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Scotland: Edinburgh Herald & Post relaunches

Posted by Elizabeth Redman on February 9, 2010 at 2:18 PM

The free weekly newspaper in Edinburgh will relaunch next week with a greater focus on shopping and local listings, All Media Scotland reports.

The new-look Edinburgh Herald & Post, produced by The Scotsman's publishers, is expected to focus on the shopping and services sector in the city with consumer news and features. It will also include local listings and a picture gallery to focus on community events. The newspaper will be distributed free to households across Edinburgh from Thursday.

Newspaper liveblogs local council meetings

Posted by Elizabeth Redman on February 9, 2010 at 12:12 PM

A newspaper in Manchester has been using various multimedia tools to liveblog council meetings from across the Greater Manchester Area, Press Gazette reports.

Meetings of the local authorities are attended by a reporter from the Manchester Evening News (MEN) or one of its sister weekly publications. Reporters then use Twitter to file updates minute-by-minute. Their updates are then streamed on MEN websites using CoverItLive technology, which allows liveblogging and other forms of real-time updating.

The MEN has so far used this to report on meetings of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities and the Greater Manchester Police Authority. The newspaper wants to extend the service so that it can cover every full meeting held by ten local authorities across Greater Manchester.

Freesheet London Weekly is here

Posted by Maria Conde on February 5, 2010 at 5:30 PM

Following a week of much speculation over whether the new London freesheet existed, and if so, if it would launch at all, the London Weekly is finally here, says Guardian.

The launch of the new freesheet was announced in November of last year, with its website opening in December. Executives at the Global Publishing Group, the company responsible for the publication, initially announced the freesheet would launch on February 1st, but later pushed back the start date to February 5th.

London Evening Standard readership rises

Posted by Maria Conde on February 4, 2010 at 5:25 PM

The London Evening Standard's readership has gone from 556,000 in April to September to 1.37 million in the last three months of 2009, Stephen Brook from Guardian reports.

These positive readership figures follow the newspaper going free in October of last year and more than doubling its circulation to 600,000 copies in the process. The London Evening Standard was bought by Russian billionaire Alexander Lebeveb in 2008, and his decision to drop the paper's 50p cover price was made in the hope that boosted circulation would increase advertising enough to make up for the lost revenue of having no cover price. His move towards the freesheet format prompted speculation that other London quality newspapers may drop their cover price as well.

Freesheet launch: All quiet on the London Weekly front

Posted by Helena Humphrey on February 3, 2010 at 12:32 PM

Back in November the newspaper rumour mill whispered word of an all-new freesheet to grace the streets of the capital, The London Weekly. By December, marketing manager Paul Morris announced a launch date of the 1 February and its partnership website went live.

Despite a rather unpolished online offering (from a company that claims to have £10.5 million in the kitty), displaying few regular news updates written by just two users and registered from a German server, Morris last week maintained that the 250,000 copies of the freesheet would be handed out every Friday and Saturday - although the start date would now be delayed until the 5 February.

Lebedev to bring in billionaire partner for Independent deal?

Posted by Elizabeth Redman on February 3, 2010 at 10:51 AM

Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev, in exclusive talks to purchase the Independent newspapers, may attempt to bring an Egyptian partner into the deal, according to reports in The Guardian.

Lebedev is trying to persuade Egyptian billionaire Samih Sawiris to join him in investing in The Independent and Independent on Sunday, according to sources close to the deal. The details of the proposed agreement are unknown.

New London freesheet announces launch date

Posted by Helena Humphrey on January 27, 2010 at 12:13 PM

The launch of a new London freesheet, the London Weekly, was announced in November of last year, with its website going live on 20 December. Executives at the Global Publishing Group, the company behind the title, have now confirmed an official launch date of 5 February for the paper itself, the Guardian has reported.

The London Weekly hopes to fill the gap left by the closure of the capital's previous freesheets, the London Paper and the London Lite, with a proposed distribution of 250,000 copies every Friday and Saturday.

Guardian's Alan Rusbridger on why his paper will remain free online

Posted by Emma Heald on January 26, 2010 at 12:06 PM

Editor of the Guardian Alan Rusbridger made clear his feelings on paywalls and the growing importance of social media during the 2010 Hugh Cudlipp lecture yesterday, entitled 'Does journalism exist?' The Guardian reproduced the text of the lecture here.

Hugh Cudlipp was an editor at the Daily Mirror from the early 1950s to early 1970s,
a period in which, as Rusbridger pointed out, newspaper editors' key challenge was producing good editorial content, rather than trying to come up with a new business model, which is a top issue confronting all editors now.

