Why reports of print’s demise remain greatly exaggerated
Many agencies and advertisers have long written off print, but Involved Media Managing Director Sarah Keith looks at why the medium still has significant value for many brands.
A recent article in the Financial Review recently caught my eye: Nine and News Corp were poised to sign a new contract to print newspapers — and thus guarantee the printed newspaper — for at least another five years.
This is far from the only sign of the resilience of a medium which many had unfairly and prematurely written off.
Take a look at News Corp’s recent decision to launch The California Post (a California version of the New York Post). Who had the Murdochs launching a new newspaper on their 2025 bingo card? I confess, I didn’t.
I’m sure the seven people who still buy a newspaper will be happy.
Great article – was just in Switzerland (where public transport for tourists is free) and was impressed with the number of young people reading what looked like a small free local newspaper.
Magazines for brands like Coles etc are excuses for supplier funding and supplier extraction. They aren’t strategic.
Just came across this article and it’s pretty clear the decline of newspapers kicked in when Harvey Norman basically turned the format into a personal flyer drop. Hard to build any real interest in a medium when every edition feels like a sales catalogue wrapped around the news.
Wild thought why not split it? A subscription-only paper that’s pure journalism with no ads until page 15, and a free paper (like the old MX) that’s wall-to-wall ads.