, 14.1 percent less than the €2.357 million gained in 2008, according to 2010 Digital Content Industry Report published by Asimelec, PRNoticias.com revealed today.

The highest decline was reported on ad revenue, which declined 24 percent from €1.112 million to €834 million. Although newspaper sales went down by 5.6 percent, the loss was offset by an increase in the cover price, the report explained. However, an increase of 4.2 percent in online advertising generated revenues of €297.7 million.

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.