BTFEB20_19.pdf Page 19 12/2/09, 11:31 AM
COMMENT
BIG TALK
OZ NEWSPAPERS WAVING, NOT DROWNING
When the mighty Tribune Company in the US went into liquidation at Christmas the shudders were understandably felt across the globe,
but the subsequent obituaries written for newspapers Down Under are way out of line, writes the Herald Sun’s Adam Joseph.
Adam Joseph, around the world. According
Insights manager, to him: “American
Herald Sun (Melbourne) newspapers suffer from
massive perceptual
deficiencies among readers
and advertisers that I don't
see in other countries. That's
because they didn't invest in
brand-building when times
were good.”
Let’s touch back down in
Australia now, in terms of
It feels like the Australian newspaper industry is having something of a Mark the four key points
Twain moment at present – the reports of our death are greatly exaggerated. mentioned earlier for US
Media commentators are observing the carnage now taking place in the newspapers. Debt leveraging
American newspaper industry and jumping to the wrong conclusion that it is here is generally more
ILLUSTRATION BY
Armageddon time for newspapers here. SCOTT BRITTON manageable for publishers.
Marketing guru Seth Godin recently blogged: “When newspapers are gone, Revenue promises have
what will you miss?” In private correspondence with me he admitted that as a generally been more realistic. Classified migration has been slower and has not
reader, he enjoyed newspapers and considered them to be excellent value – but been going on for so long. And most importantly, major Australian newspaper
as a marketing guru, he didn’t think much of their business model. So I asked publishers have invested harder and for longer into our physical and online
him, from a marketing perspective, what one key thing could American newspa- masthead brands.
pers do to improve their chances of survival? His reply: “Realise that they are Australian publishers have worked hard to develop their core products –
not in the newsprint business, and use technology to build a new enterprise, not their physical newspapers – by upgrading print presses to provide more colour
prop up an old one.” and by introducing new sections and inserted magazines. And the result is some
My ultimate boss, Rupert Murdoch, would seem to agree going by his recent great newspapers in each state which are finely attuned to their readership,
Boyer Lecture. He said: “Our real business isn't printing on dead trees. It's giving hence delivering strong audience connection and a bond of trust. This is all very
our readers great journalism and great judgment … we are moving from news good news for display advertising revenues, which tend to get overlooked as the
papers to news brands”. focus is so often only on classifieds.
It’s not time to write the newspapers’ obituary in Australia just yet, and Commentators suggest that classified advertising, the fabled Rivers of Gold
here’s why. In a statement of the bleeding obvious, Australia is not America. The – are slowly turning into Billabongs of Bronze. The truth is that many classifieds
newspaper market in the United States is different to the one here. And the are indeed moving online but what they fail to mention is that newspapers
financial crisis gripping many publishers there is due to a number of reasons: remain highly relevant to Australian seekers.
Big debts – US publishers have borrowed far too much for far too long to In a recent Roy Morgan survey, 45% of Australians said newspapers were the
invest in the purchase of other media assets. most useful media for finding a job – compared with 35% for the internet. For
Big promises – the hammering of US share prices as publishers have failed home buyers, 47% said newspapers were the most useful media compared with
to deliver to investors the unrealistic growth rates they promised. 34% for the internet. With cars, the figures are almost neck and neck.
Big migration – the migration of US classified ads (jobs, homes, cars) from So please bear all this in mind each time the newspaper industry gets its
print to the internet, plus the effect of Craigslist, which has been worsened by quarterly dose of ABC circulation and Roy Morgan readership figures.
the economic crisis. I anticipate that some media commentators will take low single-digit annual
Big mistake – a lack of investment and innovation when it comes to brand- declines to mean the industry here is haemorrhaging from a main artery. But if
building, and relating to both consumer and trade brands. you take a longer-term view, newspaper circulations are holding up relatively
As every farmer knows, you reap what you sow – the basic principle of land well over time. Check out the Newspaper Works website for proof.
management also applies to brand management. Earl Wilkinson, executive While readership may be down a bit over time, show me one mass medium
director of the International Newsmedia Marketing Association (INMA), the that hasn’t suffered from audience fragmentation – like free TV. The newspaper
leading newspaper organisation in the US, is an avid watcher of newspapers industry might be sneezing a bit, but we’re not dead just yet.
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FEBRUARY 20 2009 BANDT.COM.AU 19