In the face of the digital onslaught, especially among the young, do printed newspapers have a future - yes says WAN and the figures agree.
Newspaper circulations world-wide rose 2.3 per cent in 2006, and have risen by almost ten per cent over the past five years, a remarkable result while all and sundry, including many print journalists claim that newspapers are in irrevocable decline. Newspaper advertising revenues also showed substantial gains, according to the World Association of Newspapers (WAN).
WAN said global newspaper sales were up 2.3 per cent over the year, and had increased by 9.48 per cent over the past five years. Newspaper sales increased year-on-year in Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, with North America the sole continent to register a decline.
When free dailies are added to the paid newspaper circulation, global circulation increased by 4.61 per cent last year, and 14.76 per cent over the past five years. Free dailies now account for nearly eight per cent of all global newspaper circulation and a whopping 31.94 per cent in Europe alone.
Advertising revenues in paid dailies were up 3.77 per cent last year from a year earlier, and up 15.77 per cent over five years, WAN said. No figures were available for free daily advertising revenues.
Timothy Balding, chief executive officer of the Paris-based WAN "Newspapers in developing markets continue to increase circulation by leaps and bounds, and in mature markets are showing remarkable resilience against the onslaught of digital media. Even in many developed nations the industry is maintaining or even increasing sales. At the same time, newspapers are exploiting to the full all the new opportunities provided by the digital distribution channels to increase their audiences.
"As the digital tide gathers strength, it is remarkable that the press in print continues to be the media of preference for the majority of readers who want to remain informed."
Mr Balding added: "These results are even better than we expected from provisional data available a few months ago. Once again we can see that far from being an industry in decline, as the ill-informed and short-sighted continue to contend, newspapers are alive and well and exhibiting enormous innovation and energy to maintain their place as the news media of preference for hundreds of millions of people daily".
The new data, from WAN's annual survey of world press trends, was released to more than 1,600 publishers, editors and other senior newspaper executives from 109 countries attending the 60th World Newspaper Congress and 14th World Editors Forum in Cape Town, South Africa. The main figures showed that global circulations and advertising revenues are increasing world-wide. The figures showed:
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Circulation sales were up 2.11 per cent in Australia and Oceania
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The number of newspaper titles was up 1.14 per cent in Australia and Oceania.
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Sales in Australia recorded an increase of + 2.95 per cent in 2006 and were stable over five years, while New Zealand newspaper sales were down -1.10 year-on-year and down -3.22 per cent over five years.
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In Australia revenues were down +2.77 per cent over one year but rose +65.44 per cent over five years. New Zealand saw a marginal +0.84 per cent gain last year and an increase of 33.28 per cent over five years.
Panpa Conference 2007 Melbourne Aug 7-8
The 38th annual Panpa conference is on Aug 7-8, with a host of technical workshops on the 6th. The conference will be officially opened on Aug 7 by Steve Bracks, premier of Victoria.
Keynote speakers are drawn from Australia, including John Hartigan, executive chairman of News Ltd Australia, Europe, Asia and North America.
The evenings see a full social programme:
Mon 6 President's Conference & Exhibition Cocktail Party
Mon 6 The Goss Evening
Tues 7 Panpa & Melbourne Press Club Editors' Dinner
Weds 8 Panpa Norske Skog Newspaper of the Year Dinner and Awards
Internet effect
Online news and information will supplant television network news as the leading news source over the next five years, but newspapers will remain a vital source on their own, and can become dominant if they successfully integrate online delivery as a part of what they offer the public.
That's the finding of a Harris Poll conducted last month by Harris Interactive in conjunction with the Innovation International Media Consulting Group and presented at the annual congress of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and the World Editors Forum (WEF) in Cape Town, South Africa. The poll results were announced in conjunction with publication of Innovation's "2007 Report: Innovations in Newspapers" for WAN.
The poll results suggest that newspapers can significantly upgrade their traditional print product by providing greater objectivity, more in depth reporting and analysis, more information that is directly relevant to their readers' lives, better and more visual design, and more compelling writing.
The online poll was conducted among 8,749 adults in seven countries: Australia, the US, Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, and Germany. Respondents were asked about their current sources of news and information, and what changes they see five years into the future. They were also asked to assess the credibility of newspapers today, and their role, and that of their online sites, today and in the future.
While television news programs on traditional and cable networks are the primary information providers today in all the regions polled, a sharp increase in the role of online news information is predicted for five years down the road, largely at the expense of television, with smaller inroads into the market for newspapers.
Douglas Griffen, an Innovation and Harris International Consultant, and the Director of Strategy at the Advanced Strategy Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, who presented the survey results said, "Despite the likely decline in print circulation, newspaper publishers should see a challenge and an opportunity in extending their brands online."
The poll found television news (both network and cable) to be the primary source of information today for between 35 and 39 per cent of adults in six of the countries surveyed, dropping to 29 per cent in Spain, where it was close to the number who rely on newspapers, 28 per cent. In the other six countries, reliance on newspapers (that is major dailies, national newspapers, and local community newspapers) ranged from 23 per cent in the United Kingdom to a low of 16 per cent in France. It was 21 per cent in Italy, 23 per cent in both the United States and Australia, and 22 in Germany.
Looking five years down the road, the poll points to significant increases in all geographies for online news and information, and significant parallel losses for television network news, with modest increases for cable news, and newspapers down from moderately to significantly in all countries surveyed. Radio remains relevant, with moderate decreases.
Newspaper credibility gets reasonably high marks, 50 or higher on a scale of 1 to 100, with some significant geographic differences, from a low of 50 in Great Britain to a high of 67 in Germany.
At the same time the poll found that a high number of respondents (over three-quarters of adults in each country) consider newspapers and their associated websites extremely important because of their role as community watchdogs, in clarifying important global issues, and providing relevant information that is interesting to know and useful in daily life. "While readers don't expect newspapers to change the world, they count on them to help see and understand the world better," said Griffen.
Asked why people do not read newspapers, over half of poll respondents in six of the seven countries pointed to lack of time (in Spain this dropped to 44 per cent). At least two in five adults in all seven countries said easier access to news online was a reason to not read the newspaper. Other reasons that were given were newspapers need to eliminate bias, improve writing, increase relevance to readers' daily lives, improve visual content and presentation, and help connect readers to their communities.
The survey found - in questions posed to US respondents only - that the credibility of newspapers can be extended to their websites, but not enough effort goes into promoting the connection between newspapers and their online products.
Griffen urged editors and publishers attending the WAN and WEF Congress to leverage their credibility, and the importance readers attach to their newspapers' role in the community to developing their online products as clear extensions of the newspaper brand.
