The new owners at the Orange County Register in California are defying newspaper publishing trends by hiring additional journalists and adding pages to their print edition. The Huffington Post has a full report – read it.
Aaron Kushner added about 75 journalists and, with 25 more coming, will have expanded the newsroom by half since his investment group bought the nation’s 20th-largest newspaper by circulation in July.
Changes also include thicker pages with triple the number of colors to produce razor-sharp photos and graphics. By the end of March, the newspaper will have 40 percent more space than under previous owners, Freedom Communications Inc.
Kushner, 39, believes people will pay for high-quality news. His bet is remarkable in an industry where newspapers have shrunk their way to profits for years, slashing costs while seeking clicks on often-free websites to attract online advertising.
Of particular interest is their nearly five-fold increase in community news pages.
If their changes work, it will reinforce a theory among some that the medium is not the main cause of the decline in newspaper sales but, rather, the content.
This is a good news story about a new newspaper publisher taking risks and getting back to basics – giving readers more news that is more relevant to them.
I’d love to see Australian newspapers make moves like those at the Orange County Register.
This WILL work, my customers would be delighted with this product. Unfortunately, we are not blessed with the same vision and fortitude in the hallowed hallways of our publishing empires…just the opposite !!!!
It’s definitely an opportunity. It could save Fairfax if their board could get their heads around it. Warren Buffet be on the same track with his recent investments in regional newspapers.
Ricky you are correct, if the Fairfax board can get their head around it. We have 2 local papers with one being published weekly on wed and the second twice a week wed and fri, but for the last two weeks the twice weekly paper is only producing the Friday edition which is a pain as most people buy the wed edition as it has more local news and not the inserts and little news content of the fri edition. Even the fact we are publising the fact it is a BUMPER edition sales are the slowest I have seen for a fri edition (todays issue). To make matters worse the once a week paper published both Weds as normal. By the way they are both Fairfax publications.
using “bumper editions” to comment. This
week Fairfax had another “bumper edition”
We usually get a large increase of F/R’s when there is a “bumper” but we have run out early for all bumpers this year and it
generates such angst with customers.
Customers don’t understand why the companies do it (neither do I because they
have a daily obligation to their customers in my opinion).
The comments to us this year are highly
suggestive that they won’t be bothered buying the age/fr/smh at all since they are
treated so badly by the publishers.
It is shameful to watch a once-proud newspaper go into a tailspin and I feel very
sad about it (even though it is only a secondary paper in SA).
The FF reputation is in tatters and News Ltd is not too far behind.
We have missed hundreds of sales over the Xmas period with short supplies of all
papers and no extras available.
I think it is a planned attack to enable the
digital model to flourish by suggesting that
the printed model is “hard to buy”
The newspaper companies in their contracts demand that we be here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (well, close to that). But they cant be bothered creating a new product every day themselves, I mean they have to take some leave right?
wait and see the negative press the media give themselves when the SMH goes to tabloid format in a few months…….
we are a negative bunch of people, bad news sells better than good news. read any of the headlines, look at the top youtube videos (there will be a fail complilation before a cute or happy one) listen to how people talk “ÿou DONT have any bluetac do you?”
good luck in the heat