Life is local but local newspapers feels the heat

Dailies take another hit close to home
The savage uniformity of falling sales, plus the threat of the internet, is ringing alarm bells

Tomi and I write about the challenges facing newspapers in our book at some length.

Its a shame that some are still in denial

So it comes as no surprise to us to read the following...

Another big worry is the apparently systemic decline in circulation afflicting the vast majority of regional papers. Last week, figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations showed year-on-year declines for nearly all of the UK's paid-for regional daily newspapers for the six months between July and December. Only four titles - the Birmingham Post, the Scunthorpe Telegraph and two Belfast papers, the Telegraph and the News Letter - had an upturn in sales.

Some of the declines were heavy, and there was no discernible geographical pattern. The Edinburgh Evening News was down 6.5%, the Leicester Mercury fell by 7.5%, the Lancashire Evening Post by 10.7% and the Liverpool Daily Post by 7.2%. One of the worst hit, down by 11.9%, was the Birmingham Mail, which last year oversaw a much-heralded return to focusing on local news.

And we know how Craigs list ripped the heart out of classified ads in the Bay area.

Why would it be any different here?

That is why local newspapers need to think about their role in local communities and then implement completely new and innovative ways to attract readers and advertisers.

The Guardian article says

here is a savagery and uniformity about the recent slide which, combined with the perceived threat of the internet, is ringing alarm bells. This time, weekly titles, which have seen sales increase for a number of years, also recorded a fall of about 4.5% across the board - a development that is both troubling and perplexing executives.

The City, which is still trying to work out what the aborted auction of Northcliffe Newspapers means for the future of the regional business, is jittery about the downward trend. "Two or three years ago, you would say it was just about long-term decline because of demographic changes," says Richard Hitchcock, a media analyst at Numis Securities. "But now people are paying closer attention to it because of the internet.

As Peter Williams Finance Director for the Daily Mail and General Trust says...

It's very, very clear what we run are not local newspapers but local media businesses. Our business is to generate vehicles for readers to get information and advertisers to get their message across.

Its good to see someone that's one the same page.