2012 Nadbank survey

[Warren Toda]

The 2012 Nadbank survey came out yesterday and, as always, it's upbeat and positive because, as always, the newspaper industry is doing great. Everything is up!

more readers than ever before

newspaper brands remain strong

Did you know that more transit riders read the free papers than car drivers, cyclists and pedestrians combined? Who would've guessed?

Did you also know that that the over-65-year-old crowd loves to read print papers?

With the newspaper industry so rosy, one wonders why TorStar is doing layoffs/buyouts and why two other chains are also going to shed employees later this year.


And speaking of spin: Globe and Mail article, Toronto Star article,  Ottawa Citizen, Vancouver Sun, etc.

One wonders why newspapers report on this. Readers don't care and advertisers know better.

[Warren Toda]

In the US, the annual State of the News Media 2013 was just released.

Random snippets:

• Print advertising continues to fall. Total ad revenue is back at 1984 levels. Total circulation revenue hasn't increased in twenty years.

• For every 16 print ad dollars lost, there's 1 digital ad dollar gained. Last year it was 10:1. Two years ago, it was 7:1.

• One-third of US dailies have (or will have) pay web sites.

• Newspapers are rushing to mobile .... advertisers are not.


Of course, there's some always popular graphs and charts.

[Ken Gigliotti]

  I think the newspaper business is in a settling in stage . Those who are in a flight to quality will slow and delay the loss in circulation.Readers are eventually  seeing sincerity from this old soulless business.  Those who slash and burn will face greater decline at a faster rate.  With denial off the table , there is tinkering , lots of tinkering . Tinkering is good.  It means the business is alive again. At some point a tink turns into a tat and then a bang , then a big bang. The readers are settling to what ever device or product they are comfortable with. The spirit of our calling has to rise in the eyes of our readers.
 Change is taking a breath . There is lots of grumbling about the cost of device obsolescence , service , TV & phone and internet service.
 The survey is telling us what we already know , our product is information , the issue is marketing . Advertising goes to circulation , eyes and bodies . Editorial to hearts and minds. Web is heated , transient , opportunistic.
  The daily Metro is an abbreviated hard copy , it has value , and you get something for nothing. That is always a good deal in any era. Every daily should get into that space for a city , morning edition . How hard could that be.
  The delivered version is weak Sunday to Wednesday because we make it weak .It does not look like consumer value  , maybe it should be relegated as a MetroPLus version of every major daily .
   Everyone agrees that the weekend paper is THE PRODUCT , so don't mess with that . If our readers somehow see the Saturday paper weaken the big show is over.
    The real question is costs . There are uncontrollable costs and controllable costs. Cost have repercussions. Layoffs of people go directly to labour costs .Labour and ownership have to work together . This is not inevitable ,it has to be intentional and structural . Old principals  of unions and business are built for ascending trajectories . Both trajectories are no longer ascending and  old principals become fatal  miscalculations .
  An outsourced  newspaper will be forced  to give raises to contractors in two years, but will not be able to give a raise to the people who work inside the building. This is where we are going ,this is   empowering outsiders at the expense of ourselves.
   In most cases across Canada  employees , managers and ownership work well together everyday, then try to kill each other off  for three months every three years. This no longer makes any sense , if it ever did.
   Outsourcing is a result of failures by both labour and ownership.A very bad idea . This is clear and it takes courage . Every stone has been turned since 1984 , this is the last stone .Pick it up or kick it way.  There is no real choice here.
  These surveys show us that there is a great deal of substance and movement , and cards yet to be played to a successful outcome for all .