Newspaper, mag circulation still on back foot despite economic recovery

Gordon Patterson, ABC VP, dropped a bombshell last week when he announced that the total newspaper circulation has declined by 146 000 copies during the third quarter of 2010. "That is a lot and it is not a pretty picture," Patterson said emotionally.

Third consecutive period

This is the third consecutive period that circulation for most newspapers and magazines failed to take off and stabilise, raising fears that 'something is wrong somewhere'.

Lesley Cowling, senior lecturer at Wits University, told Bizcommunity.com this week: "It seems that SA is starting to experience what the US and other countries have already seen - the decline of print audiences in favour of an enormous array of free online options.

"This is not just because people can now get their news free from the Internet or email - it's because many people are changing the ways in which they relate to news and information."

Cowling said the growth of Facebook is an example of changing ways of connecting with the world 'out there', adding that Twitter is an endless supply of news stories and sites, and these and other sites are now always available on cellphones.

Quality sources, mostly free

"A lot of these sites supply news, entertainment and information from quality sources of content across the world - mostly free. However, Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch recently changed that when he decided to put much of News International's Australian media behind paywalls from next year.

"The Wall Street Journal already has a model in which about half the content is free and half must be paid for."

She said SA newspapers may have to consider that kind of model if they want to continue to be profitable.

William Bird, head of the Media Monitoring Africa (MMA), said: "Running a newspaper business is not for the faint-hearted. That is for sure. I am not sure that we have truly emerged from the recession because we see Standard Bank retrenching.

Take advantage of shifts

"While publishers and digital penetration may play a role in the declining figures, I think newspapers are going to have to work on alternative models very soon if they are to survive. I don't think it is the end for print media yet. Traditional media will have to work to their strengths of analysis and explanation, as well as partnerships, to take advantage of shifts."

The circulation watchdog said that, instead of blaming the recession and the dawn of digital, publishers should get their act together. Patterson applauded The Citizen newspaper's new pricing strategy, which he said has borne fruit, experiencing a year-on-year growth of 11.5%.

Furthermore, an interesting trend continues unabated in the newspaper section, with Afrikaans and vernacular titles constantly becoming stable and English titles sharply declining.

Cowling explained: "The growth of Afrikaans and Zulu papers may be due to the fact that there is firstly a cultural connection to the publications because they are in the readers' home language, and because there are very few media in those languages, compared to English."

"Constitute an identity"

Yeoville resident Gilbert Ndaba (46), a fervent Zulu newspaper reader, said: "It is not that I don't like reading English newspapers. But for me, Zulu newspapers are more than just a reading exercise, they constitute an identity - something I feel very proud of and a language and a culture I cherish a lot. That is why I make sure that I get a copy whenever I can."

Bird said: "I am not so sure it is the content. It could be about the relatively low number of titles available in African languages and there is a lot of growth potential there. Certainly with English as the dominant language on the 'Net, as well as their greater numbers, it makes sense for these titles to be the ones that show decline."

For more:

• Official ABC site: www.abc.org.za
  
• ABC: Third quarter presentation 2010 by Gordon Patterson
  
• ABC: The latest ad spend trends and the effect of the world cup on 2010 by Ken McArthur