The Demise of local newspapers

[john riddle]

I always remember asking my old mum "Why we bought the Hartlepool Mail"? Her answer was to read who had died. Over the years she remained loyal to the Mail until of course she did - die that is. Her comments in those last years probably reflected what a great many readers thought - "The Mail isn't local anymore".
I read with some interest the comments about The Mail and its political leanings and I did wonder if too much significance was attached to the publication which "is not what it was". Moving staff to Sunderland, closing the Mail Office and having it printed in Sheffield - well clearly it isn't local anymore.
At its peak The Mail boasted that it reached more than 80,000 readers but recent statistics from ABC (a regulator I am told which HB may correct) reveal that from the 40,000 households in Hartlepool just over 10,000 now take the Mail - actually 24%. In recent years the same statistics show a 6% drop in sales.
The so called experts, people who lecture on media studies and the like, say the demise of local newspapers is as a result of the internet. They may have a point seeing as you are reading this. The income of newspapers would appear to have two sources - namely sales of the newspaper (which we know are dropping in the case of the Mail) and advertising. Advertising revenue is also dropping primarily because local advertisers have so many other ways to reach their target audience - facebook, twitter, their own easily constructed webpage and of course council backed publications such as "Heartbleat". Advertisers in the latter of course are only protecting their own businesses from council interference whilst promoting an organisation that would never survive in business or the open market place.
The Mail will eventually follow other newspapers such as The Liverpool Post, which was founded 158 years ago. They dropped to five days a week from six, then to a weekly newspaper before ceasing publication in December 2013 when their circulation had dropped to 8,200 per week. The "experts" say several things are to blame - they failed to tackle dropping revenue from advertising and although print isn't dead, paying for it is. Readers have realised via the internet that "news is free" and they are not going to pay for a newspaper, especially one that is in decline.
I saw some comment on here that somebody should consider investing in a NEW local newspaper to report unbiased news etc. Because of the aforementioned comments believe me that is a "financial" non-starter.
Your on-line edition of The Hartlepool Post is the way ahead - you just need more people to read it - and receive regular reminders - when matters are updated.
I wouldn't really concern yourselves about the impact of The Mail - printed copies go to just 24% of the population and in truth more people probably read it on line.

[HarryBlackwood]

Hi John. A few points if I may.

The Mail's latest audited sales figures (ABC) are a shade over 9,000 and are declining at a rate of 20%. Yes really.

Those figures were last half of year. Sales always suffer in winter so if you take winter and a 20% decline into consideration I'd guess that just over 8,000 at present will be about right.

You are correct that there are two revenue streams: Sales and advertising. I've dealt with sales.

Advertising rates are linked to sales. The lower your sales and household penetration, the less you can charge. Advertising rates are now substantially lower than they were when I was editor more than ten years ago.

Having reduced costs (and damaged the product massively) there is nowhere left to turn. The paper will either go weekly or go under. It will happen this year.

The other thing to consider is the owners Johnston Press. This is a zombie company that is using every penny it makes just to pay its debts. It can't go on. Even selling assets isn't working.

Hope that helps.

[Facebook]

I think it would be fair to say that most newspapers are suffering the same fate for two reasons.

One is because of the growth of the internet and its free news reels.

The other is to do with the content of many papers which is not only insulting to the intellect of its readers but after the NOTW scandal there is little trust or respect with the modern media.

The Mail is cheaper now than in the last 20 years that i know of.

[john riddle]

So the Mail is on a downward spiral and following very much along the lines of the Liverpool newspaper which died in December last year. If only 20% of the households read The Mail in the printed version - what is its impact on the wider community?

[steveL]

I don't really buy into the argument that the Internet is killing off local newspapers - not yet anyway. If you read the doom-mongers we're all supposed to be reading the news on-line on our tablets. I think the problem is far more about content and the rise of the PR Department. It's cheaper to become an aggregator of Press Releases and generic content. This has had the effect of making local newspapers far less of an interesting read.

At the same time, falling advertising revenue has led to the proportion of adverts to content going haywire.

Older people still buy The Mail; while younger people, in-line with their mind-set of not being particularly interested in anything beyond the boundaries of their own little worlds, rarely buy it.

You can now read The Mail in less that 5 minutes. In fact, people don't read it - they scan it, only actually reading a story if they come across one that might be interesting. You can see this at work in the supermarkets as people lift a copy off the stands, scan it and then return it to the stands.

Those that do buy it are doing so 'just in case' there is something in the paper worth reading and to see if anyone they know has died.

The paper WILL go weekly and soon. Have you not noticed the preparation going on? e.g. The 7 day catch-up feature.

[HarryBlackwood]

The Mail is cheaper now than in the last 20 years that i know of.

Cheaper? In what way?

[Facebook]

To book a full page 20 years ago cost over £600, its roughly half that cost now because of the low circulation figures.

[tankerville]

Some time ago they had a competition for a logo to put on their vehicles. Mine was this.

HARTLEPOOL MAIL on both side panels & on the back doors THERE'S NOTHING INSIDE

I DIDN'T WIN.

[HarryBlackwood]

Ah advertising rates. Yes. That's what I said earlier.

[Lord Elpus]

Advertising rates;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_C0axennQw

[dowager]

The main problem is the lack of democracy .. a useless Hartlepool Mail with no staff from the town, based outside the town and printed outside the town means that Police and Politicians are not held to account

To the credit of Hartlepool Post, Harry Blackwood and various online forums and Facebook groups / pages, the truth is still getting out there, just

BUT, that's exactly where Police and Politicians want it. We have to do our best to deny them it

[HarryBlackwood]

Dowager. Brilliant points. The decline of local newspapers like The Mail is a massive threat to democracy. I know for a fact that Hartlepool Council's press office are gobsmacked that The Mail prints press releases word for word. That's not journalism, it's PR.