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Weekly’s redesign sees cover price rise by 67pc

An editor has defended a decision to raise the cover price of a weekly newspaper by 67pc as it introduces a redesign with more pages.

The Bury Times will increase its price from 60p to £1 this week as it brings in a bigger paper with more pages for news, letters, features, comment and sport.

The redesigned edition will include a new leisure pull-out and the title has also recruited two new reporters for its editorial team, Tui Benjamin and Andrew Bardsley.

It comes after fellow Newsquest title the Hereford Times increased its cover price by 50pc in February, raising it from 80p to £1.20 and triggering a storm of protest on its Facebook page.

The National Federation of Retail Newsagents has also hit out at price increase at the two titles and other Newsquest papers, including the Western Telegraph, the Wiltshire Gazette & Herald and the Warrington Guardian, because the full increase is not being passed on to retailers.

Bury Times editor-in-chief Ian Savage has explained the price rise in an article about the changes, saying there was “significant investment” being made to improve the newspaper.

In the piece, he highlighted the difficulties faced by regional newspapers in the last few years, with advertising revenues down and the challenges posed by the “digital information revolution”.

Ian said: “We have decided to face up to that harsh reality and from next week you will see significant investment in the newspaper. However, this comes at an extra cost.

“As a result the Bury Times will be increasing its cover price to £1 from next week, using much of the price rise to fund this major investment.

“We want to continue to produce a high quality and comprehensive news service for the Bury community and I believe that the extra pages, more comprehensive news and features in the new-look Bury Times represents excellent value for money.”

Changes at the title have been brought in following reader focus groups about what they wanted to see in the Times.

Ian told HTFP that the investment in the paper was to ensure it remained a “good quality local newspaper”.

He said: “As I have explained in my piece in this week’s Bury Times, this is not simply just a cover a price increase – this is an investment in the newspapers.

“We have increased pagination significantly and taken on two new reporters. As a result there will be much more local news in the Bury Times than there has been. The newspaper has been redesigned and restructured, following a series of reader focus groups from Bury people.

“We listened to readers and responded to their views, but extra resources, pages and marketing has to come at a price.

“We understand that a cover price rise is controversial, but I firmly believe that for just £1 a week the new Bury Times represents excellent value for money.” 

The paper’s new 20-page Weekend supplement will include interviews with local celebrities and residents, a bygones section, cinema reviews, cookery, walks, a page of puzzles and a comprehensive listings section.

The latest ABC figures for the second half of 2012 showed the paper’s average circulation was 15,465, down 7.2pc year-on-year.

A statement from the NFRN has criticised the price increases at the titles, saying the newsagents will only get a small percentage of the rises, so they are receiving a smaller cut for each copy sold.

NFRN national president Alan Smith said: “As I visit each of the federation districts during my presidential year, I am finding an increasing groundswell amongst members who are rapidly losing patience with the constant abuse they are receiving from news industry suppliers. 

“If it isn’t wholesalers robbing them blind through unjustified carriage charge increases, it is publishers lining their pockets at the retailers’ expense through their failure to maintain pro rata terms.”

The cover prices at the Warrington Guardian, Wiltshire Gazette & Herald and Western Telegraph have all increased to £1, from 65p, 70p and 75p respectively.

Newsquest has not responded to requests for a comment about the concerns of the NFRN.

11 comments

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  • April 8, 2013 at 10:44 am
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    Go into a coffee shop and you’ll pay a lot more than £1 for a decent drink. And who thinks twice about that?

    Just think of all the effort in producing a newpaper for just £1. Must make it the bargain of the week

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  • April 8, 2013 at 11:40 am
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    Here in East Yorkshire, the Bridlington Free Press has been re-designed, short stories, heaps of space filling pictures, and ‘what’s on’ and acres? of advertising.

    JP must be in dire straits, because if they make our local news?paper any smaller it will become a square.

    It now lacks the pages of houses for sale pages which many relied on.

    Downhill is JPs policy in my view.

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  • April 8, 2013 at 11:54 am
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    That bloody coffee argument AGAIN!!! Do we have to have it wheeled out at every opportunity?

    As I and many others have pointed out, it’s not the £1 itself that matters, it’s the perceived value. If people don’t think they’re getting a good deal – ie a decent paper with interesting stories – for their £1, they won’t pay it. A paper is not comparable with a coffee; they are two entirely different purchases. It’s like saying you can buy a house for £250,000, so buying a car for £250,000 is a good deal.

    I first heard the coffee argument coming from management at the paper where I used to work, and now it’s infecting the comment boards on HTFP. Can someone please find out where it came from and put it out of its misery?!

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  • April 8, 2013 at 12:36 pm
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    To be the bargain of the week it has to be good. 10-15 years ago the Bury Times was an excellent, excellent product. It was jam packed with stuff, from pigeon-racing to court files to local cricket to council coverage – everything. People remember that, so to justify the price increase it has to be better than this. Good luck – if they do this achieve this it will indeed be a triumph.

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  • April 8, 2013 at 12:42 pm
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    What a super idea to boost circulation figures from the current ABC of 15,465, back above the 20k mark. Great initiative. Unfortunately, the perceived value of a cup of coffee is often greater than that of a newspaper, no matter how many pages of good local news and advertising it delivers.

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  • April 8, 2013 at 12:43 pm
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    God help us, not the “price of a cup of coffee” line trotted out again surely.

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  • April 8, 2013 at 1:18 pm
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    I can buy 120 cups-worth of coffee for £2.49 at Lidl..Milk’s only 79p too! And that’s a 2-pinter! Lasts ages.
    I can read many local papers these days, cover to cover in less than 15 minutes..

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  • April 8, 2013 at 1:24 pm
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    I’ve started making my own coffee – I reckon it costs me 15-20p a cup. That’s better value than any regional newspaper.

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  • April 8, 2013 at 1:55 pm
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    Coffee arguement is a non-starter.
    Starbucks et al are a rip-off and I don’t go near them.
    Neither would most of the readers of my local paper.

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  • April 8, 2013 at 2:24 pm
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    Its a short term money making gamble until circulation falls rapidly, as it surely will, then unfortunately staffing levels will once again decline.
    If the editor wants to invest in the paper, why close the local office, now is the time to invest in small shop in town centre.

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  • April 8, 2013 at 2:30 pm
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    I think the main flaw with the coffee argument is that the types of people most likely to consider buying their local newspaper are not likely to be regular buyers of coffee at the local Starbucks, Costa, etc. Yes, there will be cross-over but not much.

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