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Independent newspaper to stop print runs

scaramanga said:
The Times and the Grauniad are at each end of the pay wall spectrum and their losses are pretty much the same.

My biggest concern is the loss of specialist reporters - especially in science and medicine. We're seeing the same thing in sports reporting too IMO - too many people who can write but don't understand the subject.

If the Grauniad is serious about staying afloat, my suggestion is that they start by cutting off Owen Jones' mangina and choking him on it. That would simultaneously save money and double the quality of their newspaper. The odd spellcheck wouldn't go amiss either.
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This has absolutely been a massive problem in the last two decades. We ave witnessed a slow but sure drain of writing talent, replaced by barely literate 'bloggers' who carry a gnat's weight of knowledge on their 'topic' and who are given journalistic status regardless. With regards to sports reporting, I couldn't agree more.
 
Sunday times, evening standard and guardian for the odd different slant and sports articles.
 
I actually really like the observer for sport and both the Telegraph and Guardian do good gardening articles. The Telegraph has in my view pretty much the best garden at Chelsea most years.
 
in 20 years time, people will laugh at the fact that people used to buy newspapers
 
Mr_B said:
in 20 years time, people will laugh at the fact that people used to buy newspapers
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Print in papers is going to take ages to die out....Stats prove that the only reason papers are dying is if said paper increases online content and drives people away from Print. The Private Eye did the reverse and their print revenue is great
 
scaramanga said:
I read about a plan some time ago whereby all UK newspapers were considering joining a single "pay per article" scheme. Each article would only cost a few pence and people could pre or post pay for it (a bit like an oyster card I suppose).

That would then solve the problem of people either having one news source or having to subscribe to papers they rarely read.

Not sure what happened to the plan though.
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Seems like a decent idea...

That or something more like Spotify for news where you pay a monthly fee, but get access to the majority of the stuff people want to charge for and the income from the monthly fee is divided depending on views could be interesting.

Could also be a potential revenue stream for independents such as blogs and personal sites. As long as you deliver the quality people want you get your share...
 
the problem is, people will put up with low quality for free rather than pay for good content

and there are companies who give away good news content (bloomberg, reuters) as advertising for their commercial products
 
galeforce said:
the problem is, people will put up with low quality for free rather than pay for good content

and there are companies who give away good news content (bloomberg, reuters) as advertising for their commercial products
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Not sure about that.

When I used to commute in London I'd pay for a broadsheet rather than read the germ-infested crap left on someone's seat. Although that was partly because opening the Telegraph on a busy tube was the fastest way to make lefty tossers angry.
 
scaramanga said:
Not sure about that.

When I used to commute in London I'd pay for a broadsheet rather than read the germ-infested crap left on someone's seat. Although that was partly because opening the Telegraph on a busy tube was the fastest way to make lefty tossers angry.
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Agreed. People are willing to pay for quality. Not all people, perhaps even not the majority of people. But there should be enough to sustain a considerable production of quality journalism. How this translates into the modern day is still very much up in the air. What seems certain is that the big media providers have not found the answers.

I wonder if part of the problem are the old traditions of what it means to be a newspaper. A fairly large organization selling daily newspapers of a certain size and with a certain quantity of content. Expensive organizations that don't lend themselves to a high overall quality, particularly not when cuts are made whilst the quantity is expected to stay at a similar level.

Dan Carlin and other independents are making a living based on much more infrequent "publications", based on scarce advertising and donations. It also seems to me that the weekly or monthly print publications (magazines etc) are doing better than traditional daily newspapers. Though could be just my impression, but it seems perhaps easier to produce quality at a lower frequency that people are willing to pay for.
 
sorry, I meant, not enough people to make a viable business

we are seeing push back against aggressive online advertising now

it's a very complicated issue and I doubt we are close to a solution yet
 
What Scara mentioned about the all-in pay model is a decent idea, but on the other side of things it is absolutely vital that newspapers PAY PROPERLY to get the BEST stories. They must invest in deep reporting and good journalism, they must NOT rely on cheap blogging/people who are 'geographically convenient' to cover stories. IF someone happens to be in the right place AND can write, then fantastic, all good, but publications must build a core of strong editorial talent and invest in it. No different to anything really, if you want quality, you need to invest and ay the going rate for the higher quality stuff. If they continue feeding the public 'junk food editorial' then they do not deserve a fudging penny and the whole thing will become one giant agenda-driven mess.
 
scaramanga said:
Not sure about that.

