Plenty was written yesterday about the decision by APN to close two newspapers and to cut another newspaper from publishing a print edition six days a week to one day a week.
While the APN move, the first from a major newspaper publisher in Australia, has been reported by some as a shock, it is an example of newspaper publishing catching up with some other parts of the world. In the US, for example, the daily Seattle Post Intelligencier, the newspaper of record for the city, moved from print to a digital only platform in March 2009 – for pretty much the same reasons put by APN.
We will see more moves like this. The sky is not falling. These closures are all part of disruption brought on by a changing news cycle and by easier and cheaper access to digital content.
Check out what APN Australian Regional Media chief executive Warren Bright told APN employees in an email according to a report in The Australian yesterday.
I am determined that we will be innovative and flexible as a company and not be caught standing as the world passes us by.
The newsagency business model needs to be a model which does not rely on newspapers to deliver traffic. We all need to be developing other traffic generators – as I have written here many times previously. We need to be innovative and flexible.
Newspaper publishers owe newsagents nothing as they face the challenge of digital and the structural decisions being driven by the new delivery platform. We need to understand that and make our own success focused solely on our own needs.
Mark
Its funny you mention that Newspapers Publishers owe us nothing,
Of course they have for a very very long time helped generate traffic since day dot and helped many small business with their product, however it is true that their prime focus is now on the transfer to digital.
I am grateful for the past help with their traffic generator however I agree with your last sentence 101%
I am looking toward the day whilst still in business that I do not have to put up with the one sided arrangements that Newspaper Publishers have bestowed on us all. One example: News Limited promotions 15% return was 10% for a long time. In my view they do not treat the Newsagency Channel as a customer, it is more like a Judge and a defendant scenario.
Mark,
I Agree 100%. Of course the reverse applies.
Mark
APN shut the printing press in Mackay last month and are printing The Daily Mercury in Rockhampton some 337km south of Mackay and are now trucking it daily
I understand why they would want to cut back, being a newsagent in the area. What I dont understand is dropping the price of the saturday edition to 50c from $1.30 not $1,50 as as stated by the CEO!! Surely the locals would still pay that price to catch up on local news. Seems to be shooting themselves in foot. And why is it not one newsagent was asked for their thoughts as to how to improve the product to increase circulation. Given we interact with the customers daily. Of course they dont owe us anything and neither do we owe any of the publishers. Times they are a changing
Today I have been notified by APN papers that the Woolworths in our shopping centre will have to be supplied with the Queensland Times, the local paper in our area.My newsagency is a 10 second walk from woolworths,so I will obviously be losing a lot of sales,do APN think that they will achieve extra sales by doing this,I have threatened them by refusing to deliver the papers to woolworths and even stop delivering their paper to our home delivery customers-not very happy
Do it Dave, couple of years ago we were approached to supply to local Bi-Lo we refused, so they direct supplied. It lasted about 6 months before they realised it was working.
Chris,did u mean it wasn’t working
Dave,
The same situation occurred with a neighbouring newsagent of ours and the local newspaper. They refused to supply so the publisher went direct. To my knowledge they are still supplying direct.
Depending on your contract with the publisher and your market share % of their circulation you may or may not have the leverage to win.
Unfortunately being both a retail and distribution agent sometimes means having to separate the two sides of the business.
I doubt we’ll bother to stock the remaining weekend edition of one of those titles they’re stopping.
This is its last week of six-day circulation, and I can use the space much better, so I’ll be stuffed if I’ll devote space to something that will only return me five lousy cents a pop, once a week.