Writing at Editor & Publisher, John K Hartman, professor of journalism at Central Michigan University, says that frequency reductions for daily newspapers do not work. This is interesting because of the speculation as to what is next for some Australian daily newspapers.
I am sure people in newspaper publishing companies here are looking at what has been tried in the US and elsewhere. Hartman’s assessment would be of interest to them. Some of his comments mirror those of Greg Hywood, Fairfax CEO – that they will continue to publish as long as the numbers work. Right now for most Fairfax titles, the economic model is more a function of the demographic of their typical reader than sheer circulation volume.
My view is that it’s essential for newsagents is for to control when you get out of newspapers rather than someone else deciding this for you.