Writing two separate articles, firstly in the
Evening Standard and then
in the
Guardian,
Roy Greenslade denounces councils for their
proliferation of council-run newspapers.
According to Greenslade, "the phenomenon of papers published by local
councils" poses a real threat to local titles which are already
struggling with advertising losses and dwindling circulation figures.
Posted by Evan Fell on November 27, 2007 at 2:47 PM
At a recent Society of Editors conference, Peter Wright, editor of the UK’s Mail on Sunday, gave the message that newspapers need to look to their circulation distribution systems to deliver more than just the daily paper in order to generate revenue.
Multimedia journalism students at Bournemouth University recently completed a study of newspaper and paper website cross-promotion; the found massive promotion of websites in print editions, but next to none encouraging online readers to buy print. Why, in this difficult time for print, not use the website to attract new print readers?
The lead singer of the biggest rock band in the world is to take over the editorial board of the Independent tomorrow. Bono of U2 will lead the morning editorial meeting, write headlines and choose pictures for the British daily. Simon Kelner, the paper's everyday editor-in-chief was enthusiastic about Bono's participation saying, "Bono was very excited about doing this, right from the start. He had hundreds of ideas and has brought many of them to fruition already. He has already been working hard, and is taking it very seriously."
Posted by John Burke on February 23, 2006 at 1:07 PM
Starting April 30, the Dallas Morning News will include a monthly CD-ROM supplement, Hollywood Previews Entertainment iMagazine, a publication of movie trailers, sweepstakes and interviews with stars. The deal demonstrates how newspapers with waning circulations are trying to attract younger and new readers.
Posted by John Burke on December 5, 2005 at 9:03 AM
First it was Rupert Murdoch. Now it's Charles Sinclair, CEO of the Daily Mail and General Trust. Both have denounced the practice of planting DVD's or other products in the folds of newspapers and suggested that publishers should drop the bad habit.
Britain's Audit Bureau of Circulation recently announced that London's The Times was up 4.97% compared to a 4.9% increase of the Kingdom's overall quality newspaper market. These figures were met with disdain by the editor of the Daily Telegraph, Martin Newland, who declared the circulation growth a product of free giveaway promotions. Mike Gordon, commercial director of The Times retorted that the Telegraph had just instituted a free DVD giveaway, which apparently didn't help it beat the Times, who has surpassed the Telegraph's full-rate sales for seven straight months. Gordon called the Telegraph's management out-of-touch saying "They are not prepared to accept the changes going on around the world." Newland boasted that it's the middle-aged white-collar readers of his paper that really matter, that are the backbone of Britain. In all the scuffle, the two papers seem to have let promotions and circulation overshadow the essence of a newspaper: content.
Source: MediaWeek
Britain's Audit Bureau of Circulation recently announced that London's The Times was up 4.97% compared to a 4.9% increase of the Kingdom's overall quality newspaper market. These figures were met with disdain by the editor of the Daily Telegraph, Martin Newland, who declared the circulation growth a product of free giveaway promotions. Mike Gordon, commercial director of The Times retorted that the Telegraph had just instituted a free DVD giveaway, which apparently didn't help it beat the Times, who has surpassed the Telegraph's full-rate sales for seven straight months. Gordon called the Telegraph's management out-of-touch saying "They are not prepared to accept the changes going on around the world." Newland boasted that it's the middle-aged white-collar readers of his paper that really matter, that are the backbone of Britain. In all the scuffle, the two papers seem to have let promotions and circulation overshadow the essence of a newspaper: content.
Source: MediaWeek
Media Guardian and The International Herald Tribune report that many European newspapers have added promotional items known as “ad-ons” or “cover-mounts” to their dailies in hopes of reversing declines in readership. While some papers continue to entice readers with free merchandise, others have realized the power of selling promotional items. For example, Spain’s El Pais recently vied for readers not just through the conventional breaking headlines, but with a heavily discounted copy of a classic novel or with a discounted collection of DVDs. Within the same week, El Pais’ main rival, El Mundo, published a weekend edition attached with an encyclopedia collection of history. Since many top national dailies in Spain gained circulation last year as a result of discount merchandise, such promotional strategies continue to gain momentum. The trend to sell merchandise along with newspapers has spread across much of Europe, Latin America, and Asia, yet has dodged the United States given its heavy reliance on subscriptions.
Media Guardian and The International Herald Tribune report that many European newspapers have added promotional items known as “ad-ons” or “cover-mounts” to their dailies in hopes of reversing declines in readership. While some papers continue to entice readers with free merchandise, others have realized the power of selling promotional items. For example, Spain’s El Pais recently vied for readers not just through the conventional breaking headlines, but with a heavily discounted copy of a classic novel or with a discounted collection of DVDs. Within the same week, El Pais’ main rival, El Mundo, published a weekend edition attached with an encyclopedia collection of history. Since many top national dailies in Spain gained circulation last year as a result of discount merchandise, such promotional strategies continue to gain momentum. The trend to sell merchandise along with newspapers has spread across much of Europe, Latin America, and Asia, yet has dodged the United States given its heavy reliance on subscriptions.
According to MediaGuardian, "The first tabloid edition of the Saturday Times got off to a strong start at the weekend, with sales up almost 20% on the previous weekend. The Saturday paper sold 850,000 copies in its first incarnation as a tabloid, helped by widespread interest in the paper's historic decision to dump its broadsheet edition and a widespread promotional campaign... The paper's circulation was also boosted by a DVD giveaway... The internal figures show circulation of the first Saturday tabloid edition leapt 18.8% on the previous weekend, the last broadsheet edition, which itself was a strong sale due to its historic nature... The newspaper embarked on an extensive promotional campaign to launch itself as a compact."
Source: MediaGuardian
