The Saturday Paper is being made available through Coles, which is frustrating some newsagents. This respected title has been in our channel for 5 years. Newsagents have supported it even though the margin is slim. It is disappointing some that Coles now gets the title.
Newsagents have been asked by IPS to deliver bundles to Coles for a $5.00 drop fee. I’d be surprised if many agree to this.
While the dataset is too small to declare a statewide or national trend, there is an indication that foreign language newspaper sales are surging. If this is a trend, it’s good news for newsagents as we are the go-to locations for these niche titles. Their success is our success.
Looking only at high street located newsagencies, newspaper sales overall are up. The actual number varies considerably between locations.
Within the newsagency sales data, sales for international / foreign language newspapers are up the most, by far, in every business I looked at.
In one high street store, for example, overall newspaper unit sales are up 11% in the April to August months of 2020 compared to 2019. Foreign language titles are up 29%. They account for 12% of all newspapers sold.
My suggestion to newsagents is – check data to see if this is the case. Leveraging this, you could consider:
I get that focussing on low margin product that accounts for 12% of a small product category may not make sense. However, it is in these niche areas where we can encourage valuable shopper loyalty.
With the Apple News App, for A$14.99 a month for up to 6 family members you get access to a ton of Australian and international magazines and newspapers. All current issue content.
This from the Apple website outlines the content:
Apple News+, a subscription service that brings together hundreds of popular magazines and leading newspapers into a beautiful, convenient and curated experience within the Apple News app, is now available to Australian readers. Apple News+ presents full access to the best and most relevant publications to meet any range of interests from major Australian outlets including The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, The Courier Mail, The Advertiser, Vogue, Australian Women’s Health, Elle, The Australian Women’s Weekly, Harper’s Bazaar Australia, GQ, Australian Men’s Health, Delicious and Australian Geographic, as well as several international newspapers and magazines including The Wall Street Journal (US), Los Angeles Times (US), The Times (UK), The Sunday Times (UK), National Geographic (US), Rolling Stone (US), Grazia (UK) and Hello! (UK).
Apple pitches it as your own personal newsagency:
Given that News Corp. wants compensation from Google and Facebook for taking revenue from them, maybe they offer newsagents compensation for their Apple relationship taking revenue from our channel.
Further on at the Apple website they detail more content:
Apple News+ subscribers can access current and past issues and individual articles from magazines such as Vogue Australia, Harper’s Bazaar Australia, Australian Women’s Health, The Australian Women’s Weekly, Elle, GQ Australia, Australian Men’s Health and Delicious. Australian subscribers can also access international newspapers and magazines including The Wall Street Journal (US), Los Angeles Times (US), The Times (UK), The Sunday Times (UK), Forbes (US), Esquire (US), Rolling Stone (US), National Geographic (US), New York Magazine (US), The Hollywood Reporter (US), Empire (UK) and Grazia (UK).
In reality this is another platform offering access to multiple titles for one subscription fee. These sites demonstrate the scope of the challenge to disruption of the print medium and the extent of fractional business publishers will embrace to extend the reach of their content.
There is nothing new here. It’s been happening for years. I mention it today as someone new to the channel was surprised to discover it is a thing.
Here is a note I received yesterday from a long term Sydney Morning Herald home delivery customer.
I found your details and wondered whether you could assist, or at least provide comments. I don’t know how to write a blog on your website.
