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The decline continues

IRE60

Via the Campaign site - report on the worsening state of print. (Cant find it on Neilsons' site). Some of the budget cuts are savage:

Newspaper revenues fall amid talk of joint ad sales

The national newspaper advertising slump has worsened since the Brexit vote, with revenues crashing 18% year on year in August, making it the worst-performing month of the year so far.

Print ad sales dived 14%, or £95m, in the first eight months of the year to £575m from £670m in the same period a year ago, according to Nielsen.

Newspapers got a brief respite around the Brexit referendum, when ad sales fell only 4.5% in June and 11% in July. Every other month this year has seen a fall of at least 14%.

The newspaper print ad market fell 13% in 2015 and 9% in 2014.

A number of high-profile brands abruptly slashed their print ad expenditure in favour of Facebook and other digital channels.

Tesco cut spend by 85% year on year in the first eight months of 2016 to £1.8m, O2 reduced its outlay on print ads by 45% to £4m and Marks & Spencer dropped its spend by 28% to £7m.

Worsening revenues will add to pressure on newspaper owners to consider pooling their ad sales in a single sales house in order to gain scale in their negotiations with media agencies, improve efficiency and cut costs.

News UK, Trinity Mirror, Telegraph Media Group, Guardian Media Group, DMGT and Northern & Shell have been in talks since at least May, when Campaign first reported that discussions had begun.

Steve Booth, chairman of MC&C and co-founder of BLM, has been leading the initiative, dubbed Project Juno.

Newspapers are understood to have commissioned Enders Analysis and lawyers to report on how a joint ad sales house might work and the likely obstacles emerging from a Competition

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coinop

Fantastic analysis @J_M_G. The sole reason people bought the local paper years ago was for, as you say, local voyeurism. Nosiness really. Who got married this week, who made their confirmation, who was up in court for drink driving. This has of course all been replaced by Facebook with the added bonus that the busybodies can have their say and comment on the local gossip. Nobody was buying the local paper for Pulitzer Prize winning journalism.

Regarding your second point about the homogenisation of local areas across the country: I couldn't agree more. About 5 years ago I got the urge to travel to different towns down the country and explore Ireland as I felt embarrassed I had lived here my entire life yet barely ventured beyond the Pale. What an eye opener it was, in a disappointing way. Paddypower, Dealz, Lidl, Polish shops, and Chinese takeaways...this is what modern Ireland looks like and every town is the same. You could be parachuted into Castlebar or Clonmel, Roscrea or Roscommon, and you wouldn't know the difference. Even regional accents are sadly disappearing. Pop into the local petrol station and you're more likely to be greeted by a stone faced Polish or Pakistani blow-in rather than a local character. I recommend John Water's "Give Us Back The Bad Roads" for a deeper analysis on the loss of regional flavours in Ireland.

J_M_G

L1011 wrote: »

Weekday papers will go a long time before weekend editions and weekly locals, I'd expect. Weekly local content does not actually exist anywhere else.

It does: Facebook.

Local paper circulation declines are in many cases worse than nationals and that's because local papers actually masqueraded for decades as vital, but in reality they're not and never were.

Anything major that happened would be covered by national news (either RTE or any national weekday paper) and the rest was stuff that nobody but the people involved ultimately care about (local sports reporting, etc). It was mostly a social thing that got people to buy the paper. Your kid winning some school award and getting their pic in the paper, some couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and people at it being photographed. This kind of stuff all got usurped by facebook years ago. And people 50+ are all still on facebook and they are the demographic that were propping up local paper sales.

When you actually go through a local paper and you strip out all the ads, tv listings, sport, horoscopes, or utterly trivial local things that nobody actually cares about (as evidenced by them not buying the paper anymore) - there's nothing much left. It was never essential. It was just people buying it to see if anybody they knew was in it that week. Local voyeurism.

But then Facebook became the new way to indulge in that, and far more effectively too. Any local news was either trivial and boring, or big and thus covered more effectively by bigger national media.

And the typical standard of writing and editing - shocking! Grammar mistakes and misspellings left and right. Clunky and disjointed. Awful stuff.

