Shaping the Future of the Newspaper STRATEGY REPORT ANALYSING STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE PRESS INDUSTRY Volume 8 N°5 JULY 2009 © WAN-IFRA 8.5 The US$182 billion newspaper industry is alive and growing The despite rumours of its demise, with a surging number of titles and circulations, and scores Power of inspiring cases of new and innovative newspapers of Print around the world www.futureofthenewspaper.com All the strategy reports are available to WAN-IFRA members and subscribers at the SFN Web site Shaping the Future of the Newspaper www.wan-press.org A WORLD ASSOCIATION OF NEWSPAPERS AND NEWS PUBLISHERS PROJECT, SUPPORTED BY WORLD LEADING BUSINESS PARTNERS www.atex.com/ THE LEADING SUPPLIER OF SOLUTIONS AND SERVICES FOR DIGITAL, ADVERTISING, CONTENT MANAGEMENT AND SUBSCRIPTION APPLICATIONS. www.man-roland.com/en/p0001/index.jsp A LEADING COMPANY FOR NEWSPAPER PRODUCTION SYSTEMS www.telenor.com/ THE LEADING NORWEGIAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS, IT AND MEDIA GROUP www.norskeskog.com/ A WORLD LEADING PRODUCER OF NEWSPRINT AND MAGAZINE PAPER, WITH 18 PAPER MILLS AROUND THE WORLD © WORLD ASSOCIATION OF NEWSPAPERS AND NEWS PUBLISHERS, 2009 VOLUME 8 REPORT N° 5 THE POWER OF PRINT TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 5 1 Hamlet’s Blackberry: Why Paper is Eternal 9 How Did So Many Get It So Wrong? 11 Strengths and Weaknesses 13 The Medium Suits the Message 14 2 Leading Indicators and Assets 17 Leading Indicators: Suppliers 20 Leading Indicators: Assets 23 The World’s Most Circulated Newspapers 27 3 Newspaper Company Suppliers 35 Printing Presses and Plants 35 Newsprint Manufacturing 37 Ink Advances 38 4 Newspaper Case Studies From Around the World 41 United States Market 41 TV Listings: Increasing Quality, Revenues 43 United Arab Emirates Market 48 Turkey Market 50 Scandinavian Market 51 Knowing Your Readers & Serving Them Best 52 Strategic & Regional Magazine Publishing 55 5 Future of Newspapers in Print 59 Smart Publishing 59 Database Technologies 61 Printcasting 62 Individuated News 63 E-Editions & Home Printing 63 Don't Stop the Presses! 65 Conclusion 69 3 JULY 2009 SHAPING THE FUTURE OF THE NEWSPAPER 4 VOLUME 8 REPORT N° 5 THE POWER OF PRINT Executive Summary As platforms on which to consume news possible tasks to undertake at any moment. On proliferate, newspapers continue to delight, the Internet, there is no beginning and no end,” inform and enlighten billions of people around William Powers writes in Chapter 1, from his the world every day. Newspapers possess book titled “Hamlet’s Blackberry.” unique characteristics that are desirable for the Although the feeling of settling down with a ages: they are tactile, portable and packed with newspaper cannot be quantified, analysis of information to enhance the reader's quality of core assets and leading indicators show that on life. Newspapers’ many content categories are the business side, newspaper companies are well organised, and contain new and often under financial pressures circa 2009, faring serendipitous story selections each day. similarly to other businesses during the current Newspapers also continue to function as economic downturn. And, in some cases, they vigilant watchdogs over government, serving are faring much better. The economy hit the as beacons for democracy around the world. United States the hardest, driving advertising Their reporting staffs routinely surpass staff revenues down more than 30 percent. Despite numbers well beyond the scope of other that, some newspaper companies have media, providing depth and breadth of maintained high profit margins, including the coverage found on no other media channel. country’s largest newspaper chain, Gannett The newspaper itself also has esoteric qualities Co., Inc., which earned a 12 percent operating that,while not measurable,are certainly tangible. profit margin in the first quarter of 2009. While advertising spend for newspapers is “Paper’s great strength is that it allows the shrinking parallel with the world’s economy, mind to settle down into that peaceful deep- experts believe this trend will recover in dive state in which we do our best thinking. tandem with the economy. This state is much harder to achieve when we’re reading in the digital medium, where Despite reports to the contrary, the number of there is endless information, and so many newspaper readers and the number of paid-for 5 JULY 2009 SHAPING THE FUTURE OF THE NEWSPAPER Paid-For & Free Dailies: Titles, by Region, 2004-2008 No. daily titles 14,000 12,580 Change % 2008/04 2008/07 11,757 12,220 12,000 11,262 10,830 Africa 21.67% 4.25% 10,000 North America -0.42% -0.19% 8,000 South America 18.77% 11.68% 6,000 Asia 27.09% 4.04% 4,000 Australia & Oceania 1.12% -1.10% 2,000 Europe 7.11% -1.08% Total 16.16% 2.95% 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Source: World Press Trends 2009, World Association of Newspapers © World Association of Newspapers 2008-2009 and free newspaper titles are growing, products, and has so far seen a healthy