The good, the bad, and the ugly, Part I

The good, the bad, and the ugly, Part I

The print industry around the world is suffering. But more importantly, it is still surviving, Part I.

August 3, 2009 9:16 by Sam Potter

However, in the longer term publishers recognize they can’t rely on this generation, so they are at the forefront of efforts to monetize their content for young people, who are disinclined to read print. Unlike many Western titles they have avoided putting all of their content online for free, and now three major titles – The Nihon Keizai Shimbun, The Asahi Shimbun and The Yomiuri Shimbun- have joined forces to experiment with delivery via new technology such as the iPhone.

The bad

Europe

Falling ad revenue has hit publishers and agencies across all sectors in Europe. Worse still, the market has reached maturity – there is a high concentration of print titles in almost all markets.

In the most competitive markets, such as the UK, local titles are suffering most. The cost of printing, combined with falling ad and classified revenues, has made many titles unviable. MEN Media, for example, publisher of Britain’s highest circulation regional title The Manchester Evening News, as well as 22 local weekly papers, has recently closed the editorial offices for every weekly publication, with the loss of 150 jobs. The titles will still run, but from the companies main office. It’s thought a prolonged recession could lead to numerous closures at a regional level across Europe.

First seen in Communicate magazine.

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Tags: asia, closing down, Europe, Financial Crisis, magazines, Media, newspapers, print industry, publishing