How practical is it for The Times of London to publish in two formats?

Posted by Dana Goldstein on June 9, 2004 at 3:32 PM

From Media Guardian: At our 11th Annual Editors Forum in Istanbul, Managing Editor of The Times of London George Brock spoke about The Times' decision to make both broadsheet and tabloid formats of the paper available to readers. Now, Media Guardian columnist Jane Martinson asks how financially practical that decision really is. Unlike the readership of rival The Independent, which has gone completely compact, The Times' readership has shown itself to be more committed to the broadsheet format, Martison writes...

"The Times may want to produce a tabloid-only version of the paper, to cut costs and ease editorial stresses, but in doing so it risks alienating some 300,000 broadsheet readers. Thus the efforts to encourage more readers to buy the tabloid. The paper has said very little about these plans but its own promotions make it obvious. It has introduced variable pricing and has run a series of full-page ads promoting the tabloid in the paper...Among newsagents already finding it difficult to stock the broadsheet are "large supermarkets, travel points and garage forecourts". And Times journalists are already starting to gripe about the earlier deadlines demanded by the extra editions. The circulation gains do not even make it seem worthwhile in percentage terms."

Source: Media Guardian

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