SFN Flash December 2004
Monthly update on World Press Trends
World Association of Newspapers in Paris, France
December 20, 2004
No 10, Volume 2
Distributed by email to WAN/WEF Members and SFN Subscribers
Also available on SFN website www.futureofthenewspaper.com
For more details, please contact Tatiana Repkova at
¬ MEDIA MARKET DATA
Role of Newspapers
India
The editor of Lankesh Patrike of Bangalore, Gauri Lankesh, has said that it is possible to run a newspaper without advertisements, provided it is able to draw adequate support of the people.
Media Markets & Newspapers
Australia
West Australian Newspapers Holdings reported a net profit for the September quarter of A$23 million (US$17 million, €13 million), up 31.8 per cent on the previous corresponding period.
France
The veteran editor-in-chief of Le Monde has resigned from the French newspaper, which has been struggling with a downturn in advertising and circulation.
Germany
Bertelsmann, the world's fifth-biggest media group, said its third-quarter net profit before minority interests had more than quadrupled to €91 million (US$117 million) from €20 million a year earlier.
Germany
German newspaper publisher Axel Springer said that operating profit in the first nine months of the year rose to €262 million (US$338 million) from €164 million a year earlier as sales and advertising revenues continued to improve.
India
In an effort to simplify the process of registration of newspapers and periodicals, especially for those applying from far-flung areas, the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI) office on November 22 started updating details of the Certificates of Registration (CRs) on its website.
Malaysia
A newspaper from China, Ren Min Re Bao (People’s Daily), will be available for sale in Malaysia soon…
United Kingdom
British publishing group Pearson said its flagship Financial Times newspaper would break even in the fourth quarter for first time in three years…
United Kingdom
As The Independent celebrates the birthday of its compact edition this week, the newspaper is up almost 20 per cent year on year, according to ABC figures.
United States of America
One third of the daily newspapers (281 of 841 newspapers reporting) gained circulation for the six-month period ending Sept. 30, 2004…
* * * * *
High-quality circulation continues to erode rapidly, though not as badly as anticipated, according to a new report released from Deutsche Bank's Paul Ginocchio.
United States of America
New York Times Co. will sell its midtown Manhattan headquarters building, known affectionately as the “Old Gray Lady,” to a partnership led by Tishman Speyer Properties for $175 million…
United States of America
The Seattle Times Co., owner of the city's largest daily paper and seven other newspapers in Washington and Maine, disclosed that it lost money last year and expects to show a loss for this year as well.
Newspaper Launches
Ghana
The Moment, a new eight-page weekly newspaper, was launched on October 28 in Accra with a call on the media to be fair in their reportage.
Newspaper Closures / Absorptions
Ivory Coast
A court in Ivory Coast has ordered Edi Presse, a private press distribution company, to return nine independent or opposition newspapers to the newsstands after blocking their appearance since early this month…
Tajikistan
The Tajik tax police have impounded copies of the independent weekly Ruzi Nav printed abroad…
Evening to Morning Switches / PM Newspapers
India
Sanj Samachar, the evening newspaper from Gujarat, has recently adopted a unique strategy to keep its readers updated on developments happening through the day. Instead of a single edition, the newspaper has started to come out with eight editions in one single day.
United States of America
The Scranton Times, an afternoon newspaper founded in 1870, will merge in the summer of 2005 with its sister paper, The Tribune, into a single morning newspaper…
Daily to Weekly Switches & Vice Versa
Cameroon
In mid-September, one of Cameroon’s most respected independent publications, Le Messager, went daily.
Minority Press
United States of America
The FAS-FAX report released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations was further proof that the circulation problems at Spanish-language dailies extends well beyond Tribune Co.'s national newspaper, Hoy.
Financial Newspapers / Business-to-Business Press
Hungary
The Magyar BBJ, Hungary's 100 per cent practical business weekly newspaper, was published for the first time on November 8.
News Agencies
United States of America – Global
Dow Jones & Company announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire MarketWatch, Inc…
¬ ADVERTISING
Advertising Statistics
Japan
Japan's largest advertising agency, Dentsu Inc., said its interim net profit jumped 80 per cent as a record hot summer and the Athens Olympics boosted advertising spending.
United States of America
Newspaper advertising expenditures for Q3 rose US$11.3 billion from the same period last year, a 3.8 per cent increase…
Online Advertising Statistics / Forecasts
United Kingdom
Next year’s UK online advertising spending will more than double the 2003 figure following double-digit growth through 2005, according to Zenith-Optimedia forecasts.
