By Mark Rushton, Editor, Pulp & Paper International Magazine, RISI
LONDON,
Oct. 10, 2011
(RISI) -
Despite what we are continually being told, there appears to be no evidence that the Internet is harming the newspaper industry
We cannot escape from the fact that newspapers seem to have had their days in the sun, particularly in the more mature markets. If reports are to be believed, the digital media seems to have picked up the news baton and is running away into the distance. But is it? PPI spoke to Caryl Holland, a UK based veteran reporter and commentator on the printing and newspaper industry and found out that there is plenty of life left in the traditional newspaper.
PPI: All we seem to hear regarding the fate of newspapers is that they are on the way down, they are closing, and readership is constantly on the wane. How true is this?
Caryl Holland: The situation varies significantly from country to country. One influencing factor is the proportion of revenue gained from advertising compared to copy sales. For instance, in Japan, on average it is 25% from advertising and 75% from newspaper sales, whereas in the United States the opposite is the case. Hence the reason why the US news industry is currently struggling.
Moves in circulation also vary considerably. For instance, in India, circulation has been increasing by some 10% annually as literacy rates increase, whereas in the western world circulations are declining though the situation is not as dire as some would have us believe. For example, in the UK, the readership has declined by 17% in the last five years but this figure includes the free copies which quite rightly have recently been removed from the audits. In addition, it is said that the reduction is more to do with reduced frequency than actual loss of readers which is thought to be quite small.
Nor should one ignore the fact that more newspaper titles are being launched than being closed. In fact, the figure last year in the UK is thought to be close on 100 new titles, many of them targeted at specific market sectors. One good example is The Independent's ‘i', a cut-price national daily which provides a digest of the news and is targeted at those readers without time to read a complete quality newspaper.
Where do inventions such as the iPad leave the newspaper industry? Are they having an impact as yet on consumption? Do you think they will have a bigger impact in the future?
Despite what we are continually being told, there appears to be no evidence that the Internet is harming the industry. Indeed, many newspaper publishers see it as providing significant opportunities for expanding revenues streams as the platforms grow.
However, it is early days and it will take some time before the electronic devices provide as much revenue as the printed newspaper. Currently, on average printed newspapers represent some 80% of a publisher's total revenue, while less than ten per cent is derived from digital activities. Nor is this figure expected to rise significantly for many years to come.
In the meantime, technological developments are giving increasing opportunities to link print to digital. For instance, using a mobile device and app software, it is possible to link the printed page to a video, website or personalised URL which can unlock a special offer, competition page and so on. Attention is also turning to the benefits which digital cannot provide such as smell and taste, of particular interest to advertisers. There have also even been a couple of examples of ‘talking' newspapers using printed electronics.
Can you talk about trends? Are local newspapers on the up or on the down? Is more targeted or personal newspaper technology coming into play, for instance?
Again, it is very difficult to generalise. However, personally I believe that local newspapers are one of the strongest elements of the printed news industry since it is the market with the least competition from other media.
Admittedly, in the UK at least, recently we have seen daily regional newspapers being changed to weeklies, one of the reasons being given being increasing production costs, and in particular the price of newsprint. This has also forced several regional free newspaper publishers to remodel their traditional door-to-door distribution routes, trimming out copies from costly distribution areas and replacing them with targeted distribution.
In fact, more targeted distribution is a general trend in the western world achieved mostly by using traditional presses and mailroom equipment rather than digital printing. The area where the digital printing of complete newspapers is occurring is in remote places, especially islands, where the cost of transporting the newspapers from the mainland is high.
However, without this cost saving, digital printers are finding it difficult to make a profit when producing complete newspapers, mainly blaming the price of digital newsprint and the low cost per copy demanded by the market. This is not so much of a problem when it comes to speciality publications including personalised newspapers though the latter has still to really get off the ground.
Can you tell us how technology in newspaper publishing and printing has moved on over the last 10 years? And also where it is going and what it will look like 10 years from now?
There have been massive changes in the technology. Newsrooms are becoming completely electronic and capable of handling all media, not just the printed form and websites but also video and television. Pre-press and platerooms are becoming completely automated including sorting the plates, transporting them to the correct press unit and loading/unloading them on to the cylinders.
The same goes for the handling of the newsprint reels: there need be no human intervention from when the reels are unload off the lorry at the plant to when they are put on the press. Such systems are becoming necessary as press widths (and hence the size of the reels) and speeds increase, and press operations become more automated. However, it is unlikely that we will ever see a completely people- less newspaper plant. There will always have to be someone on the floor in case something goes wrong.
The other major production trend is the move by newspaper printers towards producing a wider range of products in order to keep their increasingly hungry equipment fully occupied and hence more cost effective. Mainly producing semi-commercial work such as direct mail leaflets and catalogues, plus newspaper supplements, these are printed using coldset offset newspaper presses to which have been added accelerated drying although not in every case.
Do you believe the newspaper industry will survive? What can associated industries do to aid their survival and make sure they are around for many years to come?
There is no getting away from the fact that the glory days of the newspaper industry at least in the western world are over. However, this does not mean that you should write the industry off. Despite the current economic situation, many publishers are still making profits which are the envy of other industries.
There is no doubt in my view that the newspaper industry is going to be around for many years to come, a belief backed up by publishers continuing to invest millions in new plants. In the UK alone, over £150 million is currently being invested in new plants - by Associated Newspapers and Northern and Shell, proprietors of the Daily and Sunday Express newspapers.
Another encouraging sign is the increasing flexibility being shown by newspaper publishers and printers, recognising the fact that the industry needs to be more creative in terms of its product development, especially in terms of adding value. Indeed, with their well known and trusted brands, this is an area which offers the industry significant potential, and where more co-operation and interaction between publishers and associated industries could be of benefit to both sides.
Caryl Holland has been writing about the printing and publishing industry for some 30 years. During that time, she has edited a number of magazines including Professional Printer, Offset Printing, Inkmaker, Graphics Monthly, Graphics World and European Sign Magazine, as well as contributing on a freelance basis to many of the major graphic arts titles around the world. Currently, in addition to undertaking a range of freelance work, she is deputy editor of Production Journal, the only UK magazine dedicated to the newspaper industry.