This was my Facebook rant last night and gives you all the details of this appalling lack of service since the newsagency informed Mum they could no longer deliver her daily paper …
I am so angry, and before I begin my long rant, (apologies), I would really welcome any like experiences or feedback
Mum has subscribed to the SMH daily for 30 years. Earlier this year her local newsagent advised that home deliveries had been outsourced. Since then, Mum has never received a paper to her door (she lives in a Villa complex of 10). She is 85 and has had a stroke (sorry Mum for the disclosure 😘). She can’t walk down the driveway which in Winter is icy. The papers are sometimes wrapped, unwrapped (and wet), shoved on the letterboxes or in bushes, and last week found right across the road. We have heard all excuses “the truck is too big” (joke) “the driveway too narrow” (joke) … the drivers’ “aren’t insured” (wrong). They are entering common property, as confirmed by Strata. Mum is not getting the service she pays for. We have battled for 8 months to get answers, and a resolution, and today I wrote to The Editor and cc’d one of the numerous people we have spoken to. No, I have not heard from Lisa Davies the Editor, but I had a call straight away from the Team Leader who said they cannot “control or make” drivers deliver to the door. What exactly then is “home delivery”? How is this different from Coles Online or Amazon? These drivers from National Delivery Service (NDS) are just lazy bastards … and no, you can’t speak to NDS. I even registered with them pretending I was interested in being a delivery driver! Yep, no response.
How sad that in her later years she can’t start the day with her paper as has been her routine for years and years.
Mum & I will somehow continue the battle … Just call us “Erin” … Erin Brokovich. 😡
Mark, I would welcome your feedback.
This plea for help is indicative of how broken newspaper home delivery has become. In an effort to drive down costs newspaper publishers pay less and less for what is a premium service, and customers suffer.
Note – I removed identifying details of the customer and the newsagent.
One argument put forward by the government in support of their proposal to have Facebook and Google pay some but not all Australian news outlets has been challenges.
The Giant Stuff news and information business in New Zealand quit Facebook in July.
On ABC radio’s AM this morning information was shared indicating that the traffic impact for the news site has been minimal.
While I have shared my opinions here and here, I’ll note, again, that I think the code proposed by the government is poor policy that is being propagated to appease supporters. It is not the wise action of a free market economy. It is technically ignorant of how the platforms work and the control the publishers have.
The publishers set to benefit from the code, if there is a benefit, have broken business models. I doubt that any mon ey that may flow from implementing the code would support good journalism in Australia. That, in my view, is up to individual Australians, through the choices we make.
Jeff Jarvis is a journalism professor and an expert on news and, in particular, digital platforms of news. His tweets, in a thread, just now are interesting and timely in my opinion. be sure to read the full thread:
As ever, Rupert Murdoch ruins everything for everyone. He has pushed ridiculous legislation in Australia to get platforms to pay him and big publishers. Facebook just said if that happens, they will forbid the posting of news, which hurts everyone. https://t.co/sD3EH9z5kF
— Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) September 1, 2020
As I have noted already, the proposed move by the government is foolish, ill-conceived and pandering to media giants. They choose where their content goes. They have demonstrated the value of journalism in all their giveaways and discount deals on platforms line the Apple News platform.
You can see how ridiculous the move is by excluding the ABC and SBS.
The proposal by the government is dressed as supporting journalism but, I suspect, it has nothing to do with this.
Great, too, to see the Souther Highlands Express pitch newsagents…
The Southern Highlands Express newspaper is packed with local news. Get a copy at newsagents, general stores and selected retailers across the Highlands every Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/nEnuiHDZRW
— Southern Highlands Express (@SH_Express) August 27, 2020
Given recent comments here on Google and news, here are investigative journalism outlets in Australia that, in my opinion, lead the pack on investigative journalism in Australia.
Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments. I don’t care if you like my list or not, it’s my list, just as your list is your list.
OUT NOW
This week's edition of The Horsham Times is out today at newsagents and Coles.
Can't get to the shop? Access a digital copy at https://t.co/gmkQpTkpSV or better yet, sign up for a digital subscription. pic.twitter.com/yS08JuKlhE
— The Horsham Times (@thehorshamtimes) August 13, 2020
Australians visiting Google in recent days have received a message from the company, a single line below the search box:
If you click on the link, it takes you to this open letter:
Open letter to Australians
We need to let you know about new Government regulation that will hurt how Australians use Google Search and YouTube.A proposed law, the News Media Bargaining Code, would force us to provide you with a dramatically worse Google Search and YouTube, could lead to your data being handed over to big news businesses, and would put the free services you use at risk in Australia.
