VANA (an association representing Victorian newsagents) sent out the following correspondence from News Ltd yesterday in relation to the speculation this week about free newspapers. It is in the form of a letter to Peter Cowley, VANA CEO.
Dear Peter,
Thank you for sharing the concerns of VANA members about the recent online article “Could News Ltd take its newspapers free?”.
Your members can safely disregard the suggestion that metropolitan daily newspapers like the Herald Sun might one day be given away free of charge.
It’s idle speculation and completely off-the-mark.
You’ll note that News Limited Director of Corporate Affairs, Greg Baxter has already issued a flat denial, which was included in the online article.
But if further reassurance is required, here’s a quick reality check.
At a cover price of $1.10, the Herald Sun sells more than 500,00 copies Monday to Friday, week in, week out. And more than 600,000 copies every Sunday at $1.80.
That’s an awful lot of sales revenue to forgo.
But if you believe the online expert, dropping the price to zero would increase our readership.
Problem is, according to Roy Morgan Research more than 1 in 4 adult Victorians already read the Herald Sun, giving us one of the highest per capita readership levels in the world.
Dropping the price to zero might grow our readership enormously, but then again it might not. A newspaper’s cover price is just one of many factors influencing consumer behaviour.
The Herald Sun’s connection with the Victorian community is undoubtedly our most powerful tool for attracting readers and advertisers
It’s a connection that has never been more apparent than during the recent Victorian Bushfires.
Delivering that connection through quality journalism is one of the fundamentals of our business. It’s also very expensive.
Why would we put it all at risk for so little potential gain?
Warm regards,
Andrew Hockley
General Manager, Sales & Marketing
Herald & Weekly Times Pty Ltd
40 City Road Southbank 3006
Thanks for sharing this info.
Just goes to show it is very important when the person at the top of any company, they must choose words carefully when giving an interview.
However, when the English Premier league (soccer) board says “the Manager has the boards full support” you usually see the Manager dismissed in a week or so.
Derek, What is frustrating is that News does not engage professionally with newsagents on the future of newspapers. It is as if they see it as business as usual for many years to come.
It will not be business as usual.
Mark- I agree, it will not be business as usual. On a few fronts.
I am not speaking for everyone but my view is they abuse Newsagents.
Communication sucks. Why do they not use email, most people have email.
Their promotions where Newsagents get 10% (Wonderbooks, cds etc) commission is insulting.
Alpha betrayal
The future on Newspaper mixed signals.