The best thing for Nine could do for Fairfax’s regional papers, once the media companies merge, would be to sell off or close the newspapers, regional publishers say.
Since Fairfax took over the group of newspapers previously owned by Rural Press in 2006, revenues and circulation have been dropping at increasing pace, as the media company has cut costs in journalists, production and even individual editors for each of its 160 publications. And as the quality has subsequently dropped, some advertisers are turning to independent alternatives.
Country Press Association SA President Ian Osterman, who is also editor of the independent Courier in Mount Barker, told Crikey that South Australian Fairfax newspapers which had previously been regular award-winners had dropped substantially in quality over previous years.
“Some of the papers have one editor between three, they’ve cut staff, sub-editors, and the quality is poor, attention to detail is lost. The communities are being poorly served,” he said.
But, he said, newspapers were still important in regional communities, and the independent newspapers were doing well in SA, even moving in on what was previously very strong Fairfax territory.
“There’s money to be had in these communities and there’s no doubt advertising in newspapers works. The independents aren’t as big or as profitable businesses but we’re still very relevant,” he said.
Osterman said the regional papers had not suffered circulation declines as heavy as the metro newspapers because they were so important to smaller, more isolated communities.
“Every story you read in almost every independent regional newspaper is a world exclusive,” he said. “My community is a city of 30,000 people and it’s much tighter and there’s a much stronger bond than there is between city people. We’re bound together by our location. And we all know the footy team and who the mayor is and who the footy coach is and we’re all in this together. That bond is not as strong in the city. The paper binds it all together, it’s hugely important.”
And, he said, independent papers were already stepping into the gaps left by Fairfax’s cuts. “The independents have continued to invest, rather than cut, in their communities,” he said. “The owner lives in the town and cares about the product and is not just a bean counter in Sydney who will not replace a person or get rid of someone.”
In Clare, the Northern Argus stopped running the local footy scores. Ready to take up the slack was the independent Plains Producer, based in Balaklava, about 40 minutes away. And by doing some of the things dropped by the Argus, the Producer has dramatically increased its circulation and revenues, Osterman said.
It’s not just South Australia where standards have dropped at the Fairfax papers. In Orange, NSW, Bob Holland publishes a community newsletter magazine, Orange City Life, which competes for advertising but not readers (it doesn’t do news) with Fairfax’s Central Western Daily. The Daily’s Monday to Friday circulation is a bit over 2000, and its Saturday circulation is about 3800. Orange City Life is a free weekly pick-up magazine, and its circulation is 13,500.
Holland said that if the Daily was sold or closed, he would start offering local news and possibly an online news service.
“The newspaper here is hanging on by a thread,” he said. “There’s still a love of a hard copy newspaper, but the one we have isn’t really serving the community anymore.”
Holland said that if Fairfax closed or sold the paper, something else would replace it. “We’re feeling the effects of the drought — the car dealers are cutting back, real estate agents aren’t getting listings. But we’re still doing alright. The main thing is if I wasn’t here and they’d pulled out, someone would start some sort of publication. And they’d make a reasonable living.”
Revenue in 2017-18 for Fairfax’s Australian Community Media group, which houses its regional and free newspapers, was a still-substantial $400 million, down from $428 million the year before and $485 million in 2015-16. Earnings have fallen from $90 million (on an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation basis) in 2015-16 to $57.2 million in the year to June 30 2018. Indicating the growing profit pressures, the 17% fall in revenues from 2015-16 to the year to June saw a 33% slide in earnings as profit margins were crunched — and there is still the impact of the drought to come this financial year.
Fairfax’s priorities, as told to analysts, are to spend as little as possible and wring every dollar of cash flow out of the papers. It’s rolling out paywalls for the regional papers — likely to turn them into clones of The Age and Sydney Morning Herald websites. The financial impact of the drought could make that a cost people can do without, especially with the ABC offering free news websites and data on markets.
When Fairfax is absorbed by Nine Entertainment, these local papers in regional and urban areas of Australia will be even further from the upper levels of management — and the old adage, “out of sight, out of mind” will will be the managerial credo.
The opening of a black and white newspaper is a wonderful thing as there is no grey that the grey-haired seniors want and who have failing eyes to read the digital platform.
The black and white newspaper gives us in a paper newspaper other stories that link and oppose the story the reader wants to read and there is advertising that keeps regional and local town open and thriving. Where is the advertising in the digital platform of the computer screen?
The opening of a newspaper takes the reader inside the paper to the news of the day.
In this story above in the opening sentence it begins “The best thing for Nine …” and just does anyone reading this story want the best thing for Nine? No, I don’t think so.
It should begin “The Best thing for Fairfax …”
Fairfax is not dead yet. It is mortally wounded but it ain’t dead yet so the blood in Fairfax is still racing and it is still flowing and Fairfax is still alive and kicking. Just who is going to buy the regional newspapers of Fairfax? If Fairfax bought the newspapers off Rural Newspapers and then the operation of those newspaper contributed to Fairfax’s demise as it infers in the story, then any company would be mad to buy them. Is that not so?
Here is an intro:
“The best thing for Fairfax in what to do with their regional papers to fight off the media company merger, would be to give them to the town to operate so the towns remain viable. For the local newspaper to stop, then the region and the town itself stops and then dies. For a regional newspaper to stop the region’s heart stops.
None of this applies to Fairfax’s Newcastle’s Walkley-award winning Herald.
Has Fairfax’s Newcastle’s Walkley-award winning Herald got the name Fairfax attached to it? The name Fairfax is to be replaced by Nine.
No it hasn’t. It’s called The Herald.
If the reaction to Fairfax’s Bendigo Advertiser and Ballarat Courier’s paywall announcements on their respective Facebook pages are anything to go by it’s going to be hard going for the Fairfax regional papers who are introducing paywalls.
Both have active Facebook followings which are dependent on free to read click throughs from Facebook. The comments section will be full of “can’t read” complaints. Media Watch covered one of the early Fairfax Regional paywall launches last year. People basically boycotted the paper.
National and international newspapers may be able to introduce paywalls to success. Even though most don’t come close to the adjacent physical newspapers revenues. I’m watching with interest to see how regional newspaper paywalls go in Australia. Because from what I’ve read about American regional newspaper experiments it’s not pretty unless you’ve got your readers on side.
As the Orange publisher mentioned in the story, let me say that I believe the main reason that regional newspapers have dropped so far, is all to do with cost. If two shops offer you the same thing and at one it’s free and at the other it costs, where are you going to go?
In Orange, the regional daily costs $1.80 weekdays, $2 on Saturday and you get 20 pages weekdays and 32 pages on Saturdays and the only reason there’s that many pages is because they fill approx. 3 – 4 pages with ads for Fairfax ads. What could be regarded as the actual news content would amount to a few pages. They ask people to pay this while most, if not all the content, is freely available on their website.
In my view, putting in a Paywall, would be a complete waste of time and only a handful of people would sign up, hardly enough to be viable.
In the same vein, our publication is picked up and read by most of the population each week. It is generally 64 plus pages per week, gloss paper and full colour. I consider it to arguably be the best publication of its type in Australia. That said, if we decided to put a cover price on it of even 50 cents, I believe about 10 people would buy it. People want it, love and and read it, but only because it’s free.
No audience leads to no advertising, no advertising leads to no business, that’s why Fairfax finds itself where they are, not because people don’t want to buy and read news, but because the product is no longer worth paying for and the content is available free elsewhere. It’s that simple.
Well done, keep up the good work Bob!