Newsagents on the eastern seaboard are privileged to be launching a new newspaper today, The Saturday Paper. While the day is barely half over, sales have been strong with more than half our sales to people coming in asking for the title.
Within half an hour we had sold more copies of The Saturday Paper than we usually sell all weekend of The Weekend Australian. While we could dismiss this noting that it is the launch issue, several customers commented about their purchase: one said they were looking forward to good journalism; another said they wanted something decent to read on the weekend; and, I’ve been waiting for this.
Most sales so far have been with other newspapers – more often with the AFR or Age than anything else. Price is not an issue nor is size compared to the other newspapers.
The buzz around the launch is excellent, very encouraging, something we are happy to engage with and encourage ourselves. Beyond the product itself, the launch is an encouragement for print as a medium for providing access to quality long-form journalism. It helps remind people about the role good print product can play.
We are supporting the title with the placement shown in the photo at the counter and placement between The Saturday Age and The Saturday Herald Sun.