New newspaper, ‘Neighbourhood’, to launch in Sydney
A new newspaper is set to launch in Sydney in May, which its founders say will invert the usual editorial-to-advertising ratio and rely on long-term partnerships with brands to monetise the operation.
Neighbourhood will be a monthly print magazine of 16 to 20 pages, distributed to homes between Potts Point and Marrickville.
The newspaper’s publisher Jonathan Samway, said even though many traditional publishers are moving away from print – a physical product still carried more authority and resonated more strongly with communities, than publications which had an online-only offering.
“The distribution model of print is something that people need to get right… If you look at The Sydney Morning Herald, they could pull the plug tomorrow on the print edition , but they’d struggle to survive as just online news, because the fundamental bedrock of the whole organisation is the paper it produces,” Samway told Mumbrella.
“Whether it’s the Washington Post or the Wall Street Journal, their substance is built on the fact that there is a physical entity – a paper – and their online site is, if they get it right, is a complement to it.”
Samway said where modern publishers get it wrong, is replicating their print content online, and vice versa – offering no point of difference between the two platforms.
Neighbourhood, he said, would buck this trend, and offer localised content in the printed edition, and longer-form, more in-depth versions online – as well as content which appealed to those outside the paper’s area.
He also said the paper plans to invert the traditional advertising and editorial model – 70 % advertising to 30% editorial – and instead offer readers 80% editorial.
On how this will lead to a commercially-viable option, Samway said: “In terms of monetisation, we’re trying to think through that. We’re looking for partnerships that extend across the year as opposed to selling MRECs or quarter pages – because that’s just a never-ending journey… We’re finalising with corporates now to come on board for a 12-month window.”
He said so far, potential advertisers had identified value in the offering, with the paper going out to an area with a population of 350,000 to 450,000.
Neighbourhood editor Mark Mordue and publisher Jonathan Samway
The newspaper will be edited by Mark Mordue who said: “As people become overwhelmed by the digital flood of information there’s increasing demand for local content and publications that can be trusted. Trust and connection are the premium qualities people are seeking out – this has to manifest itself in the quality and integrity of the stories being produced.
“Neighbourhood will be home-delivered for free across inner Sydney: that’s an obvious plus for securing our presence in the community. But it is what’s inside the publication and the relationship we create with our readers – in print and online – that will be earn us a genuine relationship.”
Samway said, despite current trends in traditional print publishing, now is the time for a product like Neighbourhood to thrive.
“There’s a resurgent passion for craftsmanship and bespoke products, evident in the consumption of everything from vinyl records to locally brewed beers. We’re witnessing a hunger for well-made materials, for interaction with the tactile and the authentic.
“Now’s the time for quality, local print news to thrive alongside digital.”
The paper will be hand-delivered to over 75,000 homes and businesses in the inner-east, inner-west and inner-city of Sydney.
Good luck with that I think you will need it.
On the bus to work this morning that had about 60-70 people on it (30% – 20-30 years old , 30% – 30-40 years old and 40% were 40+ years old) There was one person in his late sixties reading a paper and about 80% mobile zombies. I was thinking the last thing you would think about launching is another newspaper, regardless of how good/
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regardless of how good the content/journalism is. Peoples behaviour has changed and newspapers aren’t a apart of modern day life. (unlike TV which despite mobile is still used all be it marginally less by younger audiences).
As its a local rag, Neighbourhood will need to rely on real estate advertising to survive.
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With you all the way guys. The very best of luck. It was only the cost of printing that forced me off paper. The readers still overwhelmingly prefer a physical magazine they can file away for later thumbing through.
As soon as I can, I am back to physical copy.
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Interesting! Great to see someone truly innovating the print channel with some thought provoking content and a new approach to the commercial model vs. trying to repolish the same thing under a different badge/brand…. wishing you all the best and hoping for a NewYorker style product offering here in Sydney some time soon!
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Is it 1 April still?
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The Local, which is a fortnightly in print and online news magazine, is doing very well in the Central Highlands of Victoria. When we deliver people say “Oh, I have already read it online, but I will take my printed copy thank you”. And we have a range of advertising. Not just real estate. In fact real estate only came on board in this, its fourth year. All the best with the Neighbourhood. People still love print!
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I have a NO JUNK MAIL Sign on my letterbox for the sake of the environment, please no newspapers for me
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Pittwater Life in Sydney is a similar pub as this as does VERY well indeed. I am of the opinion that newspaper ad sales folk have forgotten how to SELL and rely on people calling them. Good luck with that …
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I’d be studying why Broadsheet moved away from print. I would be asking media agencies what they want from it as an advertising vehicle and work with them. You will need to convince young media planner/buyers of the value / creative opportunity. Most importantly I would be targeting advertisers with a similar desire to go against the grain (all 12 of them). Personally I read tonnes of print (late 30s here) but I think I’m in the minority.
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I tried using a mobile to read the news, but I went straight back to print. I just got sick of the convenience and how up to date the information was. After returning from my daily journey to the newsagency, I love nothing more than warming my feet by my blacksmith’s forge and reading the paper by the light of my whale oil lantern, trying to ignore my Spanish influenza symptoms.
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Good luck guys, niche publications can still work very well commercially in print.
We have introduced several print publications over the last few years, and all of them completely pay their way and contribute to our other overheads. None of these publications would exist if we just had digital/website and relied on digital revenue streams.
You do however need to have a very solid audience proposition for advertisers, and something the public actually wants to read.
My view is that “news” typically no longer makes sense in print, but feature style – long shelf life content usually does.
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Good luck. There’s a lot of life left in print, although not so sure about newspapers as such. As a fellow publisher who launched a title four years ago (and faced the same “it’s doomed” critics), be ready to take on Millennial and Gen Y marketers who don’t read much at all and have no respect for anything on paper.
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By all means – good on these guys for giving it a shot.
But I can’t help but feel like it’s incredibly self-righteous to assume that swapping to a ‘80% editorial’ model is suddenly going to drive consumers to flock to it.
It is such an arrogance to imply that the lack of quantity on the printed page is what has been driving a multi-decade decline in reading habits due to the internet and particularly now – mobile.
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This appears to be very similar to “The Saturday Paper”, but more local and less frequent. There are other similar print publications, some not-for-profit. If you extracted a month of SMH and more local Fairfax long form articles, I dare say you’d end up with something similar. There’s a market for this sort of content, and it works well in print.
Publications like this will probably never be huge money spinners, but they can break even. The main return for investors won’t be monetary.
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