UK: Johnston Press invests in digital
Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on September 3, 2007 at 9:30 AM
The UK’s largest regional press publisher, Johnston Press, is to invest £10 million in digital operations next year.
While national titles have been leading the online dance, with the Telegraph and Times going through heavy investments, the regional press has been perceived as resisting change.
But Johnston’s chief executive, Tim Bowdler, insisted that his titles already emphasize online as much as they do print.
"Suddenly, we are in the business of breaking news again," he says. "That is something that we have not done for a while, and our journalists are loving it."
He didn’t believe that online editions cannibalized the print paper.
"There is some overlap between our newspapers and our websites, but online readers tend not to be readers of the papers. For us, that is great," said Bowdler.
That said, Bowdler also acknowledged the possibility of online operations becoming more important than its print products.
"I can envisage that happening," said Bowdler. "We really are on a long journey where digital and print are equally important parts of the business.
"I can see us becoming a broad- based media company with a local TV and a local radio business. But print will remain fundamentally important."
Johnston Press counts 18 daily newspapers, 164 weeklies, 127 free papers and 317 local websites.
Source : The Independent
But Johnston’s chief executive, Tim Bowdler, insisted that his titles already emphasize online as much as they do print.
"Suddenly, we are in the business of breaking news again," he says. "That is something that we have not done for a while, and our journalists are loving it."
He didn’t believe that online editions cannibalized the print paper.
"There is some overlap between our newspapers and our websites, but online readers tend not to be readers of the papers. For us, that is great," said Bowdler.
That said, Bowdler also acknowledged the possibility of online operations becoming more important than its print products.
"I can envisage that happening," said Bowdler. "We really are on a long journey where digital and print are equally important parts of the business.
"I can see us becoming a broad- based media company with a local TV and a local radio business. But print will remain fundamentally important."
Johnston Press counts 18 daily newspapers, 164 weeklies, 127 free papers and 317 local websites.
Source : The Independent
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It is refreshing to see a traditional newspaper group embracing the internet with boldness. It is often considered safer to just dip a toe in the water but this only delays positioning the business to face the inevitable. Our leisure time is not increasing and the pie chart of how we spend that time is divided up more in favour of the internet at the expense of television and time spent reading newspapers and magazines.Regional newspapers like Johnson Press have the platform to become the local hub of news and information for communities but only if they embrace fully the online world. Fear of canibalisation pervades most corridors of power in the publishing industry but evidence to support this view is thin. But as people spend more time on line there is no other future but to be there with a compelling offering when they login. YUDU has built a technology and business model to embrace this world and we see success stories first hand every day that supports Tim Bowdler's vision.
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