WSJ launches mobile websites for Asia, Europe

Posted by Elizabeth Redman on January 22, 2010 at 12:03 PM

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has launched a new mobile-optimised website for its Asia edition, and another for its Europe edition, allowing users to access regional news on any web-enabled mobile phone.

The Asia edition features updates from Asia.WSJ.com and includes text from the sections What's News, Markets, Technology, Opinion, Personal Finance and Life & Style, as well as additional market-specific news from China and India.

The Europe edition, from Europe.WSJ.com, features similar news sections, except with market-specific news from the UK and Europe and a section titled Europe In-Depth. It will update as often as the website itself.

More freesheet speculation as Lebedev's purchase of The Independent more likely

Posted by Elizabeth Redman on January 20, 2010 at 12:41 PM

Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev's purchase of The Independent is likely to go ahead, although a month later than planned, according to Media Week.

The two parties are in exclusive talks with a February 15 deadline, which is likely to be extended to mid-March as some aspects are yet to be agreed upon.

Printing contract issues are still being resolved. The Independent holds a long-running printing contract with Trinity Mirror.

Another point of discussion is that Lebedev is considering dropping The Independent's £1 cover price and making the paper free, according to unnamed sources cited by Media Week.

Manchester Evening News cuts back on free copies

Posted by Elizabeth Redman on January 5, 2010 at 11:19 AM

After almost four years as a freesheet, the Manchester Evening News will begin charging for copies of its newspaper distributed in the city centre, at least four days a week.

In April 2006, the paper became part-free, part paid-for. In the Manchester city centre, 50,000 copies a day were given away, while those in suburbs further out were still sold to readers. The planned changes will mean that from Monday to Wednesday and on Saturdays, all copies of the newspaper will be paid for, while on Thursdays and Fridays, its dual paid/free model will remain.

Lebedev in talks to buy the Independent

Posted by Emma Heald on December 19, 2009 at 1:16 AM

Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev is in advanced talks with Independent News and Media plc to buy both The Independent and The Independent on Sunday, the company announced in a statement today. The exclusive talks "are still preliminary," and "there is no certainty that these discussions will lead to the finalization of a transaction of any kind," the statement from the Dublin-based Independent said.

A former KGB agent, Lebedev bought a controlling stake in London's afternoon paper, the Evening Standard, in January, and it began being distributed for free in October. Lebedev, who made his money in banking and insurance, also owns Novaya Gazeta in Russia, and is part-owner of Aeroflot, a national carrier, according to BusinessWeek.

For the rest of this article please see our sister publication www.sfnblog.com

Newsagents charge for free newspaper

Posted by Elizabeth Redman on December 16, 2009 at 11:01 AM

Looks like it's not just newsagents that are paying for free newspaper the London Evening Standard. Some shops in suburban London are charging consumers to cover their costs, The Guardian reports.

In October, the paper dropped its 50 pence cover price and went free. Since then, it has more than doubled circulation, from 250,000 copies to just fewer than 600,000 copies. There are plans to increase this number even further, to 800,000 or even 1 million.

The trade-off is that it also cut back on the number of its distribution outlets, particularly in the outer suburbs of London. Demand from newsagents and consumers in suburbs outside its new distribution area has been strong enough, though, that the newspaper is trialling delivery to two new areas in north-east and north-west London.

Evening Standard's distribution just misses target

Posted by Elizabeth Redman on December 14, 2009 at 11:14 AM

Circulation of London freesheet the London Evening Standard is slightly under target, according to November figures from the UK Audit Bureau of Circulations.

In the first full month since it dropped its 50 pence cover price and went free, the newspaper's recorded distribution was 596,100 copies. Its target was 600,000 copies.

According to the Evening Standard's own figures, though, its distribution was 618,837. The extra copies have not yet been confirmed by the auditing group because of the paper's complex distribution method.

France: La Tribune becomes tabloid size

Posted by Elizabeth Redman on December 10, 2009 at 1:05 PM

French financial daily La Tribune is set to shift to tabloid size and cease publishing its Saturday edition, Le Figaro reports.

The newspaper, which has a circulation of 75,000, aims to make €6.5 million of savings in 2010.

A year ago, the paper relaunched with a new design and layout in a Berliner format. The Berliner format is a narrow broadsheet, used by newspapers such as The Guardian and Le Monde. At the same time, their website was redesigned and a weekend supplement was added to the print edition.

From January, the daily will reduce its size again to the tabloid format. From then on, it will contain 40 pages instead of the current 32, although they will be smaller in size.

US: Print circulation falls, newspapers respond

Posted by Elizabeth Redman on December 9, 2009 at 5:39 PM

Print newspaper circulation is down across the U.S., Editor and Publisher reports, in an article that examines reasons for, and responses to, the fall.