The way Aussies search every day on Google is at risk from new regulation
You’ve always relied on Google Search and YouTube to show you what’s most relevant and helpful to you. We could no longer guarantee that under this law. The law would force us to give an unfair advantage to one group of businesses – news media businesses – over everyone else who has a website, YouTube channel or small business. News media businesses alone would be given information that would help them artificially inflate their ranking over everyone else, even when someone else provides a better result. We’ve always treated all website owners fairly when it comes to information we share about ranking. The proposed changes are not fair and they mean that Google Search results and YouTube will be worse for you.Your Search data may be at risk
You trust us with your data and our job is to keep it safe. Under this law, Google has to tell news media businesses “how they can gain access” to data about your use of our products. There’s no way of knowing if any data handed over would be protected, or how it might be used by news media businesses.Hurting the free services you use
We deeply believe in the importance of news to society. We partner closely with Australian news media businesses — we already pay them millions of dollars and send them billions of free clicks every year. We’ve offered to pay more to license content. But rather than encouraging these types of partnerships, the law is set up to give big media companies special treatment and to encourage them to make enormous and unreasonable demands that would put our free services at risk.This law wouldn’t just impact the way Google and YouTube work with news media businesses — it would impact all of our Australian users, so we wanted to let you know. We’re going to do everything we possibly can to get this proposal changed so we can protect how Search and YouTube work for you in Australia and continue to build constructive partnerships with news media businesses — not choose one over the other.
You’ll hear more from us in the coming days — stay tuned.
Thank you,
Mel Silva, Managing Director, on behalf of Google Australia
This is an emotive campaign by Google, arguing points not core to the proposed code. Google understands people better than most businesses thanks to the data they have. I get why they are arguing through an emotive narrative it makes sense. An article at The Conversation discusses the issue.
In my opinion, the planned move by the federal government is an interference in the free market economy, something the current government claims to hold dear.
News outlets have sought to be listed on Google and other online platforms. They have done this using techniques to lift their rankings online. They have done this deliberately, when they could have, alternatively, blocked their sites from being listed. They are where they are because, in part, of their actions.
News outlets have, from time to time, also encouraged the sharing of their stories on online platforms.
I get that news outlets don’t like that Google and other platforms have taken their ad revenue. That’s competition as they well know. I think the loss of ad revenue is the core issue here. Publishers need to realise the world has changed and that old media platforms, newspapers, TV and radio are not as interesting to consumers as they used to be. That’s not the fault of Google and others.
This move by the government looks and feels like pandering to media giants like News Corp. It’s political, and as such is not, in my view, good policy. This is demonstrated by the government exclusion of public broadcasters from benefiting from the proposed legislation.
The ACCC, responding to Google’s open letter says A healthy news media sector is essential to a well-functioning democracy. I don’t see the code as facilitating a healthy news media. One could argue that the extraordinary concentration of media ownership, especially newspapers and related online platforms, in Australia is a considerably bigger challenge to democracy.
I hope the code does not get up as it would set a precedent for government intervention. Indeed, it reminds me of 1999 when the government facilitated the taking away of the exclusive and protected status of newsagents for the distribution of print media products in Australia. It did this without supportive compensation for newsagents. Newsagents were told it’s business, suck it up, we’re not going to protect you.
News outlets worried about their journalism being on platforms like Google can stop this themselves. That is what they should do. However, I suspect that is not their concern as much as is the collapse in ad revenue.
Google, Facebook and others are not heroes in my view. I wish they would make a heftier tax contribution in Australia based on considerable revenue. I wish they did not engage in tax minimisation. schemes that reduced the contribution they make to Australia and Australians. Indeed, I wish that of all big businesses, including big media outlets.
Hmm, now there’s a thought, how much could Australian journalism benefit from big media companies that do engage in tax minimisation through offshore arrangements not doing so? Plenty, I suspect.
