To the point: no reason for euphoria
The new readership figures, presented this week by the Working Group for Advertising Media Research (Wemf), were welcomed by most publishers. The headlines of the related newspaper articles were correspondingly positive.
The new readership figures presented this week by the AG für Werbemedienforschung (Wemf) caused delight at most publishers. The titles of the corresponding newspaper articles were correspondingly positive. The spectrum ranged from euphoric to slightly cautious: "The newspaper that was said to be dead is back in", "Swiss newspapers are in high demand", "Press recovers from loss of readers", "Stopped loss of readers in paid newspapers", "Paid newspapers recover", "Free and Sunday titles reach more readers". The media companies are to be congratulated.
So have the newspaper prophets of doom of recent years been wrong? Not quite. While the latest figures show that the decline of subscription newspapers has slowed in the short term, the longer-term view unfortunately shows otherwise. Compared to 2004, 18 of 39 paid newspapers are losing significant numbers of readers (see also the article on page 33). The big winner is and remains the free press. It would therefore be completely wrong to sound the all-clear. The daily newspaper must reinvent itself. Rather, away from the news that is available everywhere free of charge and even faster, toward more background, classification and orientation. Or as Res Strehle, one of the two Tages-Anzeiger editors-in-chief, aptly put it in a radio interview: "The daily newspaper must become a tour guide in the news jungle." So the planned relaunches of the major dailies are necessary. Perhaps this will lead to a further increase in the number of readers of the newspapers. It is to be hoped so.
However, even the short-term positive readership figures cannot solve the current problems of the publishing industry. The media industry is in the midst of a huge crisis. In the first seven months of this year, the total volume of advertisements fell by almost 270 million Swiss francs, of which more than 160 million were commercial ads.
This decline has little to do with the development of readership, because it is cyclical. 2009 will be a disastrous year, and the outlook for 2010 is also gloomy. Quite a few industry experts are predicting a further decline of ten percent or even more. The business model that has worked for years (? advertising revenue and ? sales revenue) no longer seems to apply. New sources of revenue are therefore urgently needed. Even with an increase in readership, advertising revenues will not rise automatically and, if at all, will only be delayed.
So times remain tough.
Pierre C. Meier, Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
So have the newspaper prophets of doom of recent years been wrong? Not quite. While the latest figures show that the decline of subscription newspapers has slowed in the short term, the longer-term view unfortunately shows otherwise. Compared to 2004, 18 of 39 paid newspapers are losing significant numbers of readers (see also the article on page 33). The big winner is and remains the free press. It would therefore be completely wrong to sound the all-clear. The daily newspaper must reinvent itself. Rather, away from the news that is available everywhere free of charge and even faster, toward more background, classification and orientation. Or as Res Strehle, one of the two Tages-Anzeiger editors-in-chief, aptly put it in a radio interview: "The daily newspaper must become a tour guide in the news jungle." So the planned relaunches of the major dailies are necessary. Perhaps this will lead to a further increase in the number of readers of the newspapers. It is to be hoped so.
However, even the short-term positive readership figures cannot solve the current problems of the publishing industry. The media industry is in the midst of a huge crisis. In the first seven months of this year, the total volume of advertisements fell by almost 270 million Swiss francs, of which more than 160 million were commercial ads.
This decline has little to do with the development of readership, because it is cyclical. 2009 will be a disastrous year, and the outlook for 2010 is also gloomy. Quite a few industry experts are predicting a further decline of ten percent or even more. The business model that has worked for years (? advertising revenue and ? sales revenue) no longer seems to apply. New sources of revenue are therefore urgently needed. Even with an increase in readership, advertising revenues will not rise automatically and, if at all, will only be delayed.
So times remain tough.
Pierre C. Meier, Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