According to the October figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, weekday circulation is down just over 10% year-on-year, the first drop to reach double digits. Some newspapers suffered falls double that size. Sunday circulation is also down 7%.

The London Weekly: will it work?

Posted by Elizabeth Redman on December 9, 2009 at 2:49 PM

Marketing and advertising executives have weighed in on the viability of new London freesheet The London Weekly, Brand Republic reports.

And the response is far from positive. Of the four asked for comment, three said they thought the paper would "maybe" be viable, and another said it would not.

UPDATE: London Weekly to launch Feb 1

Posted by Jennifer Lush on December 2, 2009 at 1:36 PM

The London Weekly has confirmed it will launch on 1 February next year with a starting budget of £10.5m.

The sum, which was raised by Global Publishing Group, a partnership of five unnamed investors, is considerably more than the £5.5m that was speculated when the paper's plans were first announced earlier this week.

London Evening Standard might boost circulation

Posted by Jennifer Lush on December 2, 2009 at 12:55 PM

Responding to industry speculation, the London Evening Standard has announced that is considering increasing its distribution numbers, the Guardian is reporting.

After dropping its 50p cover price in mid-October to go free, the paper more than doubled its circulation from 250, 000 to 600, 000 copies a day. Doug Willis, the Evening Standard's managing editor said that the paper had the potential to boost its free distribution to 800, 000 or 1 million copies by late 2010.

Rumours of a new London freesheet

Posted by Jennifer Lush on November 30, 2009 at 12:38 PM

As the London Evening Standard settles into its decision to drop its 50 pence cover price and go free, the Guardian is reporting that yet another freesheet is expected to hit the streets of London.

Directly competing with the Evening Standard, the London Weekly will distribute 250,000 copies twice weekly on Fridays and Saturdays outside rail and tube stations, according to a media pack released for potential advertisers.

Evening Standard drops midday edition

Posted by Jennifer Lush on November 27, 2009 at 12:27 PM

The London Evening Standard will cut its midday News Extra edition in order to focus on improving the currency and quality of its evening edition, the Guardian is reporting.

The move will result in 20 job losses and comes shortly after the paper dropped its 50 pence cover price to go free. At the time, editor Geordie Greig said that the switch was necessary if the paper was to survive the harsh financial times and continue printing.

Evening Standard saves on distribution costs by going free

Posted by Jennifer Lush on November 18, 2009 at 10:57 AM

Editor of the London Evening Standard, Geordie Grieg, revealed the paper has managed to reduce its distribution costs from 30 pence per copy to 4p since going free, according to the Guardian.

London's major afternoon daily dropped its 50 p cover price in mid-October and went free, a move that has seen the paper's circulation more than double from 250,000 to some 600,000.

London Lite's last day

Posted by Betsey Reinsborough on November 13, 2009 at 11:50 AM

London Lite will publish its last issue today, announced the BBC. The free daily, owned by Associated Newspapers, had previously declared that it would be closing following the announcement that the Evening Standard would drop its 50 pence cover price to become a free daily.

London Lite was launched in 2006 within days of thelondonpaper, Rupert Murdoch's entrant in the competition which closed this past September, to compete with the Evening Standard. The free cover price, however, proved to be too much competition. Especially since the Evening Standard has seen its circulation double since it went free- from 250 000 to 600 000. London Lite's parent company, Daily Mail & General Trust, also owns just under a quarter of the Evening Standard; the remaining shares are owned by Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev.

London Lite, which was last reported to have a circulation of 400 000 daily, employees 36 people.

The closure leaves London with two free dailies: Metro in the morning and the Evening Standard in the afternoon.

Sources: BBC, Evening Standard

Membership clubs: could they be the secret to monetising newspaper readers? (part 1)

Posted by Emma Heald on October 29, 2009 at 12:58 PM

As newspapers look for answers to the big question which they face in today's increasingly digital society - how to make more money from their readers - the idea of starting a membership club seems to be increasingly appealing to many. Several newspapers already have wine clubs or something of the sort, but more and more are looking at the idea of a club that is more closely connected to the paper's editorial content. The New York Times has apparently studied in detail the possibility of 'gold' and 'silver' membership tiers offering different levels of exclusive offers, and the Guardian has been looking into hiring a manager for a potential 'readers club' that would aim to offer readers a closer relationship with the paper.

And it doesn't seem a bad idea. Newspaper circulation may be falling, but online readership figures show that more and more people are reading news than ever before, although unfortunately not paying for it. There are undoubtedly many avid newspaper readers out there, and though many of them would not be prepared to pay for anything from a newspaper after being accustomed to reading news for free for so long, there is a small percentage who might well be interested.

