The State of the News Media 2007 report by the Project for Excellence in Journalism makes for compelling reading. While it provides a thorough analysis of all news media, the chapter on newspapers will be of particular interest. The Editors Weblog has published a neat summary of the report including this insight into free newspapers:
“A question for the future may be whether mainstream papers will consider doing away with paid circulation — giving papers away — or charge only for the convenience of home delivery,†says the report. According to it, these free models might actually be beneficial, since they could boost circulation and cut costs in the circulation and distribution work force.
With successful free daily newspapers in Melbourne and Sydney and the recent launch of mX in Brisbane it is timely for us to ask about the future of these products and their likely impact on paid sales.
Newsagents rely on paid newspaper traffic every day. This is why they (we) must research and understand overseas trends. While publisher representatives tell us that Australia is not the US or Europe, we do know that trends offshore will impact decisions here eventually. The more newsagents research these trends and consider their implication the better informed their capital decisions will be.
Unlike newspaper distribution in any other country, the Australian newspaper distribution model is deeply entrenched with publishers, thousands of families rely on publishers to make decisions mindful of the history and capital investment by newsagents it often dictated by the publishers.
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