Advertising Forecasts
Australia
Optimistic forecasters say the market down under will grow by 10.6 per cent overall next year…
United Kingdom
The latest UK Long Term Advertising Expenditure Forecast from the Advertising Association suggests that the underlying economic forces that drive adspend are likely to continue to be positive for the foreseeable future.
Advertising Agencies – Commission Rates
Portugal
Beginning in 2005, the major Portuguese media groups are prepared to cut agency buying commissions from 15 per cent to 10 per cent for print advertising.
Print As an Advertising Medium / Ad Effectiveness / Metrics
Global
Antony Young, chief executive of ZenithOptimedia, has told a media research conference that the industry is struggling to keep pace and a new set of advertising metrics should be introduced.
Belgium
An industry standard module size for display advertising will be introduced in Belgium starting January 2005.
United Kingdom
National newspapers are offering advertisers £10 million of free ad space to run campaigns that will help measure the effectiveness of newspaper advertising, in a programme brokered by the Newspaper Marketing Agency.
¬ CIRCULATION
Special Supplements / Sections / Editions / Titles / Websites; Tailored / Localized / Regional
Spain
El Mundo will launch El Mundo Málaga, starting November 26, 2004. This is the fourth edition of El Mundo in the Andalusia region (Andalusia, Seville and Huelva).
United Kingdom
The Financial Times is considering closing its weekly media supplement, Creative Business, in a £7 million (US$13.4 million, €10.1 million) cost-cutting drive.
United Kingdom
The Daily Mail's owner, Associated Newspapers, has spent almost £14 million (US$) on a property website to add to its growing presence on the internet.
United Kingdom
The Times Online has added a new section targeting female users by bringing in fashion, style and features from The Times and The Sunday Times to a dedicated area of the site.
Free Newspapers & Pick-Up Publications
Canada
More than 40 Van Houtte cafeterias in the Montréal region have distributed some 2,000 copies of the free daily Metro since November 15.
France
Pixmania, the European consumer electronics publisher, has launched the first free consumer magazine devoted to the high-tech in partnership with the free newspaper Metro…
France – Monaco
Launched in June in Paris and Lyon, Economie Matin, the first French free economic weekly has broadened its circulation area to the South of France and Monaco.
The Netherlands
PCM, the publisher of four national newspapers, is considering starting a free newspaper with circulation of 1.5 million copies.
Portugal
Metro International S.A., the international newspaper group, announced that it has reached an agreement with Grupo Media Capital, SGPS, SA to establish a joint venture for the development and launch of a Metro newspaper edition in Lisbon…
Spain
Free newspaper 20 Minutes has started a big expansion in the Spain. At the beginning of November, the free paper has launched a new improved edition with more colour, more pages and better paper.
United Kingdom
Richard Desmond is working on a sensational plot to relaunch the Daily Express as a national freesheet in a bid to turn around its flagging circulation figures.
United Kingdom
Independent News & Media (INM), owner of the Independent and Independent on Sunday, spent about £6 million developing its tabloid format, pushing losses at the two titles to an estimated £15 million last year.
United Kingdom
Associated Newspapers is set to launch a weekly spin-off title from its free morning paper Metro, designed specifically for young working women.
United Kingdom
Insiders at The Daily Telegraph, a ferocious Times competitor, claim that about 15,000 Times refuseniks have defected since November 1 when the broadsheet Times disappeared.
United Kingdom
The Evening Standard is proposing to name its mooted free lunchtime version Standard Lunchtime Edition.
Readership & Marketing Research/Surveys
Singapore
Overall daily newspaper readership remains at about 84 per cent…
United States of America
Results of the first annual African American Newspaper Report were released…
United States of America
Loyal newspaper readers in the US are increasingly turning to the Internet for news, shopping research and information.
Online Audience Research & Measurement
Europe
Europeans spend nearly twice as much time on the internet as they do reading newspapers…
United Kingdom
People of all ages are becoming used to obtaining not only breaking news through their computers but also analysis of and comment on the day's main stories.
Newspaper Wars
United Kingdom
The battle for hearts, minds and eyeballs in both communities across Northern Ireland is set to intensify in the next few months with the planned launch of two new daily newspapers against a background of declining sales.