One other reason for local news decline is the homogenisation of local areas across the country. Any distinct regional identity was far more common even just 10 years ago. But more and more, towns and villages are becoming less distinct and starting to resemble one another. Thank multiculturalism, globalism, increased transience and a general decline in social cohesion where people are, bit by bit, identifying less with their local town as a part of their identity. Obviously this process is only in its early stages still so it's not a massive factor, but it is a factor nonetheless imo.

Local papers are all owned by 2 or 3 big companies too. Working off the same boring templates. They're not "local" anymore, at least not like they might once have been. And they all can't resist pushing the liberal progressive angle too. I see it in my own home town. Two papers owned by INM and Iconic (I think). So they take their marching orders from them editorially just like they all do. The opinion pieces are always the same predictable snark and signalling. I'm sure plenty lap it up, but I'm sure many also get turned off and quit buying it.

They'll all go. The national dailies like the mirror, star, herald, etc will go first, but the local weeklies will be next and they'll fall nationwide in very rapid succession. Last to go will be the bigger dailies (independent/IT/etc).

L1011

Weekday papers will go a long time before weekend editions and weekly locals, I'd expect. Weekly local content does not actually exist anywhere else.

J_M_G

Loafing Oaf wrote: »

Anyway, the pertinent question for this thread is not why so many 'special advisor' are offered to former journalists but why so many journalists, even those in prominent roles, have been rushing to take up such positions in recent years. As Burns implies, it does seem to reflect a pervasive loss of confidence in the future of the profession...

Well in that regard can you blame them? They know the end is nigh. ABC circ details are thin on the ground these days but basically all papers are down to less than half their all-time highs and many are pushing 75%+. Even the annual rate of decline was increasing into the double digits. And that was pre-covid.

Print is finished by 2025 for literally every paper in Ireland. Local and national. The math just doesn't add up. There's still more consolidation and cuts and bits and pieces they can do to keep above water but they're walking dead and that's why the rats are fleeing the ship. Most can't sustain any transition to digital-only either. I expect only one or two will bridge that gap and even then they'll be a shadow of their former selves.

This is a good thing. It needs to happen. These rags are utterly toxic now and there's not one single paper that is an exception to that. They all need to and will disappear and the "democracy" they so cherish will actually be the healthier for it.

yosser hughes

DrSerious3 wrote: »

My father used to buy a newspaper 7 days a week - he is now down to two. Most of the content of the weekday newspaper is appalling nonsense. Number of pages continues to decrease, as does quality of output. Meanwhile, price goes up. I wonder how many people under 65 buy a paper every day? Minuscule I suspect.

My Mother used to get one every day as well. She just gets the Irish Times on a Saturday now.

I subscribe to stuff, patreon, some news magazines and am happy to pay for good content. I don't subscribe to an Irish publication or service though. It's just not good enough I'm afraid. It was never up to much really.

DrSerious3

My father used to buy a newspaper 7 days a week - he is now down to two. Most of the content of the weekday newspaper is appalling nonsense. Number of pages continues to decrease, as does quality of output. Meanwhile, price goes up. I wonder how many people under 65 buy a paper every day? Minuscule I suspect.

IRE60

In summary, the industry in which they plied their trade has 'sh1t the bed'

Loafing Oaf

IRE60 wrote: »

The primary focus of any political advisor is to get their boss re-elected!

Well yeah surely anyone accepting one of these positions is agreeing to toe the party/government line and knows that if they started using it to advance their own political agenda they would be out on their ear quick smart. Rather than 'ideological conformity', I suspect the reason so many of them are offered to former journos, particularly those with editorial experience, is they will have built up a very relevant set of skills for the job.

Anyway, the pertinent question for this thread is not why so many 'special advisor' are offered to former journalists but why so many journalists, even those in prominent roles, have been rushing to take up such positions in recent years. As Burns implies, it does seem to reflect a pervasive loss of confidence in the future of the profession...

IRE60

The primary focus of any political advisor is to get their boss re-elected!

