UK: readers return to Standard freesheet?
Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on January 31, 2007 at 10:39 AM
Editor of the London Evening Standard Veronica Wadley says that readers are returning to the paid paper, after a period during which they read and evaluated London’s other freesheets.
"People are coming back to the Standard after looking at free papers, trying them and realising that the Standard has a lot more to offer," said Wadley.
The Standard positions itself as “London’s quality newspaper,” a strategy it adopted at the same time it rose its price to 50 pence.
"It really reflects the confidence that we have in the Evening Standard being a paper that's worth paying 50p for," said Wadley, speaking of the company’s slogan.
"There are papers. Then there are Standards.”
Wadley’s confidence may be a little exaggerated though, as the Standard’s circulation dipped 18% year-on-year last December, as a direct result of the freesheet war.
And its circulation (263,000 daily copies in December) is still far below that of its competitors, London Lite above 400,000 and London Paper up at 410,000.
Yet the newspaper remains confident its emphasis on quality will bring back its readers.
"We have more stories, we have greater depth, we have comment, we have more information, and we have a later edition,” said Wadley.
The question is: are people still ready to pay 50 pence and go buy a newspaper, ‘just for’ more stories, depth, comments and information?
Source: The Guardian
The Standard positions itself as “London’s quality newspaper,” a strategy it adopted at the same time it rose its price to 50 pence.
"It really reflects the confidence that we have in the Evening Standard being a paper that's worth paying 50p for," said Wadley, speaking of the company’s slogan.
"There are papers. Then there are Standards.”
Wadley’s confidence may be a little exaggerated though, as the Standard’s circulation dipped 18% year-on-year last December, as a direct result of the freesheet war.
And its circulation (263,000 daily copies in December) is still far below that of its competitors, London Lite above 400,000 and London Paper up at 410,000.
Yet the newspaper remains confident its emphasis on quality will bring back its readers.
"We have more stories, we have greater depth, we have comment, we have more information, and we have a later edition,” said Wadley.
The question is: are people still ready to pay 50 pence and go buy a newspaper, ‘just for’ more stories, depth, comments and information?
Source: The Guardian
Posted in :
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: UK: readers return to Standard freesheet?.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.editorsweblog.org/mt/mt-tb.cgi/4782
Leave a comment