Distribution Ways & Channels
Russia
Newspapers and periodicals have not experienced a significant decline in sales since Moscow authorities banned the sale within the underground system and within 25 metres of metro stations last month…
United Kingdom
Up to 10,000 newsagents could be forced to close if the government ends a bloc exemption from competition rules for newspaper wholesalers…
¬ PRINTING & PRODUCTION SYSTEMS
Printing Market
Germany
German media giant Bertelsmann asked the European Commission to clear a three-way merger to create the biggest player in Europe's magazine and catalogue printing market…
United Kingdom
The Daily Mail and General Trust has announced the completion of a big investment in its printing facilities to boost pagination and colour in its flagship Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday titles.
United States of America – Hawaii
USA Today announced that it will begin printing for the first time in the state of Hawaii on Nov. 8…
Broadsheet / Tabloid Formats
Denmark
Information, a small left-leaning newspaper known for its critical line of the U.S.-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein, will be Denmark's first broadsheet to switch to a tabloid-size format…
The Netherlands
Trouw will be the first quality daily newspaper in the Netherlands to move to the tabloid format…
United Kingdom
The Daily Telegraph will remain a broadsheet for the “next few years” at least…
United Kingdom
In an editorial on November 1, The Times’ editor Robert Thomson reassures readers that the new all-compact newspaper will continue to be “the beacon of fine journalism in this country and around the world.”
* * * * *
Times editor Robert Thomson has revealed why he decided to switch the newspaper to compact format so suddenly - and the reason was all to do with cold hard figures.
United Kingdom
Independent editor Simon Kelner has admitted having a “tough time” with advertisers since his newspaper went compact and blamed the “unresponsive” industry for delays in switching the Independent on Sunday to a tabloid.
United States of America
When the weekly Yucaipa (Calif.) News Mirror hits the streets on November 18, the 10-paper Century Group will become one of the first U.S. chains to convert completely from broadsheet to the tabloid format.
¬ ONLINE / DIGITAL PUBLISHING
Business Models from Internet / Digital Sector
United States of America
Fearing the ambitions of deep-pocketed Web search giants, newspaper publishers are allowing themselves to be pushed to the periphery instead of being open to new partnership opportunities…
Websearch Technology & Practices
United States of America
Some online publishers have increased their use of paid search listings to draw readers to their Web sites.
Mobile Telephony & Newspapers
Europe
Some 83 per cent of European Union citizens have a mobile phone…
Video / Audio Packages
United States of America
The Wall Street Journal Online at WSJ.com, the largest paid subscription news site on the Web, and thePlatform™ announced that the Online Journal recently launched “The Wall Street Journal Video Center,” powered by thePlatform media publishing system™.
¬ EDITORIAL CONTENT
Image, Credibility, Perception of Newspapers
The Netherlands - Dutch Antilles
The Amigoe newspaper from Curacao, part of the Dutch Antilles, has accused Armand Snijders, the correspondent of the Dutch newspaper Reformatorisch Dagblad, of plagiarism.
Romania
Klaus Overbeck, the new German chairman of the board at the company that publishes the daily, Romania libera, reiterated on 29 October the promise to respect the daily's editorial independence…
“Tabloidization”
Spain
Spain's tabloid press has run into a storm of criticism, all the way up to Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, over the intrusive use of the long lens and probing prose.
Investigative Journalism / Covering Corruption
Bulgaria
Reporters Without Borders called for the immediate release of Romanian journalist George Buhnici of the privately-owned TV station Pro TV, who was arrested by the Bulgarian authorities on 16 November for filming with a concealed camera in a duty-free shop on the Romanian-Bulgarian border.
Newspaper / News Archives Online
United Kingdom
Telegraph Group has signed a deal with business library Fifty Lessons that will make its content available to readers and business leaders.
United States of America
The US government promises anyone with a computer will have access within a few years to millions of pages from old newspapers, a slice of American history to be viewed now only by visiting local libraries, newspaper offices or the nation's capital.
Do-It-Yourself / Citizen Journalism
Global
After doing much in recent years to revolutionize the way an encyclopedia can be built and maintained, the team behind Wikipedia is attempting to apply its collaborative information-gathering model to journalism.
Republic of Korea
While South Korea's journalists and political leaders have been debating how to reform Korean media for decades, the hot new OhmyNews website has paved the way for a new type of democratic journalism with its thousands of 'Net citizens - netizens - as contributors.
Good News Papers
Philippines
A group of journalists is launching a revolutionary concept in Filipino journalism: a newspaper that reports only good and nothing but good news.