A regional daily which is putting up its cover price by 44pc says it will give readers an extra 100 pages across the week.
The Lancashire Telegraph is raising its cover price next week from 45p to 65p from Monday to Friday as it relaunches the paper with new supplements and more news and sport.
The move will see around 100 extra pages in the title over the course of a week, including a new 40-page Weekend supplement, which will see the Saturday cover price rise to 80p.
It is the latest Newsquest title to unveil a steep rise in cover prices after The Northern Echo this week announced its price would increase from 50p to 65p from Monday to Friday and from 80p to 90p each Saturday.
Other Newsquest dailies which have raised cover prices recently have included The Argus in Brighton and the Bournemouth Echo, as the publisher has appeared to favour this strategy as a way of recouping lost circulation revenues.
Telegraph editor Kevin Young has told readers about the “exciting changes” at the paper in an article, which says the title is also taking on more staff.
He wrote: “We’re implementing the changes because we want to retain your loyalty – and because we need to meet the challenges of an ever-tougher market for regional newspapers.
“Traditional advertising platforms, which allowed us to bring you an unrivalled local news service, have suffered greatly during the economic downturn.
“This, combined with the digital information revolution, which has meant that anyone, anywhere can access news in many different formats, has provided a significant challenge for your local newspaper.
“Now we need to fully meet that challenge, and to that end we are taking on more staff as well as almost doubling the local news coverage in the paper. However, this investment in additional content, staff and pages has to be funded.
“As a result the Lancashire Telegraph will be increasing its cover price to 65p Monday to Friday from June 3, using much of the price rise to fund this major investment. The Saturday edition, with the new Weekend magazine and 7-day TV Guide, will be 80p.
“I hope you understand the reasons for our new strategy and enjoy your bigger, improved Lancashire Telegraph. Let me know what you think. We value and need your support.”
New supplements in the paper will include a community pull-out with district news and features, a 12-page pull-out on amateur sport, a new nostalgia pull-out and an expanded entertainment pull-out.
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It’s hard to believe what these people come out with. Newspapers and their associated products just aren’t as important to people as they used to be. That’s not to say they don’t have some relevance but to call coverage ‘unrivalled’ and label changes as ‘exciting’ is going to fool no one. Exciting has long-since disappeared from the vocabulary pertaining to newspapers.
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If its anything like the Brighton Argus then it’s doomed,price increase and just rubbish,overworked underpaid staff with moral at a constant low.this is just an insult to the loyal punters who now will very sadly go elsewhere,who wants to pay top dollar for yesterday’s news?
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If its anything like the Brighton Argus then it’s doomed,price increase and just rubbish,overworked underpaid staff with moral at a constant low.this is just an insult to the loyal punters who now will very sadly go elsewhere,who wants to pay top dollar for yesterday’s news?Newsquest last chance last dance to make a quick buck before the final curtain comes down on regional newspapers.
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Someone in regional media investing in local news content gathered by professionals – that has to be applauded. But is content still king ? and does size really matter ? – especially on a daily title ?
Is convenience of purchase a key factor these days ? – especially as ‘traditional outlets’ and home delivery opportunities continue to shrink and an ageing population finds it harder to get out everyday. Serious point but perhaps publishers should hook up with mobile health care providers – “I’m here on my daily visit to check you are ok and I’ve brought you your Lancashire Telegraph” Time to think more and more outside of the traditional box to the degree that the paper is a product competing to be purchased.
Lets hope the Lancashire Telegraph support this investment with a similar one in top notch marketing which covers point of sale placement, front page appeal, eye catching promotions and integrated multi media marketing campaigns.
I find myself purchasing the ‘i’ when I buy a daily newspaper. Its summary style content, image led front page, smallish pagination, focus on news more so than features and 20p cover price ticks all the boxes for me, and looking at its sales figures does so for an increasing number of others as well. Regional daily publishers could do worse than think of using the ‘i’ as the model going forward.
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Is it real news they are putting in or just guff? A lot of the “news” I have seen in revamped dailies consists of photos of children’s school classes, endless charity fund-raising stories, “business” pages with handout publicity pictures from firms of lawyers and accountants which have amalgamated, weekend entertainments supplements featuring half page photos of scruffy bands you’ve never heard of (and never will again), nostalgia with space filling old photographs you’ve seen 100 times before.
Some dailies have tried to give their employment (Jobs) section a makeover with long, mind-numbing “How to look good at your interview” articles next to some company house advert and perhaps one or two genuine job ads publicising vacancies miles from the circulation areas.
I can’t see Under 10s soccer taking off as a major circulation selling point. As for class photos, schools have scores of cameras, videos, theatre workshop equipment etc that would grace a professional outfit. Go into most schools, and you will find photos of pupils plastered all over the place. The local newspaper is old hat to kids now used to YouTube and the like.
There are property pages with huge photographs of all the attractive young ladies (never any men, sex discrimination people please note) manning estate agents’ front offices, and giant articles from the agents telling you how successful they are at selling your property.
All the trainee journalists now seem to be nice, likeable young people from middle class backgrounds who have obtained good A levels, done their gap years, been to uni, watched a few bands, and all gone to the same journalism training school. Maybe they are all comfortable Guardian readers, but there is something missing. They are so bland and laid back it is reflected in their boring writings. Where are the agitators, the revolutionaries who should be in prison for their beliefs? Where are the columnists who don’t think Sir Winston Churchill was such a brilliant leader for the British people (Sir Ray Tindle please note)?
One thing is certain,they are certainly not writing for the regional press.
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It is all very well to add more pages but how long will they last? My guess is a month or two until the inevitable circulation drop resulting from the price increase settles down. Customers also have to be able to spare the time to read these extra pages.
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Terrible but true indictment from (Not So) Breezy Blackpool… hey-ho, I’m with Trevor Lee and think the Lancashire Telegraph should be available on a doctor’s prescription.
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There’s a hidden Newsquest agenda here.
Everyone knows circulations will plummet (even NQ directors).
Then they have an excuse to go weekly…
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What’s this? A story about price rises and no mention of the cost of a cup of coffee? I’m stunned.
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And when newsprint goes up in price ?
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My newsquest owned weekly newspaper is so bad it makes you want to cry. Price increase next week of 20 pence.
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Great to see positive action from Newsquest recently – hopefully this will to take this frequently brilliant, but often painfully thin, newspaper to a sustainable level. Presumably NQ will follow these announcements with paywalls for their websites soon? Good luck to all.
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