The Guardian has provided good analysis as to the proposed legislation and why Google is opposed to it.
The Border Watch, a regional newspaper in South Australia, along with sister pub locations, will close tomorrow. Here is the full announcement put on Facebook:
TBW PRESSES COME TO HALT
For 159 years The Border Watch Newsgroup has been the voice of the Mount Gambier and district community, so much so it became known as the “Community Watchdog”. During those 159 years it fought to protect society against any wrong doing and look after the interests of its readers and local community.It has always remained proudly locally-owned by firstly, the Laurie and Watson families and since 1977 it has been owned by the Scott family.It has also had the distinction of operating for 159 years without missing an edition – that will no longer be the case.Sadly, today, the Board of Directors of The Border Watch Pty Ltd, which includes The Border Watch, South Eastern Times (Millicent) and The Pennant (Penola) announce that these newspapers, along with Millicent Print and the company’s associated digital platforms will cease production as of Friday, August 21.The 38 staff employed by the company were told of the decision today.They will receive all redundancy, annual and long service entitlements.Like regional newspapers in the United States and Europe over recent years Australia’s regional newspaper network has struggled in the past few years with many down-sizing or closing.The Border Watch Board of Directors said every effort had been made to keep the presses running.“As currently experienced throughout the regional media industry the recent impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly worsened the financial viability of TBW that was already severely impacted by declining advertising revenues and newspaper sales as well as increasing competition from a variety of digital media platforms.“Taking these issues into consideration TBW has made the very difficult decision to close its operations.“The company employs 38 staff and their loyalty during some difficult times in the past year is of the highest order and directors paid tribute to these talented, hard-working and in many cases, long-serving members of The Border Watch family.“To our loyal readers and advertisers we say a big thank for your support over many years.“Finally to our loyal and dedicated staff who have given so much to this company and its various media operations over so many years, we say a big thank you and our hearts go out to them and their families during this difficult time.
“Today is a sad day for everyone.”
Reading this, I am reminded that the Seattle Post Intelligencer moved to digital only in 2009. I wrote about it at the time. They made the move ahead of the curve and repositioned the business ahead of the major hit of disruption. Publishers confronting disruption now are coming at it late and have fewer options because of this.
This notice from the publisher of the North Central Review yesterday speaks to the challenges faced by independent local newspapers as a result of Covid. Their explanation of the situation is well made:
No print edition next week
The North Central Review, The Free Press and the Whittlesea Review will not print newspapers next week, on August 25, 2020.
The Review is taking the opportunity during the second COVID-19 lockdown to close for one week.
Normal print editions will resume Tuesday, September 1.
General manager/editor Lauren Duffy apologised for any inconvenience caused to advertisers and readers.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting all small businesses, and we are no exception,” she said.
“We have weathered the storm so far this year and printed as normal in 2020.
“Advertising from local business has significantly dropped and we feel we need to take this step.
“We thank you those local businesses who do advertise with us for their support thus far in 2020, and hope this continues in the future.”
Newspapers and media organisations across Australia have been significantly affected by a downturn of advertising revenue, with many newspapers forced to close their doors.
“While we provide an essential service to many people because in many communities we are the only local news service, we are also a business – we employ more than 15 local people, plus many, many more to deliver our newspapers, and we have costs like all businesses have,” Ms Duffy said.
“We are trying our very best to ensure the longevity of this newspaper.”
The Review’s journalists will continue to publish news online here at www.ncreview.com.au to keep the community updated with essential news.
This social media post from the West Wimmera Advocate from 5 days ago tells a heartbreaking story for the small local publisher.
EDIT 17.8.20: We are going to print this Wednesday 19.8.20. We are still working to find a (sustainable) solution for upcoming weeks. Please note if we don’t go to print we risk losing government grants, along with jobs for staff and ourselves and most importantly – the voice for our community. Working on COVID/Border documentation as well as current edition.
