A cover price increase is set to come into effect before Christmas at a number of Johnston Press newspapers.
It has emerged that prices are to rise at several JP titles in Lancashire and Sussex, while Sheffield daily The Star has also confirmed a five pence increase this week.
HTFP has asked JP whether the increases are taking place group-wide, but the company has yet to respond to the request.
The Star’s price rise from 65p to 70p came into effect on Monday, and was announced in an editorial by editor James Mitchinson, who is shortly due to move to the Yorkshire Post.
Wrote James: “Cards on the table: the price of The Star will be increasing today, from 65p to 70p. For the time being, I will freeze the price of subscriptions to allow people to take advantage of the lower price.
“Since I arrived in 2013 I have doggedly kept the cover price down, doing my utmost to ensure the whole media package that comes out of Sheffield Newspapers represents value for money.
“It’s never easy to ask loyal readers to pay more, but I do believe that after two years with no price rise whatsoever, now is the right time to ask you for a little more.”
“The Star is breaking records and bagging coveted industry awards on your behalf. And, make no mistake about it, the extra five pence per day from you will be reinvested to make us better.
Added James: “It will help me to build a new mobile app, new website and refresh the look of your paper in 2016. I’m determined to keep The Star ahead of the competition.
“It will also help me to invest in more of the journalism that compels you to write to me by way of thanks. Nothing makes my job more worthwhile than someone from the local communities we serve saying thank you.”
Among the other titles affected by the price rises are the Chorley Guardian, Leyland Guardian, Garstang Courier and Longridge News in Lancashire.
Both the Chorley and Leyland Guardians will increase from £1 to £1.10.
Elsewhere the Mid Sussex Times revealed last week its cover price would rise by five pence to 90p from Christmas Eve.
In a piece announcing the change, pictured below, the paper said annual subscription prices would be frozen until 1 February.
The announcement stated: “The truth is, the price we charge you is heavily subsidised by the advertising inside. In a digital age and economically turbulent times, that subsidy from our advertisers has effectively reduced which is why, very sadly, we must increase the price.
“There are alternatives. We could reduce the quality of the independent journalism – but newspapers like this one have a vital duty ro hold to account those in authority, to stand up for or communities, and to tell difficult stories on your behalf in the public interest.
“It is a responsibility from which we never shy away. We continue to invest in the very best 24/7 breaking news local websites and to campaign for you and this community that we are so proud to serve.”
“We thank you for your valued custom in the past and trust you will continue with us despite this unavoidable increase in the price we must charge. We believe this newspaper has never been better value.”
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Again, a wait is necessary for JP’s response to a request for comment. Please post it asap, HTFP, as I want to get out to do my Christmas shopping some time in the next 24hrs, having been waiting for Newsquest’s comment on a story ran two months ago. I don’t know – these communications companies, eh?
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“And, make no mistake about it, the extra five pence per day from you will be reinvested to make us better” Mr Mitchinson tells his readers.
I really think this just isn’t true.
The only changes to editorial investment in living memory now have been cuts. With the share price even lower than when the company debt was much higher, the editorial budget won’t be increasing, will it?
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Well somebody has to pay for the JP suits’ festive treats.
While we are on the subject of JP, how long before its shares officially become labelled “junk”?
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Good, they will be able to give senior managers bigger bonuses this year, as we all know they actually run the papers.
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Cover price increases are never easy.
However, JP’s PR is really quite good this time. Very convincing and well thought out, delivered in an appropriate, engaging style.
Whether it’s true is another thing entirely.
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Not just senior managers, Emily. Don’t forget the accountants.
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JP daily titles in the North East have had a price rise too – 5p on Shields Gazette to a ridiculous 75p and 5p on Hartlepool Mail to 70p. Last time JP put prices up, a week before last Christmas, it resulted in a catastrophic dip in circulation. Let’s see if it has the same impact this time.
