The future of Newspapers in small countries

1. 20TH CENTURY TIGERS IN
21ST CENTURY JUNGLE
THE NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY DECLINE AND THE WAY AHEAD
MILTON PAPADAKIS
MEDIA CONSULTANT & AUDITOR- GR
Our Athens office
In Marousi / Athens
10, Epidavrou str & Amarousiou-Halandriou
Greece 151 25
Ph +30 210 6101 240 / Fx +30 210 6101 286
Mob. +30 693 2222 552

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Ιαν Φεβ Μαρ Απρ Μαι Ιουν Ιουλ Αυγ Σεπτ Οκτ Νοε Δεκ
2013 2014 2015 2016
copies
Κυριακάτικοι Τίτλοι
1. Πρώτο Θέμα
2. Εθνος Κ.
3. Βήμα Κ.
4. Καθημερινή Κ.
5. Real News
6. Τύπος Κ.
7. Δημοκρατία Κ.
8. Kontra News
9. Ριζοσπάστης Κ.
Πηγή: κυκλοφορίες Ευρώπη & Αργος
Greek Sunday Papers:
13% decline in Jan-Apr 2016
2

4. WHY STICKING FOR THE LONG HAUL?
• JOURNALISTS/ SIGNATURES
• AUTHORITY
• WELL DEFINED ENTITY
• THE MORE THE NEWS BLOGS MULTIPLY, LESSER THE QUALITY & IN-DEPTH
ANALYSIS & HIGHER THE NEED FOR TRUSTED OPINION.

5. OPTIONS FOR NEWSPAPERS
• IN BIG MARKETS, DAILY PAPERS STILL HAVE A WAY TO GO
• IN SMALL MARKETS, DAILY PAPERS HAVE NO WAY TO GO AND NEED TO
TRANSFORM/ COMBINE FORCES ETC. BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.
• THE DISCUSSION BELOW IS FOCUSED ON:
• THE WEEKLY/ SUNDAY PAPERS
• THEY CANNOT COMPETE IN SPEED, BUT IN CONTENT, IN INVESTIGATIVE
JOURNALISM, IN OPINION IN INNOVATIVE PRESENTATIONS.

6. OPTIONS FOR NEWSPAPERS / PHASE 1
• PRIORITY THE PAPER FORM:
• COST REDUCTION THROUGH THEIR ASSOCIATIONS OR CONSORTIA:
• CONCENTRATION IN ONE OR TWO PRINTING FACILITIES
• COLLECTIVE OPTIMIZATION OF DISTRIBUTION
• MODERNIZATION OF INTERNAL STRUCTURE: IN GREECE AT LEAST, JOURNALISTS ARE
GROUPED “PER MINISTRY”, ENDING-UP AT VERY COSTLY AND DYSFUNCTIONAL
TOTALS.
• AND…

7. OPTIONS FOR NEWSPAPERS / PHASE 1
• AND…
• CREATION OF SPECIAL APPS PER NEWSPAPER
• WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON TABLETS (RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THIS IS BECOMING THE
MOST PROMINENT FORM).
• PLEASANT, PRACTICAL FORMATS, ENRICHED WITH VIDEOS & EASY FOR INTERACTION.
• RESEMBLANCE WITH THE MUSIC INDUSTRY: NOT VINYL TO CD, BUT CD TO THE WEB.
MONETIZATION WILL COME FROM SMALL CONTRIBUTION FROM TOO MANY.

8. SPECIAL PLATFORMS EXAMPLES
• HTTP://TUNEIN.COM/

9. OPTIONS FOR NEWSPAPERS / PHASE 2
• TOO LITTLE PAPER FOR ALL, OR STILL FOR SOME
• STRONG APPS PER NEWSPAPER
• STRONG DATABASES PER NEWSPAPER & SECTOR
• NICHE, WELL DEFINED AUDIENCES TO SELL TO ADVERTISERS.
• BUT TO BOOST CHANCES,… THERE IS ONE ADAMANT PREREQUISITE:
• THIS CANNOT SUCCEED INDIVIDUALLY. THE WHOLE SECTOR NEEDS TO COORDINATE &
AGREE ON A COMMON TABLET THAT WILL BE BOUGHT MASSIVELY BY ALL