ADVOCATE TO CLOSE: Unless there is some kind of miracle the next edition of the Advocate will be our last. After months of ‘soldiering on’ for the community with constantly changing restrictions, and more and more rules in order to do business, the announcement by the SA government to impose a hard border is the final straw. I don’t have the energy for negotiating a new print arrangement on top of everything else.
Sorry, but I am burnt out.I am calling on all readers both side of the border to lobby against this rule. There are no cases in the 40km zone. There have been no positives due to cross border communities in SA. It seems to be driven by a desire to reduce asymptomatic testing costs.
I don’t know if Dan Andrews can pick up the tab, Scott Morrison or anyone else. But this is going to be the final straw for families in remote Victoria who have been doing the right thing and already have Stage 3 restrictions affecting everything.EDIT:It is not just about physically collecting the paper. It is about the huge burden to provide timely, factual, useful (and interesting) information in a remote part of Victoria. After 5 months feeling like in a constantly shifting war zone, I just don’t know how I can help my readers without complete burn out. Why are rural border communities left to sort the mess alone and largely forgotten. I am sorry I am just so tired.
While one media organisation has been gifted $10M from federal government Covid funds, independent newspapers are months away from receiving anything from the loudly announced federal government support.
Kudos to Local Media, the publishers of The Local Paper and the Melbourne Observer and other local area newspapers, for their support of local businesses with this free advertising offer.
This pay it forward campaign offer is a good example of a local business helping local businesses.
I am grateful to have been able to see all 3 episodes of the BBC documentary about the Murdoch media empire. I am sure Australians will be as fascinated when it eventually airs here. Newsagents, especially will find aspects of representation of the business familiar.
I found the first episode on YouTube:
The Kamala Harris ‘cartoon’ in The Australian a few days ago was racist and grossly offensive. On seeing it, I asked the staff at my own shops to remove it from sale. While I agree we should not act as censors, sometimes we have to take a stand. What The Australian published web too far in my view. I felt better not selling it. I don’t care what others think, this was the right decision for me.
In Scotland, The Scottish Sun has come under fire over the last 24 hours for its coverage of the train tragedy. The image is a copy of the front page from August 13, 2020.
This News International newspaper appears to approach ‘news’ in a manner similar to some papers here in Australia.
On Twitter, there are reports of newsagents not stocking the title:
I am pleased to announce and heartened to say that due to the appalling headline on the front page of ‘The Scottish Sun’ today that an increasing amount of Independent newsagents are refusing to take in their rag. Sometimes social media can be a positive tool against the 👍
— lals (@Alanascottish) August 14, 2020
News Corp has just released its fourth quarter and full results. For the Australian and newspaper part of the business for Q4:
Within the segment, revenues at News Corp Australia and News UK declined 31% and 22%, respectively. Adjusted Revenues for the segment decreased 22% compared to the prior year.
Circulation and subscription revenues decreased $22 million, or 9%, compared to the prior year, which includes a $10 million, or 4%, negative impact from foreign currency fluctuations. The remainder of the decrease was driven by lower single-copy sales revenue, primarily at News UK, as a result of COVID-19, partially offset by digital subscriber growth and price increases.
And, for the full year:
Within the segment, revenues at News Corp Australia and News UK declined 16% and 13%, respectively. Adjusted Revenues for the segment declined 10% compared to the prior year.
There is also this re COVID-19:
News Media: We have seen, and expect to continue to see, adverse effects on advertising and single-copy sales revenues. Advertising revenues in July at the newspaper mastheads declined 25-30% in total compared to the prior year. As a reminder, advertising revenues in the prior year included results from News America Marketing and the suspended community titles in Australia. The overall decline in circulation volumes moderated in July from the lows experienced in April and May, particularly for the weekend papers. We continued to see strong growth in digital subscribers in July compared to the prior year at the Australian mastheads and at The Times and Sunday Times.