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Higher cover price for newspapers that are diminishing in quality. Circulation will tumble again which ultimately means loss of revenue. They’re doing all they can to kill off the printed word for websites that aren’t attracting advertising. Hardly intelligent business.
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What do you expect when Ashley Highfield comes out with jargon like this in his Christmas message to staff?
“New Group Publishing Directors Helen Oldham and Warren Butcher will work with your local leadership teams to develop and improve our portfolio of titles, across print and online. We are capturing the activities our Publishing Unit MDs oversaw under our previous structure, and assigning Senior Leadership Team (SLT) members to look after these to ensure a smooth transition and a consistent, quality service to customers and contacts. Further details will be shared shortly, but please speak to your Editorial Director, Sales Director or an SLT member if you have any questions.”
Soul-destroying.
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A number of North Yorkshire titles have had rises implemented this week also
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As someone who loves local newspapers I’d have no respect for anyone who pays for one now, I can think of no other industry that puts prices up while slashing quality and expects people to seriously keep on buying it.
The people at the top know the industry won’t be there in five years and they’re all just pushing for a quick win so they can embellish their Linkedin profiles and get a job with Deloitte and Touche.
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Merry Christmas readers! That will be an extra 5p please, for the smallest paper of the year. More than 1p for each page! Ho Ho Ho!
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Season’s greetings to all our valued readers and advertisers. And here’s a present from us – a cover price hike. Nice one, JP. Anyone seen the Newsquest lifeboat yet?
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Brilliant. Keep doing it JP – really good idea to make the local twice-weekly 80p on a Tuesday while not telling anyone how many you sell. Ancient ABC figures keep being touted about, but they are so out of date it’s funny.
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JP never fail at the festive season with some good news!
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I have never bought my local paper for three years, yet I have a better grasp of local events than ever. I usually know what’s happening in my community at least two days before anything appears in my local newspaper or its behind the times website.
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Thank you soul-destroyed for sharing Mr Highfield’s latest mumbo-jumbo. Very enlightening. Is there anybody at JP with the backbone to shout: ‘the boss isn’t wearing any clothes’?
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I don’t know Mid Sussex but surely the paper can come up with something better than football, a farming show and boring business news to justify a price rise? If it is anything like other JP titles it has had several price increases in recent years.
How about an outstanding investigative piece ?
Otherwise have to agree reasonable attempt to be frank.
Though it doesn’t say that JP management were not at all worried about circulation drops when chasing website gold. They are now.
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‘I believe the newspaper has never been better value!’ A JP publication!? He must also believe the Earth is flat!
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Haha….. You’re worried about an increase to 75p!! In Northern Ireland ALL JP weekly papers are £1.40 and are going up again soon!,
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In a nutshell they’re admitting that businesses don’t want to advertise with them because the paper’s an ineffective medium and presumably people aren’t buying copies due to the content being weak which in turn completes the circle, rather like archant recently they believe that if they put the price of a paper up that people aren’t buying,the ones that are will pay more.
When all else fails whack the price up and hope those currently buying it will continue to do so, naive arrogant and the worst kind of panic measure possible that will lose more existing readers money than it gets from the additional increase.
Oh and if it’s ‘better value now than ever’ why don’t people advertise in it.
Desperate times desperate measures
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A little tale for y’all. My father in law is 83 and as old habits die hard, he still buys the Hartlepool Mail.
He was shocked at the 5p rise this week and got talking to the woman in the shop about it. To cut a long story short she said: “If any more people stop buying it, it won’t be worth having on the shelves.” So my FIL asks how many they sell. The reply was “About 20 on a good day”.
This is a shop that was selling 350-400 copies a night just 14 years ago.
If someone had told me back then that sales could sink to such catastrophic levels I’d have accused them of being mad or drunk.
Well done the Johnston Press brains trust.
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The Sheffield Star is now 70p.
The Daily Mail with many more pages and features every day is 65p.