10. OPTIONS FOR NEWSPAPERS / PHASE 2
• SOCIOCULTURAL ISSUES:
• IN MOST COUNTRIES, THE DECLINE OF NEWSPAPERS IS HIGHLY CORRELATED WITH THE
DEATH RATE OF OLDER CITIZENS.
• PRIORITIES FOR SMALLER COUNTRIES WITH LANGUAGE BARRIERS ARE OBVIOUS:
• STRONG DATABASES (TO ADVERTISE TO AND USE AS SELLING USP)
• TRUSTWORTHY & NICELY PRESENTED CONTENT FOR TABLETS
• DEVELOP THE CULTURE OF THE PUBLISHING HOUSE

11. A SIDE LOOK ON RECENT TRENDS
• CONTENT!
• IS BECOMING A STEADILY GROWING INDUSTRY, DIFFERENT FROM ADVERTISING & PR.
• MONDELEZ PARTNERING TO CREATE CONTENT 'GOOD ENOUGH TO MAKE MONEY' BY
KARLENE LUKOVITZ @KLMARKETDAILY, MAY 31ST
• THUS, IF MARKETERS & IN GENERAL THE NON-EXPERTS CAN CREATE CONTENT THAT
CONSUMERS WILL WANT TO PAY FOR, JOURNALISTS MAY NEED TO FAMILIARIZE
THEMSELVES, AT LEAST WITH THE MARKETING BASELINE.

12. OPTIMISM FOR THE UK NEWSPAPERS
• BRITISH NEWSPAPERS ARE SETTING THE GOOD EXAMPLE: THEY ARE GETTING NEW AUDIENCES IN THE US,
BECAUSE MORE THAN EVER BEFORE, THEY GET TV COVERAGE IN THE STATES AND BECAUSE THEY ALSO PROVIDE
A SORT OF JOURNALISM THAT IS DISTINCT FROM THE ONE OF THE INTERNAL US COMPETITION.
• DAILY MAIL, RECENTLY REVEALED THAT OUT OF ITS 212 MILLION UNIQUE VISITORS, A 40% COMES FROM THE U.S,
WHICH IS HIGHER FROM THE 35% THAT IS COMING FROM THE INTERNAL UK MARKET! ADVERTISING REVENUES
FROM THE U.S. ARE ALSO GROWING FAST (38% IN THE YEAR ENDED IN SEPTEMBER 2015), TO APPROX. $27
MILLION. DAILY MAIL CFO STEPHEN DAINTITH STATED THAT “OVER THE LAST YEAR, THERE HAS BEEN A
CONCERTED EFFORT TO RAISE THE TRADE PROFILE, THE AD AGENCY PROFILE, OF MAIL ONLINE IN THE US.” THUS
THE 110 MIL $ TOTAL AD REVENUES IN 2015, ARE EXPECTED TO REACH 150 MIL $ IN 2016, AN OTHERWISE
UNIMAGINABLE TARGET FOR ANY PRINT PUBLISHER IN THE WORLD.
• THE GUARDIAN DECLARED A U.S. READERSHIP INCREASE OF OVER 30% YEAR-ON-YEAR AND A REVENUE
INCREASE OF 80%.

13. SUMMARY
• IN SMALL COUNTRIES, WITH LANGUAGE BARRIERS,..
• THERE IS A FUTURE FOR WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS.
• STRENGTHS: JOURNALISTIC CULTURE & ETHICS (REMEMBER THE MOBIE
“SPOTLIGHT”), AUTHORITARIAN SIGNATURES
• REQUIREMENTS: COLLECTIVE ASSESSMENT OF COST AND EMBRACEMENT OF
DIRECTIONAL THE SAME DIGITAL PATH. ESPECIALLY OF TIMING. BUT ALSO
INDIVIDUAL APPS THAT WILL BLEND IN FULL CONTENT WITH PRESENTATION
OPTIONS NEVER BEFORE AVAILABLE.