Reports of the demise of the local press have been shown to be greatly exaggerated according to an article in today’s Independent newspaper.
Media editor Ian Burrell wrote a piece analysing how the industry has fared since industry expert Claire Enders’ infamous prediction that half the country’s local and regional newspapers would close down by 2013.
Wrote Ian: “A year or so later, the picture is somewhat different. Whereas 60 local newspapers did close during 2009, only eight have gone to the wall in 2010. The UK’s local press isn’t quite ready to draft its own obituary.
“Of the titles that closed last year, nearly all were free weeklies and none of them was a market leader in its community. The regional press is proving hardier than many experts thought.”
Interviewed for the piece, Newspaper Society president Georgina Harvey described Enders’ prognosis as “damaging and clearly ludicrous.”
“It was never, ever going to happen. Looking forward we would have to close 200 newspapers a year for the next three years for that prediction to be right. It’s completely nutty,” she said.
Johnston Press chief executive John Fry said the worst of the downturn now appeared to be over.
“The rapid drop that we had is appearing to bottom out, which has enabled companies to start rebuilding their profitability. Our profit grew in the first half, and I think that’s true of other companies as well.”
David Fordham, chief executive of Iliffe News and Media added: “We haven’t closed any titles whatsoever as a consequence of the downturn.
“There has been much greater stability this year. It’s not great but it’s not the threat that appeared to be on the horizon a couple of years ago. It hasn’t really materialised into a doomsday scenario.”
But Douglas McCabe, who works alongside Clare Enders at Enders Analysis said local newspaper companies had only avoided closing titles by slashing costs and cutting margins.
“The real pain is still to come, as publishers move from shaving the existing model to rethinking the model in its entirety,” he said.
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You should credit Jon Slattery, who did the original article from which this drawn for Press Gazette.
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It’s always a boost to read anything that contradicts the usual doomsaying. But such rallying calls just don’t sit comfortably alongside the inexorable trends of nosediving circulation, office convergence, job cuts etc etc etc. It’s OK though, iPads will save us. Someone who knows someone who read the Guardian told me.
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I also REALLY want this more optimistic outlook to be true, but I’m afraid I’m struggling to believe it…
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Good news Mr Fry. We all look forward to seeing staff numbers returned to acceptable from current crisis levels in the future instead of extra profits feeding the greedy.
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As long as local businesses want newspapers of one sort or another to convey their messages, there will be newspapers. I see a future of stripped down free sheets, and paid-for quality regional weeklies for the few readers who want a bit more than charity bike ride and police press release stories – mostly made in central hubs covering vast areas with handfuls of staff.
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