according to World Press Trends 2009, the readership, said Martim Avillez Figueiredo, i's annual newspaper industry bible for publisher and editor-in-chief. circulation, readership and advertising • Archant is the United Kingdom's largest statistics. The number has grown from 12,220 independently owned regional media business, titles in 2007 to 12,580 in 2008. publishing four daily newspapers and 60 Among the most important core assets are trust weeklies in its Archant Regional newspapers and credibility. The report tracks the stable division, and 80 magazines across its three performance of trust in newspapers compared magazine companies: Archant Specialist, with other sources of news, and underscores which produces hobby titles; Archant the importance of protecting the core assets Dialogue, which does contract publishing; and moving forward. Archant Life, which specialises in 52 county titles, as well as other city titles and several Individual newspaper companies continue to French magazines. Ten years ago, Archant invest, expand and innovate. The Power of didn't own any magazines. Today, the Print report chronicles examples of magazine division accounts for £55 million in newspapers as forward-thinking and pragmatic revenue, or about a third of the business. enterprises. Some examples of case studies profiled in this report: • The Bakersfield Californian, a 70,000 circulation newspaper, serves a population of • Korean daily newspaper JoongAng Ilbo in 350,000 in the mountains of southeastern 2009 invested more than US$100 million in California, and has 36,000 registered users for switching to a Berliner format, buying new the Californian's online products; 4,000 blogs; printing presses, refurbishing its printing and 15 print and online niche publications. The facility and putting more emphasis on quality Californian is known for its aggressive product news and information. However, spending development strategy, which aims to capture a money on merely cosmetic changes would not greater amount of the audience in this isolated be enough to slow or reverse declining mountain community. Each product has print circulation and subscriptions, points out Jeong and online components. The main newspaper Do Hong, director of strategy at JoongAng reaches only about 20 percent of the Ilbo. Therefore, it was key to build upon the population, but the company’s 15 print and cornerstone of trust, which is the bedrock of online niche publications together reach more every quality newspaper, he said. than 80 percent of the market when combined • In April 2009, Sojormedia Capital, part of with the main newspaper. The company’s Grupo Lena in Portugal, launched i, a unique market share is measured in two ways: niche newspaper among 13 mass market daily advertiser market share, and the newspapers’ 6 VOLUME 8 REPORT N° 5 THE POWER OF PRINT reach among consumers, including how the lost about 29,000 circulation total,” said MNG portfolio of products reached 80 percent chairman William Dean Singleton. Denver is combined in a 30-day period. the No. 2 most penetrated newspaper market in the United States after Washington, D.C. • In May 2009, the PPF Group in the Czech Republic invested ?10 million, and launched As the case studies and data show, print seven weekly newspapers and 30 Web sites newspapers in some parts of the world are across the country, opening a newspaper office seeing only growth, while in other, more in each of its hamlets. If successful, they plan developed markets, the power of print is to add more. The group also has opened a growing in a different way, as publishers carve Prague-based training centre for the group’s 90 out spaces in niche markets and better tailor employees and outside journalists, called print to the needs of their communities. Futuroom. The focus of the newspapers is Around the world, newspapers that value and “hyperlocal journalism,” with an emphasis on strengthen printed products in the most advertisers and readers in the communities appropriate ways to serve their specific they serve. Each local office will feature an audiences and locales are seeing success, Internet café, so locals can enjoy a coffee brought about by continued dedication to while interacting with the news. “While newspapers' goals: to inform and delight. everyone else is closing, we are expanding,” Roman Gallo, director of media strategies at PPF told The New York Times. • Just five years after its launch, the Media24- owned Daily Sun grew to become the largest newspaper in South Africa, with a circulation of 500,000, all by finding, understanding and staying loyal to an under-served, and even non-served audience, said Fergus Sampson, CEO of emerging markets at Media24. The newspaper's success, however, has less to do with editorial, advertising and circulation, and more to do with the Daily Sun seizing the opportunity that opened up thanks to a confluence of circumstances happening in social, political and economic realms in South Africa in the 1990s, in the time following the fall of apartheid, he said.