Archive for the ‘Print media’ Category

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Latest ABC figures and the multipack controversy

February 23rd, 2010 by Louisa Papachristou

There was an incredible buzz in the office last week, caused by the release of the biannual ABC CCR report. Produced in February and August, this document provides the circulation figures of consumer magazines and reveals the true breadth and depth of the market.

Despite the recession, it seems that one of the things consumers are not ready to give up just yet is their weekly or monthly fix of their favourite titles. Magazines are considered by many as an inexpensive luxury, which can bring a little light-hearted relief to everyday life. As such, six of the top 10 market sectors have shown growth, according to the report.

Even before the report was released, the CCR was making headlines, as the publisher of CondeNast’s Vogue accused NatMags of using multipacks as a way of even though it is a perfectly legitimate marketing tool

In terms of circulation trends, satirical magazine Private Eye saw a year-on-year circulation increase of 3.4 per cent, taking sales to more than 210,000 for the first time since 1992. However, we were more impressed with Private Eye editor Ian Hislop’s quip: “The Eye’s circulation figures are like John Terry’s shorts. In the past they may have been down – but now they are firmly up again.”

Debut circulation of Wired magazine, which launched last April, was 48,275 in the second half of 2009, whilst Sky Magazine retained the highest distribution of any magazine,, mailed to 7,423,570 BSkyB subscribers.

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NME’s new model retains army of readers

February 15th, 2010 by Andrew

NME

The ABC figures released this week paint a familiar picture for the music press: year on year, music titles are facing a brick wall as prominent as Pink Floyd’s; their readership being squeezed like Jools Holland on a bad day.

Weekly titles NME and Kerrang! announced falls in circulation of more than 20 per cent, while monthly titles MOJO and Q also posted circulation decreases, albeit on a smaller scale. It poses the question – what must a music publication do to survive?

NME, for example, has evolved and diversified to fit the needs that today’s tech-savvy reader demands. Far from its humble beginnings as a grassroots newspaper nearly 60 years ago, the magazine is now part of a multi-faceted music brand which includes its own TV and radio stations, concerts, awards, merchandise and a website that boasts 3.5 million unique users a month.

The print publication of NME – while still arguably the most iconic aspect of the brand – has simply become just one part of a much bigger remit. Those who interact with NME now do so across multiple platforms, engaging in content that moves far beyond the page.

In establishing a multi-platform offering, NME has not only safeguarded its brand, but enhanced it, too. The brand offers a much more tangible experience: for example, you can read the review of the new Marina and the Diamonds record in the magazine, listen to it on NME Radio, read her interview on the website and watch her live on the NME tour.

There’s a lesson to be learned here in the ongoing debate surrounding newspapers’ attempts to safeguard their existence. In creating a coherent brand across various platforms of which the print magazine is just one part, NME has negated the risk of readers flocking to other publications to consume their music content by effectively creating a ‘one-stop shop’.

The ABC figures may paint a picture that NME will forever struggle to replicate its readership figures of the halcyon days of the 70s and 80s. Then, the magazine regularly shifted a quarter of a million copies a week, compared to just 38,486 now. The truth may be closer to the fact that its readers, like the NME brand, are simply evolving in the way they consume music content.

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Could you go a year without reading a newspaper? Adam Vincenzini is going to try…

February 1st, 2010 by Katie Bawler

Talk has been rife in the media world about the waning importance of print media and whether it is due to have the final nail banged into its coffin.  In his blog, the COMMS corner, Adam Vincenzini is undertaking a substantial experiment to put to the test accusations of digital media cannibalising print media.

On January 1st he embarked on a quest to go one year without buying or reading a print newspaper to see how it would affect his role as a PR consultant.

So far, he is discovering a lot – particularly about the ways he consumes digital media.  There is flexibility in digital news that allows him to choose which articles he reads, depending on his interests. He’s also become more aware of the rapidity with which he receives news throughout the day by following the Sky News breaking news Twitter feed.

I agree that taking in news digitally allows for immediate consumption. For example, when I get into work in the morning, I scroll my Digsby Twitter feed to get a steer on the stories that are due to be breaking later in the day.

