The Mario Blog

01.20.2015—4am    Post #2115
The less than daily printed product: is this the year for take off?

I am not shy about stating it: the day will come when there will not be a printed newspaper delivered Monday-Friday. A robust weekend printed product chock full of inserts and lean back reads will allow readers to disconnect from their digital platforms.

I am delighted to follow the reasoning of Martin Langeveld, a former newspaper publisher, who offers us an insightful and fact-filled scenario of why more newspapers need to embrace the less frequent schedule for print on their way to saving money and to sustainability.

What is Langeveld’s formula?

“Let’s wave the magic wand and convert every subscriber and single-copy buyer to a paid weekend edition (printed Friday, delivered Friday night and Saturday, on newsstands all weekend and into next week), still chock-full of preprints and display ads, plus an all-access digital package (phone app, tablet app, facsimile edition, website access), at about 40 percent of the circulation revenue.

“And let’s assume that the current Friday-Sunday editions carry 60 percent of the week’s advertising, and that all of that can be retained in the Weekend package. You could also assume some migration from Monday-Thursday ads, but let’s be conservative at 60 percent. Meanwhile, because this setup drives a lot more online pageviews as more of those daily print readers get into the digital news habit (and with some more focus on digital sales by those print-bound sales departments) we’ll assume that online revenue doubles.”

Obviously, Langeveld is making some hefty assumptions here, but I do not find them far fetched at all.

Why are not more newspapers following a less print frequency strategy today?

Inertia, says Langeveld, and I agree.  The spectrum of legacy, and the fear that traditional print readers will not migrate to digital, prevail.  I believe that this would not be the case and that readers will, indeed, appreciate the daily digital journey, savoring the printed weekend product even more.

And one thing Langeveld did not mention:  by not publishing a printed paper daily, those in the newsrooms will be able to get into a better  mind set about their notions of frequency.  It is sort of putting that big elephant in the room, the one with ink all over, out of sight at least five days a week.

That, in addition to savings of up to $9–$12 billion ballpark, which is 33 to 41 percent of current costs.

Something to consider in 2015.

Previously in my blog about frequency

Frequency and style: dominant topics for mobile publishing

https://www.garciamedia.com/blog/frequency_and_style_dominant_topics_for_mobile_publishing

The question of frequency for newspapers

https://www.garciamedia.com/blog/the_question_of_frequency_for_newspapers

People Newspapers of Dallas: Change of frequency comes with a new look

 

https://www.garciamedia.com/blog/people_newspapers_of_dallas_change_of_frequency_new_look

Frequency: publishing in the now and later mode
https://www.garciamedia.com/blog/frequency_publishing_in_the_now_and_later_mode

Printed newspapers’ frequency: less may be best for some
https://www.garciamedia.com/blog/printed_newspapers_frequency_less_may_be_best

It’s all about frequency of publication

https://www.garciamedia.com/blog/pits_all_about_frequency_of_publication_p1

TheMarioBlog post # 1655

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