The Company continues to take various steps intended to offset the impact of COVID-19, including by reducing variable costs and implementing cost-savings initiatives across its businesses, with a particular focus on the News Media segment. For example, the Company is implementing a shared services program to centralize a number of functional areas. While it is still evaluating the cost savings opportunity from this program, the Company expects to recognize annualized cost savings of at least $100 million beginning in fiscal 2022.
The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the extent of adverse impacts on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition, is highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.
The figures have just dropped. there is sure to be plenty of analysis, especially by competitor outlets.
In terms of COVID-19 it is interesting to see their commentary about their own business and to reflect on this in the context of their shrill and changing commentary which is often shouted at the public. If only their reporting and ‘news’ stories were as reflective and considered as what they write about themselves.
This report by Byron Kaye, Rupert Murdoch’s big investment headache: Australia, which dropped at Reuters yesterday makes for a fascinating read.
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The birthplace of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, News Corp’s (NWSA.O) Australian business, is shaping up as a trouble spot for the global firm, following a billion dollar writedown and a move to stop printing more than 100 regional newspapers.
People interested in print media in Australia should find the article interesting regardless of your views of the Murdoch controlled company. The report has been widely shared on Twitter since its release yesterday. Here are some of the tweets where a link to the article was shared:
Yesterday, Crikey published a report by Christopher Warren on the closure by News Corp of a printing plant in Queensland. This, too, is worth a read.
As News Corp closes down more printing presses, it threatens to lock out new players.
Australia’s press took a big step this week in its decades-long journey from venerable manufacturing process to nostalgic metaphor with the accelerated closure of those production plants where newspapers are — or were — printed.
The resulting consolidation will see News Corp making a further change, reducing the size of its metropolitan papers to the shorter size technically-known as the “bastard measure”, beginning with The Courier-Mail.
…
The Yandina press will use a single press to print the company’s remaining south-east Queensland papers — The Courier-Mail and Sunday Mail, the Gold Coast Bulletin and the Toowoomba Chronicle. It will also print local copies of The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and Nine’s The Australian Financial Review.
There’s form here that will concern independent publishers. When Horton Media, Queensland’s last independent printer, closed two years ago, some small independent papers had to shift printing to Sydney and truck their copies to the state due to local capacity constraints. Fairfax’s print plant at Ormiston (and in NSW’s Hunter), closed the same year as part of a printing and distribution agreement with News Corp.
This is all part of the disruption. newsagents, as we have seen in recent weeks, will get caught in the changes, left without papers, left dealing with angry customers. Communication from News Corp has been and continues to be appalling. It is a selfish company with a history of bullying small business newsagents. Top be fair though, plenty of newsagents have willingly made themselves available for this.
From the perspective democracy, we have to hope that there are more genuinely independent news outlets and that they have more journalists asking tough questions of politicians from all sides. The current concentration of news outlets in Australia is unhealthy for democracy. You only have to look at the biased Daily Telegraph.
The New Yorker earlier this year published an excellent piece on the impact of the closure of local / regional newspapers. What Happens When the News Is Gone? is a terrific read for people interested in local news.
Wrapaway, a niche magazine and newspaper distributor, late yesterday wrote to NSW / ACT newsagents advising them of a cut to their commission (gross profit) from 25% on their titles to 12.5%. Their letter to newsagents explains that the move has been brought about by a 500% increase in what News Corp. charges them to deliver their product.
This is another of many changes in the News Corp. that are impacting and will impact newsagents.
The challenge for impacted newsagents is when is it too much, when do you quit suppliers. While financially such a move may make sense, when it comes to niche titles, such as foreign language titles, you may accept a reduced margin to maintain your specialist status.
The other options of course, is to increase the cover price.
If the Wrapaway letter is accurate and News Corp. has increased their charges by 500% the company needs to fully explain the basis for this increase, it needs to prove that such an increase is necessary.
As regional central Queensland newsagencies started to close yesterday afternoon, Saturday, some had not received their News Corp. newspapers for the day.
