Australian Newsagency Blog

James Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive of News Corporation, Europe and Asia, delivered a speech yesterday in Barcelona which provides context for Australian newsagents as they read the new newspaper distribution contracts which need to be decided within the next four weeks.  Reuters, Roy Greenslade at The Guardian and others are reporting that the speech reflects a smaller reliance on newspapers in the future of News.

We need to make our own assessment as to the role newspapers play in the future of newsagencies. This assessment is best done on our own terms and based on our assessment of the future of the medium. As I wrote here a couple of days ago:

I doubt that anyone, consumers, economists, share analysis, newspaper publishers or newsagents expects newspaper distribution to grow considerably. We are at best in a flat market and at worst in a declining market. The consideration of the future of newspaper distribution needs to be considered in the context of a pragmatic assessment of the medium and the environmental and economic costs associated with it.

We cannot set our future by reacting to suppliers. We need to set our own agenda and pursue it with commitment and determination.  If we fail to do this, some newsagents will read about themselves as victims of circumstances and the decisions of others.

Smart newsagents will not be victims.  These are newsagents who understand margin balance and basket efficiency and who are leveraging today’s traffic to tomorrow’s opportunities.