Cape Town: Free household papers "freakish"
Posted by Lesley Cowling on June 6, 2007 at 11:29 AM
Free newspapers delivered to households are not sustainable, according to Tφger Seidenfaden, editor of Denmark’s paid-for newspaper, Politiken. Speaking at the 14th World Editors Forum, Seidenfaden said free household newspapers were unlikely to become a fad because of high editorial, production and distribution costs.
Seidenfaden said there was an explosion of free dailies in the Danish market, which had slightly subsided. He said although the freesheets had a big readership and a high circulation, a large number of these newspapers were produced at cost.
He distinguished free household newspapers from free newspapers for commuters on subway systems, which had lower distribution costs, and paid-for newspapers, which generated high income.
Seidenfaden concluded that commuter free newspapers were likely to remain in the market, as they were able to make their way commercially, but the “freakish phenomenon” of household free newspapers were “unlikely to succeed in the long term”.
Seidenfaden said the challenge of free newspapers fitted into a broader challenge presented by digital technology, expansion of platforms and liberalization of the market. Using the example of Politiken, Seidenfaden said the answer to the challenge was to create a media hybrid, incorporating online and print versions of the newspaper.
By Kim Hawkey, Wits University Journalism
He distinguished free household newspapers from free newspapers for commuters on subway systems, which had lower distribution costs, and paid-for newspapers, which generated high income.
Seidenfaden concluded that commuter free newspapers were likely to remain in the market, as they were able to make their way commercially, but the “freakish phenomenon” of household free newspapers were “unlikely to succeed in the long term”.
Seidenfaden said the challenge of free newspapers fitted into a broader challenge presented by digital technology, expansion of platforms and liberalization of the market. Using the example of Politiken, Seidenfaden said the answer to the challenge was to create a media hybrid, incorporating online and print versions of the newspaper.
By Kim Hawkey, Wits University Journalism
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