But no matter what, I’ll always enjoy reading the paper. For me, the difference is that I’ll purvey a newspaper leisurely over my bowl of cereal. I look at newspapers almost as magazines now. I use them as leisure material, whereas I log on to actually read the news.

This is personal consumption, though. Professionally, I still can’t beat the feeling of seeing my coverage in the newspaper – it feels more real.  The sense of achievement is higher, and it’s something tangible that I can show friends and family. Maybe I hold print coverage in high esteem because I am quite new to social media. But having been encouraged to engage with online communities in my final year at university, I expect this to change.

I like print, I prefer it as I would Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference range to Sainsbury’s own brand, but do I really need it? I imagine not. Good luck to Adam with his ‘no newspapers’ challenge.

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Posted in A bit of fun, Digital PR, Print media | 2 Comments »

A little local difficulty – the decline of regional papers

January 25th, 2010 by Ian

Less than half a century ago, newspaper publishers still divided their power base between London and the regions. The provinces were considered just as important as the capital, and the nationals all had fully staffed operations in northern cities, particularly Manchester.

Fast forward a few decades and the regionals have undergone cataclysmic decline. Even the biggest groups are cutting jobs left, right and centre – or at least have plans to. Some might argue that mourning the demise of local journalism is a bit like crying over spilt milk. Speaking from the harsh experience of traipsing round grim town centres scouting for stories (at one point I remember scrawling ‘news’ ideas on the back of a pastie wrapper), I agree to some extent that the information provided to the dwindling local readership can often be paltry fare.

But this is about more than funerals and flower shows. Local papers remain a breeding ground where some of the best budding journalists cut their teeth, and in those pockets of the UK where true communities continue to exist, engagement with local news teams is still important to people.

From a PR point of view, the regional print and online titles remain a vital outlet to ensure London-based clients’ messages extend beyond the M25. So I was outraged to hear from a friend in the North-west that his publisher intends to axe sub-editors in favour of multi-skilling reporters, who will ‘write stories directly onto template pages and create print and online headlines, reducing the need for sub-editors’

This raises the terrifying prospect of PR. If stories being posted are unchecked by green (or simply talentless) reporters – who knows how many client wrangles this potential drop in standards might cause?

Image graciously borrowed from SMLXL’s post on the death of local newspapers

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Will the new London Weekly be what the capital is looking for?

January 20th, 2010 by Clare Ridley

Whether your allegiance was London Lite or Thelondonpaper, the journey home for many Londoners has become less colourful since the closure of both long-standing freesheets.

I, for one, used to quite enjoy reading Thelondonpaper.  Finding out about Sarah Harding or a Geldof’s nightly exploits became rather addictive reading after a long day in the office.  However, in the five months since tlp closed, I haven’t quite found anything to fill the gap, so I’m intrigued to find out what the mysterious forthcoming London Weekly has to offer.

A quick trawl of its site reveals a rudimentary selection of news stories, but it’s the celebrity ticker at the top that gets my attention.  Calling itself ‘fresh press’, London Weekly is a great idea for those of us hungry for the latest celebrity news.   Unfortunately, further investigation leaves me expecting more after being directed to the ‘news’ that the Gallagher brothers still aren’t speaking to each other.

The London Weekly_1263975425314 (Small)

So what more can we learn?  Alas, not much.  There’s no launch date on the site, though other sources claim it will hit our streets on 1 February.  It’s certainly ambitious, aiming to give away 250k copies a week on Fridays and Saturdays outside Tube and railway stations with regional editions planned by 2012.   Other than that, we’re left none the wiser.

The challenge for any freesheet is that they need to be all things to all people.   Metro’s concise mix of news, sport and celebrity has been a nationwide success story. Yet despite their best efforts, the giants of UK newspaper publishing, Associated and News International, couldn’t crack the London market.  The newly free Evening Standard is having a good stab at it, but has anyone managed to pick up a copy after 6.30pm?  A free paper backed by five private equity investors might provide what Londoners are looking for, but at the moment, they’re not giving much away.

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Posted in London, Print media | 1 Comment »

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