How to save the French newspaper industry from its blues

"France’s press looks like a ‘sleeping beauty’ on the European scale, and would have much to gain by following its neighbors’ example. The following are four plans of action, which, carried out accordingly, could wake the sleeping beauty.

1) With the add-on of a Sunday supplement, 1 + 1 = 3
In England, The Times loses money, but the Sunday Times makes a lot. The combination of both is beneficial: because of their editorial quality and because of their profitability. For their owner, Rupert Murdoch, it’s 1 + 1 = 3 ! In the same way, El Pais and La Republica sell twice as many copies on week-ends with almost four times more ad space. In other words, our European neighbors have been aware for over 20 years that a daily newspaper can’t survive without its Sunday edition. Yet, since Robert Hersant and the Figaro Magazine, there have been no serious attempts to implant a Sunday supplement in France.
 
2) Tomorrow’s daily newspaper at 50 cents
The French daily newspaper (€1.20 - €1.30) has become elitist, as a result of 20 years of a downward spiral: fewer readers, fewer advertisers, which in turn forces a higher cost onto the newspaper. It’s a choice between a sudden or a slow withering death… In fact, the only national daily to resist is Aujourd’hui en France (the Parisien’s national edition), which should soon surpass Liberation, thanks to its price (€0.90).
It would be too simplistic to think that today’s logic is an ‘all-or-nothing’ binary, ‘all’ being the outrageously expensive newspaper and ‘nothing’ being the free one. In fact, a number of European countries are doing experiments with “mid-market / mid-price” strategies, selling a 50-cent (€) newspaper oriented towards a young or less-educated readership.

3) One newsroom, three publications
This plan of action originated in Germany. In 2004, the editorial staffs of Die Welt, Berliner Morgenpost, and Welt Kompakt merged into a single unit. The sudden change was violent, as only 350 of the 600 original journalists kept their job. This is still more than in any French editing staff…
Don’t get it wrong: the aim wasn’t to produce three publications using a single newsroom. In Berlin for example, there still are three separate workgroups, only these enjoy the fruits of an exceptional collaborative effort. This is a unique example of newspapers’ adaptation to the market’s segmentation.

4) Yesterday’s rivals will become tomorrow’s partners
Previously in the U.S., nobody thought users would be ready to pay for their content. Nowadays, the New York Times and its pay-portal TimesSelect has 200 000 online-only subscribers who pay to access the Opinions’ pages and select columns (500 000 total users when including regular subscribers). That’s roughly a $10 million annual profit. A good deal.
If the main French dailies collaborated and sold their Opinion’s columns in a common effort, it would probably amount to a significant profit of a couple of million euros – especially since online ad revenues remain meager despite their quick growth.
But for this to be possible, editors of French newspapers must switch from a competitive culture to a collaborative one. This switch can only happen once these editors comprehend the online logic of ‘personalized’ newspapers: the internet user isn’t interested in an article specifically from Le Monde, rather he wishes to access any information pertaining to a specific subject. First give the user this service, then he will be ready to pay.

Other reforms are needed. But these four plans of action are essential to end the French press’ downward spiral.

Otherwise, perhaps starting 2007, foreign media groups will invest into the French press market, or even start up new publications. On the condition that the Parliament elected in June 2007 changes the legislation that currently limits foreign companies’ participation in the media business - this won’t apply to EU members. Thank God for Axel Springer in Germany and Prisa in Spain! Too bad for the Swiss Ringier."

Written by Bertrand Pecquerie, WEF Director 

 Source: Le Monde (in French)