News Corp. continues its obsession with Fairfax by speculating in the The Australian about Fairfax plans to stop printing weekday newspapers.
My feeling is News is actively watching this as a Fairfax announcement would make it easier for News to make its own announcement.
The question for newsagents is: are you ready? This will happen, newspapers you sell today will stop being printed, are you ready?
FYI, I am on the record from last year saying I expect the changes to start this year. I expect that The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review will cease daily publication. Based on circulation numbers, the cost of print distribution and the continuing evolution in how we access and consume news, the print newspaper is redundant for today’s marketplace.
After reading this in SMH I’m totally confused.
Chief executive of Fairfax Media Greg Hywood told investors in 2016 that 65 per cent of advertising revenue comes from weekend papers.
“It should surprise no one, and certainly not us, that the seven-day-a-week publishing model will eventually give way to weekend-only or more targeted printing for most publishers,” he said at the Macquarie investor conference.
However, this week a Fairfax spokesman said there were “no plans to change from daily printing and we expect that to be the case for some years into the future.”
I too thought the time was near.
Jenny,
Like you I find Fairfax are giving mixed messages and I believe it is deliberate as they them selves do not know what is going on in their own market place. Yes newspapers are declining but digital subscription take up is not what Fairfax (or News) where hoping for. I believe Fairfax will go to 3 days publishing, Mon, Wed and Saturday and this to start July this year.
Has anyone else noticed that the SMH masthead now includes smh.com.au news website of the year.
I think they have no choice right now but to give what appear to be mixed messages. Hywood, though, has been clear.
Hanging out for this too happen as in my case papers would be loss making.
The bigger question is are the distribution agents prepared. I would think they probably need to align themselves with courier/distribution companies to broaden their service base and put warehouse facilities and delivery abilities to maximum use.
And meanwhile i’m asked almost daily for AFR but can’t get it. Apparently i’m in a delivery area for a different news agency (~4km away) that doesn’t have a delivery run that comes out this far.
Not hard to see why they’re failing.
My first EVER visit from Fairfax this week and it only took them 12 years to find me. Just typical now they want to touch base when I’m planning my exit from the channel. I wonder who will be gone first ????