Australia’s sleeping newspaper giant
So which Australian newspaper is failing to fulfil its potential?
Allow me to nominate News Ltd’s free daily commuter title mX.
The model is one that should be a no-brainer for advertisers – mass national distribution to an affluent urban audience.
And it probably does okay commercially. For instance, tonight’s Sydney edition carries the equivalent of about eight page of ads across a 28 page book. And Roy Morgan Research’s readership numbers suggest that there could be a time when it overtakes The Australian Financial Review as Australia’s second biggest national paper behind The Australian – particularly if its distribution pattern continues to widen.
Yet it also still feels like a blocking tactic being run on a shoestring to keep other competitors out.
Compare that to the UK, where the paper mX is modelled on – Metro – is today claimed to be the UK’s most successful newspaper, making an estimated $50m in profit.
The formula is a simple one – distribute enough copies to the right audience, and engage the audience for 20 minutes. That doesn’t demand massive resources, but it does require an understanding of what the audience wants and an effort to give it to them.
The distribution element is there. Go near public transport in Sydney Melbourne or Brisbane and you’ll have a copy of mX thrust into your hand
But the paper presently has a tiny staff.
For the amount of resources – and the target audience – it’s not a bad paper. And the letters page is cult reading.
But as a journalist, it’s frustrating. The news is light. The page two lead today was the LinkedIn press release mentioned on Mumbrella.
There’s not quite enough, I suspect, to keep readers for the magic 20 minutes.
With most editorial ventures, its the product that succeeds while the business model fails. In this case, it’s the other way round.
mX is a sleeping giant.
Tim Burrowes
Linkedin
It’s also the only newspaper I know where you know less after reading it.
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And when Groupon sorts their shit out with legal it’s going to be a case of , “Welcome to Jamaica man, Hope you have a nice stay”
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What is this magical 20min goal? My evening commute is 21min express (28 min all stations) and I’m normally finished w the MX by half way. And at least one of those (full page) ads is for Metro, who clearly do to need to advertise to me…
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mX rocks my world and makes my ride home all the more pleasurable. I usually see stuff in there thats printed in the metros or mags later. For that time of day, the content is perfect. Overheard and Heres looking at you are my favourites!
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mX is a teriffic “afternoon” blocking strategy by News but I think both News and Fairfax know if two afternoon papers existed, both would fold … look at London.
Can only hope Metro launches a morning paper one day to really rock the foundations of the newspaper industry in Australia.
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Having advertised in it extensively it’s a great tool for driving SMS responses for competition entries (or now in the days of smartphones) online sign-ups/downloads.
Considering those same commuters have their smartphones in their pockets and time to twiddle their thumbs I’m suprised you don’t see more content providers/online products advertising in it more.
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I know it’s intellectual snobbery, but I can’t help looking around at all the mX readers and wishing they were reading a decent book. It’s 20 minutes of dumbed-down infotainment.
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Completely agree Tim!
There are only so many wacky pictures from around the world and inconsequential survey results, conducted in some random area of the UK or USA , that one can handle … and it aint news!!
Early on, if memory serves me correctly, the MX used to almost reflect the 6pm news bulletins, which I think is a great idea. You don’t want in-depth comprehensive coverage whilst travelling home after a heavy day, but a newspaper is not a newspaper without news.
Overheard and Here’s looking are great content – but completely made up of content written by commuters!
Bring on some hard-core advertising sales so they can hire some journalists and get some interesting content back in the MX!
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I totally agree, as a former journalist I feel exactly the same as Tim. mX has so much potential but we are smarter than the paper gives us credit for! I think most Australians would cope if it was aimed at a slightly higher IQ than it currently is. The letters page has entertainment value but the rest is such surface reading. I don’t blame the journalists though, they have to put out a paper every weekday on limited resources and do the best they can, I blame the corporates who are cutting costs instead of spending a bit more and making a lot more.
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Refusing to run pix of anyone over 35 years of age limits the news they can run!
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Want serious news on the way home? Get an ipad! mX is unashamedly gen Y, female-skewed (it’s only got two pages of sport, for crying out loud), western suburbs, celeb nonsense. And good on it, too! After a hard day at work I think the last thing most people want is the Tunisian revolution of deposed president Zine Abidine Ben Ali. Most people may disagree with this statement, but I’m sure News aren’t THAT stupid.
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Western Suburbs? Is that a generalisation? I’m sure they hand it out on more than one train platform?
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I like to think of myself as having some brains but I cannot help but love this intellectual rubbish. Coming home from uni on the train but mind loves nothing more than to relax and take in short news clips and celebrity gossip.
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