J_M_G

dulpit wrote: »

Yes, but what do you really feel about this? :pac:

If I told you how I really feel, I'd be banned instantly.

dulpit

J_M_G wrote: »

Especially one who has no qualms about trivial things like honesty, integrity or responsibility to something greater than their own personal enrichment.

Yes, but what do you really feel about this? :pac:

J_M_G

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

But surely political advisors only last as long as their political masters. So you might get four/five years work out of it but what then?

Onto the next TD or councillor! When there's little to no ideological difference between them, it's not unrealistic to simply keep hopping from one to the next. And sure if there's no available positions, there's always the NGO fallback. God knows we have a seemingly unlimited supply of those. Many at least partially government funded too. And all essentially ideologically aligned with the progressive liberal orthodoxy of the day. How convenient!

Worst case scenario, five years on the gravy train and a CV that proves your establishment bona fides for your next job hunt isn't too bad a deal if you're a careerist shill like these ex-"journalists". Especially one who has no qualms about trivial things like honesty, integrity or responsibility to something greater than their own personal enrichment.

Gloomtastic!

But surely political advisors only last as long as their political masters. So you might get four/five years work out of it but what then?

J_M_G

Loafing Oaf wrote: »

Interesting piece by John Burns about what's starting to look like a stampede by journalists into government jobs, presumably prompted by the recent defections by Fiach Kelly, deputy political editor of The Irish Times, and Susan Mitchell, deputy editor of the Business Post.

Although if, as Burns notes, this trend can be seen as "a symptom of industry decline", you'd wonder how much 'press' there will be left for these guys to advise government ministers on in the years to come.:p

It's almost as if the refrain we've heard all these years from journalists (activists) about how essential they all are for "speaking truth to power!" and how they are an independent force for "protecting our precious democracy!" and are "definitely not just mouthpieces for the establishment in any way!"....

...is looking increasingly clear to anyone paying attention, to have been a giant steaming pile of bs. Are the dissident voices of independent analysts, bloggers, youtubers, etc who routinely oppose the establishment narrative going to be offered any nice cosy jobs in the public sector? I think we all know the answer to that.

The reality is that the entirety of the legacy media was ALWAYS something that paid lip service to holding politicians to account. Sure you can find examples here and there of some exposé of a corrupt minister or what have you. But no serious ideological opposition or even mere questioning of the status quo has existed in a long long time.

Maybe journalism was once a genuine endeavor, independent of the establishment. A fourth estate that reflected the opinions of the populace it purported to represent. That time, if it ever existed, is long gone however. The legacy media can't die quick enough.

yosser hughes

Loafing Oaf wrote: »

This trend first struck me a few years ago when Chris Donoghue left Newstalk to work as an advisor for Simon Coveney. I mean here was a guy who you would think would have had his pick of positions in radio leaving the sector for what I would have regarded as a 'boring civil service job'.

Presumably job security is a major factor driving the trend but wasn't this always an issue to some extent in the media? As Burns says, better pay and conditions must also be behind it to some extent...

Really? I thought he was a complete lightweight and came across as very wet behind the ears. Not to mind his inability to be impartial but that doesn't seem to matter these days. I don't think anyone else would have been queuing up to offer him anything.
Getting the government gig would have been a massive pay rise for him. Of course he grabbed it with both hands. It's a promotion way beyond his competence. I couldn't believe he was offered it.

Loafing Oaf

This trend first struck me a few years ago when Chris Donoghue left Newstalk to work as an advisor for Simon Coveney. I mean here was a guy who you would think would have had his pick of positions in radio leaving the sector for what I would have regarded as a 'boring civil service job'.

Presumably job security is a major factor driving the trend but wasn't this always an issue to some extent in the media? As Burns says, better pay and conditions must also be behind it to some extent...

dulpit

Loafing Oaf wrote: »

Press adviser to Helen McEntee

Shame. Good for him I guess, but I enjoyed his work.

Loafing Oaf

dulpit wrote: »

Where is Fiach Kelly going? Hadn't heard anything..