What a failure by News Corp.
There is no point delivering newspapers for sale after the Newsagency has closed.
What makes the News Corp. cock up worse is that some newsagencies get their papers by 7am while newsagencies 15 minutes away do not get theirs until hours later.
This is an appalling situation. What makes it work is that newsagents are finding it challenging to find anyone at News Corp. who accepts responsibility suability for the situation.
Newsagents have a right to be angry. News Corp. has stuffed this up. The changed implemented are their changes, months in the planning. No consultation., No listening to local experts.
What a mess.
What makes it worse is that News Corp. through its mismanagement is hurting small business newsagents. News Corp. It is adding to personal stress, an emotional toll, on these newsagency families and the communities they serve. Yet, no one in News Corp. is accepting responsibility.
Part of the problem appears to be News Corp.’s decision to not employ drivers. It wants people with an ABN, to be contracted. I wonder if this is a decision by the company to circumvent labour laws. If what I have heard about driving time is true, I can understand why you’d want to contract a business rather than hire someone. A 10 hour drive each day feels unsafe to me, but this is, I am told, what is being required by the company.
A newsagent colleague wrote this to a News Corp. executive, who washed their hands of responsibility in response:
What happened to all the conditions we signed up too, when we were interviewed all those years ago to be acceptable newsagents for your company.
You don’t hold yourself to the same standards.
This is not only, not acceptable to your loyal retailers, loyal customers but it is a huge health and safety risk to your contractors.
This should never have happened. This should have been sorted out before the closure of The Morning Bulletin and the closure of the Rockhampton Print site.
…
We are beyond angry at the appalling standard of service Newslimited is giving it’s long term retail partners, but not surprised.
News Corp. failed early on this and they have maintained their failure. It’s like they don’t care.
This tweet tells the story:
It’s been 10 weeks since the Ararat Advocate was born. 10 weeks of bringing the community the news that they would have otherwise missed out on. A local independent team working hard to give the Ararat community what they deserve: a “local” paper. 🗞 pic.twitter.com/gWeLttaWhl
— Jack Ward (@JACKTWARD_) July 3, 2020
Newsagents in the UK are angry that News UK has increased the newspaper cover price and cut newsagent margin. Better Retailing has the details:
The NFRN has said “enough is enough” on newspaper margin cuts after News UK increased the price of The Times, but introduced a 0.5% drop in percentage terms for retailers.
From today (6 July), the cover price of Monday-to-Friday editions of The Times have risen by 20p to £2, while the margin for retailers has dropped from 21.5% to 21%, bringing the margin in line with the title’s weekend editions.
Its weekend titles will also increase in price, with the Saturday edition rising 20p to £2.20 and The Sunday Times moving up to £3. However, margins will be maintained at 21%.
This is an appalling move by News UK and one that should capture the attention of Australian newsagents.
The margin percentage cut and the cover price increase play on each other to intensify the financial hit to retailers including small business newsagents.
News Corp. in Australia is on a mission to cut operating costs and improve their own financial position as much as possible. Newsagents have seen this through the change in treatment of margin in recent years, closing of newspapers, changes to distribution arrangements and more.
UK newsagents are known for being strong and swift to act when they are wronged. I expect there will be considerable push back against the News UK move.
News UK is not alone in having on cover price and retailer margin in the UK:
HOW TO KILL THE NEWS TRADE BY @REACHPLC! Another 10p increase cause the greedy shareholders want more! Plus the unprofessional Publisher have under handedly Cut Newsagents terms without having the balls to be honest, yes truth always hurts! pic.twitter.com/iypL7xEmKq
— HNDA Delivers News (@hndanews) June 7, 2020
Newspaper retailers can make their decisions as to what they stock. I know of newsagents who have decided to not stock newspapers because of the declining percentage of gross profit and because of declining sales. One I spoke to recently said that even though customers ask about papers almost daily, not offering reduced a key personal stress point for them.