The Editors Weblog took a look at two different kinds of newspaper membership schemes, on different sides of the Atlantic, at two very different newspapers: the Times of London and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

PG+: premium content and perks

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently launched PG+, a members-only section site containing new, premium content coupled with a variety of special offers for members. Jeff Jarvis suggested that the club is merely an attempt "to cloak a pay wall," but while there obviously is an element of that, the initiative does seem to be more than that. For a start, the content offered is all new, and is intended to be more interactive than the main site. Mary Leonard, the Post-Gazette's deputy managing editor who has been very involved in developing PG+, told the EW that the new site has a multimedia focus. "We're doing a lot of video, some additional chats and we're doing blogs, which promote interactivity."

The additional content is exclusive to PG+ subscribers and will not appear in the paper's print edition: this is not an attempt to protect the print edition. After much consideration, Leonard said, the paper decided to make PG+ an entirely separate initiative and print subscribers will receive no discount.

The site looks very different to the main site, and has been built on a different platform. "We didn't want this to look like a twin of our primarily breaking news site," Leonard explained. The colours are more muted and the pages are very content-focused - for readers who know what they want. There is no advertising on the site, which many must appreciate.

Users can interact with each other on the site - they can create profiles, add an avatar, and they can 'friend' each other and communicate. "There's a whole user menu of opportunities for commenting and interactivity," Leonard said. They can even create their own blogs within the site.

As well as the extra editorial content, PG+ offers a series of 'perks' to its members, clearly taking the initiative beyond just paid content.. "There's a whole menu of benefits and discounts and free things that you can access with a membership card," Leonard pointed out. Most of these perks are chosen and arranged by the paper's marketing department, but some involve journalists. For example, a couple of weeks ago one of the perks was the chance to attend an evening of questions and answers with Ed Bouchette, the paper's sports writer who covers local football team the Pittsburgh Steelers, at a restaurant downtown.

But what actually makes people pay extra?

So what is the main motivation for subscribers? Is it to have access to the premium content, or to the perks? Or is it to support a paper they respect?

Leonard said that based on the market research that the paper carried out prior to launching the product, all three factors were important to different people. "We found that there was a small market for people who would want to support the Post-Gazette as a community news organisation," she clarified. Others who answered the paper's survey said that they would be particularly interested in the benefits and discounts offered.

Those whose motivation to sign up is the extra editorial content are frequently sports fans, she pointed out: "shat we're starting to see is that it's the sports content that is primarily driving the users of the editorial traffic on plus." Part of the reason for this is that the paper's sports writing is built up around the personalities of the sports writers, many of whom tend to do television slots, both video for the Post-Gazette's site and for local TV stations. Hence, they have become well-known names, and PG+ offers readers a chance to see more of their writing, and have the chance for more contact, via chats or events such as that described above. "We hope that these personalities will be a sort of magnet for readers who follow these guys already, and we believe that they can give readers a little more insight and inside info into the teams and the players."

Is it going to make a difference financially? Could a sustatinable business model be built from such initatives?

Clearly the new effort is being produced at a cost to the paper: "it adds work in the newsroom and it adds work in the marketing department." Although the paper has not made any new hires specifically for PG+, some restructuring has taken place to devote the appropriate attention to the new service. But staff have been enthusiastic, said Leonard, and "there's a feeling that we need to come up with innovative solutions for the revenue shortfalls that are threatening the industry."

The membership price is relatively low, at $36 for a year. A committee was put together to decide a pricing strategy, and fixed on a point which the paper felt gave the content value, but didn't seem to be asking too much. Leonard explained that the paper is not yet releasing information on metrics, but commented that "growth has been steady" and "we think it has been good." Obviously, without knowing the figures, it is impossible to say whether the site could be bringing in significant revenue, and at such a low price it would need a considerable number of members to do so. However, what it offers would definitely be worth investing in for a Pittsburgh sports fan, or anyone involved in the community.

See part 2 of this article, to be published tomorrow, for discussion of Times+

London Lite to become latest freesheet to close

Posted by Emma Heald on October 27, 2009 at 3:32 PM

Associated Newspapers' freesheet the London Lite is to close, reported the Guardian. Its parent company, which is owned by the Daily Mail & General Trust, made the announcement two weeks after the Evening Standard went free and a month after News International's thelondonpaper closed.

Both the London Lite and thelondonpaper, which launched within days of each other in the summer of 2006, had been suffering financially and were making considerable losses earlier this year. The closure of thelondonpaper, in line with owner Rupert Murdoch's opposition to the idea of giving away content, could have meant good news for its rival the London Lite, but it seems that profits did not increase enough, and another free rival emerged, in the form of of the Evening Standard.

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