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It’s soul destroying when you work so hard for your local community in your local newspaper and along come the vultures of JP and devour it to the bones.
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Fact 1: Circulation year on year decreases of over 20%
Fact 2: In-depth research states value for money the main reason for sales declines.
H/O response: Increase cover prices.
FACT 3: JP in a very bad place, with no strategy except on how to reduce revenues & share price, not to mention staff morale.
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It’s all such feeble stuff, isn’t it? 5p on the cover price equates to a whopping extra £500 a week (assuming the title sells 10,000 copies – who knows with JP, as they don’t ABC audit any more). Considering that will be wiped out by interest on the vast debt, management expenses for pointless meetings etc, is it worth it for the goodwill that is lost?
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True to form, the snipers and keyboard warriors come out to play over a JP story. Not one alternative suggestion as to how the industry can avoid perennial price rises. And clearly the sources are running dry as these comments are littered with inaccuracies. Such a shame HTFP didn’t give the same column inches to recent Newsquest and Trinity rises.
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For the record, ALL JP titles are audited, by either ABC or BPA. If you want to know what the audited circulation figures are for any title, go to JICREG. There are no smoke and mirrors here. JP benefits from having two world class auditors. I hope that sets the record straight, but if not, do please contact me.
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This week’s Wakefield Express (dated Christmas Day) has gone from £1 to £1.10. It is 56 pages and hard as I try, I can’t find any mention of the price rise (or reasons for it) inside. Are readers no longer worthy?
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Ok, Howard Skinner, here’s a suggestion. Get rid of a few more deadwood executives, and rather than the remaining suits trousering the money, buy a few more young, keen reporters with it. Send them out to find good, interesting local news, then print it. Attract new customers, boost sales, attract new advertisers. Attract digital revenue from a complementary website boosted by the print brand. Is that really such a bad idea?
Happy Christmas. God bless us, one and all!
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Corporal Clegg – genius, why don’t you reveal yourself, seems such a waste to hide behind a snipers handle!?
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Our local paper has now risen to £1.20 this week. Not a lot of news in it, just the schools nativity pics and a random compilation of this year’s news month by month. Last one for me! Perhaps the increased cost will go towards the staff redundancies which have just been issued!! Merry Christmas!
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Howard Skinner. Sniper’s handle. Cheers.
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They put up the prices of JP titles in East Anglia without allowing editorial to ‘justify’ it or even draw the readers’ attention to it. One theory is they did it at this time because when people were whizzing round doing last minute Christmas shopping, they wouldn’t notice the increase when they threw it in the trolley with the sprouts and turkey. Flaw with that is most people buy it from a newsagent.
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Yet more price rises from JP here in West Yorkshire. Brighouse Echo from 85p to 90p, Hebden Bridge Times from 75p to 80p. These weeklies are regularly no more than 40 pages!
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My girlfriend in Sussex tells me the Mid Sussex Times once sold 22,000 a week long ago when she worked for it and now probably does about 5-6,000, so something went wrong somewhere
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JP papers are like ‘The Metro’, a few pages of local news, all the rest is common editorial content that every other JP paper are running up and down the country, then the cheek of increasing prices! ‘The Metro is a free paper as well! Then if you want to go digital, what on earth is happening with that abysmal JP site! Appalling!
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Re Howard Skinner’s snipey comment – I think you forgot the apostrophe in sniper’s. #Igotmorelikesthanyou
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Be interesting to compare copy sales pre and post increase, not revenue to see how many new copies they’ve picked up and how many have walked away.
Certainly early signs in the east why’d indicate more has been lost than gained.
Rather than put up cover prices and charge the loyal buyers more surely @howard it’s better to trim the cloth accordingly by weeding out some of the many many managers who add costs to the bottom line yet drain the company of profit, generally adding little or nothing to it?
And I hoped the days of last resort knee jerk decision making were long gone
Silly me
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