Press adviser to Helen McEntee

dulpit

Loafing Oaf wrote: »

Interesting piece by John Burns about what's starting to look like a stampede by journalists into government jobs, presumably prompted by the recent defections by Fiach Kelly, deputy political editor of The Irish Times, and Susan Mitchell, deputy editor of the Business Post.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/is-journalism-no-longer-a-vocation-and-now-just-a-job-gn7hwp9jc?shareToken=3e7016c9eb98879659fe4d73f49087de

Although if, as Burns notes, this trend can be seen as "a symptom of industry decline", you'd wonder how much 'press' there will be left for these guys to advise government ministers on in the years to come.:p

Where is Fiach Kelly going? Hadn't heard anything..

strandroad

The Irish Garden magazine suspended publishing until the new year. Apparently their sales actually increased but advertisers were hit hard and could not commit. A supermarket stand staple gone...

Loafing Oaf

Interesting piece by John Burns about what's starting to look like a stampede by journalists into government jobs, presumably prompted by the recent defections by Fiach Kelly, deputy political editor of The Irish Times, and Susan Mitchell, deputy editor of the Business Post.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/is-journalism-no-longer-a-vocation-and-now-just-a-job-gn7hwp9jc?shareToken=3e7016c9eb98879659fe4d73f49087de

Although if, as Burns notes, this trend can be seen as "a symptom of industry decline", you'd wonder how much 'press' there will be left for these guys to advise government ministers on in the years to come.:p

JTMan

Yeah, Reach merged the Express, Mirror and Star pressrooms in the UK after the acquisition there. One would guess that something similar will happen here.

At it's speak, The Irish Daily Star had circulation of 110k per day, it is now 32k per day.

Consolidation buys time.

L1011

The Irish Daily Mirror is fairly skeleton isn't it? Merged newsrooms would be the obvious thing there; the Star's remaining selling point is sports.

JTMan

INM sells its 50% stake in Irish Daily Star to Reach. More here.

The consolidation trend in the declining newspaper market continues.

JTMan

A lot of magazines have digital subscription options but most have only achieved very low digital subscription numbers. Not enough to even slightly negate print decline.

Beechwoodspark

Would buy Q maybe 3 times a year and always a good read. I found myself gravitating more towards mojo and uncut in recent years as Q seemed to go down the pop route a bit more, maybe that’s just me getting older!

I particularly enjoyed their end of year issue with albums of the year count down.

I remember they did a great article about U2 and dublin a few years back too.

sad to see it fold.

Surprised they havnt started up a subscription based app instead?

JTMan

The magazine sector is particularly screwed ...

Q magazine to fold after 34 years. Article here.

In May, its owner Bauer Media had put the title under review along with a number of others in its portfolio, as sales and advertising revenues diminished during the coronavirus pandemic. “The pandemic and lockdown has further accelerated the trends already affecting the publishing industry,” Chris Duncan, the chief executive of UK publishing, said when announcing the plans. Its circulation had dwindled to 28,359, with less than half of that coming from newsstand sales, compared with a peak of more than 200,000 in 2001.

Loafing Oaf

Hugh Linehan scrutinising the Guardian's decision to slash its Saturday offering here. https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/guardian-axing-its-popular-saturday-supplements-is-an-odd-decision-1.4306166
He really gets to the nub of that paper's predicament:

But with the Guardian, it has seemed at times as if the company wanted to accelerate the demise of its printed newspaper so that it could become purely digital as soon as possible.

This bold strategy would be more impressive if it weren’t for the fact that the Guardian has lost vast amounts of money in pursuit of it and would be insolvent by now if it hadn’t been able to draw on the substantial reserves held by its parent company.

L1011

I saw one and was wondering when they'd (re?) introduced it.

IRE60

expectationlost wrote: »

i Newspaper Available on the Irish Market From Tomorrow https://www.adworld.ie/2020/06/19/dmg-media-ireland-is-to-launch-the-i-newspaper-on-the-irish-market-tomorrow-june-20th/ are many going to buy this?

Some fcuking necks. its 65p in the UK M-S and £1.20 on Sunday. Cant understand that. It's a crowded, declining and expensive market as it stands. There will be 13 Papers on the Newstands in the morning now!