David Kirk’s speech earlier this week to the Annual Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers Association (PANPA) conference has, as is usual for Australian newspaper executives, a bet each way. One the one hand he says their newspapers are very strong and are here to stay, on the other hand he outlines plans for further investment online. The speech has, in my view, not added much to the conversation about the future of newspapers. I found this week’s article in The Economist on a similar topic more enlightening. Kirk’s claim that Fairfax content sets the agenda is a bit of a stretch. I would like to see independent research on this given agenda setting by leading bloggers in Australia and overseas. Indeed, many stories have been broken online in the last year which newspapers either ignored or missed altogether.
Reading the Kirk speech I feel no better informed. I wish a publishing executive in this country would have the balls to tell it like it is, warts and all – but that might being mean making us too informed.
I am a retail newsagent and the success of newspapers is important to my business. I accept that publishers like Fairfax will pursue opportunities online. I wish they would include their retail network in this journey rather than cutting them out entirely as they have done. I also wish they would be more open about projections for paid newspapers in the future. Events in the US, UK and Europe suggest we’re in for a rough ride. If only similar disruption would pass this country by. The reality is it will not. Publishers and their distribution network need to work closer together on the changes to minimise impact and develop other uses for the valuable resource.