When I used to commute in London I'd pay for a broadsheet rather than read the germ-infested crap left on someone's seat. Although that was partly because opening the Telegraph on a busy tube was the fastest way to make lefty tossers angry.
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You should see the look tarts give you when you read the daily sport, you know those posh slappers in their business suits that get off at the bank or other city tube stops.
 
thfcsteff said:
This has absolutely been a massive problem in the last two decades. We ave witnessed a slow but sure drain of writing talent, replaced by barely literate 'bloggers' who carry a gnat's weight of knowledge on their 'topic' and who are given journalistic status regardless. With regards to sports reporting, I couldn't agree more.
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At the same time some of the best sources are from bloggers with actual knowledge... Try science based medicine for medical information (affiliated with the skeptic's guide podcast), or the bad astronomer blog for your astronomy news. In the podcast world (just as independent as bloggers) there are great sources of actual information available. In football the swiss ramble blog for football finances is better than anything I've seen from the big newspapers.

Of course evaluating what's actually valuable information is then up to the individual consumer instead of an editor. That's the big change. But considering some of the absolute dross that's gotten past various editors around the world perhaps the largely uninformed public evaluating information without an official media house stamp of approval is better than large newspapers giving seals of legitimacy to nonsense?

I agree there's a worrying trend, but hopeful that some good will come of it eventually...
 
Interesting opposite development in light of The Independent...

Trinity Mirror To Unveil 'New Day' Tabloid

New Day will be the latest addition to the UK's national newspaper industry even as The Independent closes, Sky News learns.

07:09, UK, Thursday 18 February 2016

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<img src="http://media.skynews.com/media/images/generated/2016/2/8/445946/default/v1/mirror-new-1-206x116.jpg" class="image__item video__teaser-image" alt="Daily Mirror" />
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By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The publisher of The Daily Mirror will this month unveil a weekday newspaper called New Day even as the looming closure of The Independent sparks fresh pessimism about the industry's prospects.


Sky News has obtained key details of the new tabloid being prepared for launch by Trinity Mirror, the listed company which is also Britain's biggest regional newspaper group.

New Day is expected to launch on 29 February, according to people close to the plans, and will initially be priced at 25p - compared to the 40p cover price of the i, with which it is expected to compete.

The launch is slated to take place on the same day as Trinity Mirror's annual results.

The latest addition to the UK's national newspaper scene will be published on weekdays only.

indy-thumbnail-1-736x414.jpg
<img src="http://media.skynews.com/media/imag...46871/default/v1/indy-thumbnail-1-206x116.jpg" class="image__item video__teaser-image" alt="Independent goes online only" />
cease to publish the print editions of The Independent and The Independent on Sunday next month, and tried to position the move as a bold decision to embrace the growth of digital news consumption.

Around 100 ESI staff are likely to face redundancy as a result of the closure of the newspapers, with some of the remaining employees offered jobs on the Evening Standard, which the company's proprietors - the Lebedev family - also own.


Trinity Mirror is said to be preparing to commit to a print run for New Day of around one million copies, although that will depend on consumers' reaction to the launch of the title, a source said.

It is unclear how much of the editorial material used in New Day will be shared with The Daily Mirror.

Media agencies have been briefed on Trinity Mirror's plans while the company has also secured distribution arrangements with major retailers.

Trinity Mirror has enjoyed a revival under Simon Fox, its chief executive, although its share price has slipped by more than 23% during the last 12 months.

Mr Fox, a former boss of HMV, the music retailer, has placed a number of seemingly counter-intuitive bets on consumers' continuing appetite for print-based news, with circulations continuing to decline.

Last autumn, he acquired control of Local World in a deal worth nearly £200m, while it also held exploratory discussions about acquiring the Express and Star titles from Richard Desmond, the billionaire owner of Northern & Shell.

Trinity Mirror also owns the Sunday People, while its local newspapers include the Liverpool Echo and Manchester Evening News.

A Trinity Mirror spokeswoman declined to comment on the plans for New Day.

http://news.sky.com/story/1643634/trinity-mirror-to-unveil-new-day-tabloid
 
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