Media 'must engage audiences'

Increasing audience engagement – and not simply switching from print to digital formats – is a key mission for media publishers, according to the head of a global publishing association.

Looking at world press trends in 2013, news publishers must not only go from print to digital, but must also engage their readers and audiences with quality content, said Vincent Peyregne, CEO of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).

Over half of the world’s adult population reads a daily newspaper or its digital edition – over 2.5 billion in print and more than 600 million in digital form. Today, newspapers generate US$200 billion (Bt6.09 trillion) of revenue globally every year.

But print newspaper circulation has been declining, dropping 2.2 per cent globally between 2008 and 2012, and down 0.9 per cent globally in 2012 from 2011. 

Asia still dominates print newspaper circulation and its market continues to enjoy growth, though at a lower rate. Meanwhile, in mature markets, print newspaper circulation continues to decline as consumers move to digital formats.

“Print newspaper circulations continue to rise in Asia and decline in mature markets in the West, while digital advances have increased the audience for newspaper content as never before,” Peyregne said.

Not only has circulation declined globally, but advertising spending in print media has also fallen. Newspaper advertising revenues declined by 2 per cent globally in 2012 from 2011, and by 22 per cent from 2008 to 2012. 

The five-year decline was driven primarily by newspaper advertising declines in the United States, the world’s largest advertising market. Print advertising fell by 42 per cent in the United States over five years, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the global drop in newspaper advertising. 

Therefore, the challenge is not simply in transferring audiences from print to digital, but in engaging younger people in society as well. “The news industry’s future is about our numbers, but more importantly about how citizens engage and participate in society,” said Peyregne.

He added that to engage audiences, newspapers have to focus on quality of content. They need to have “middle men” on their staffs who understand both journalism and marketing. They also need to have market insight and systems that can manage large amounts of data and turn it into insightful information to improve their content’s quality. 

“Newspaper professionals understand, more than ever, the benefits offered by the digital world to improve the quality of their conversation with communities, identify new territories where they can expand their role, help reduce the complexity of the world, and increase the trust of their audience,” Peyregne said.

Newspapers are looking forward to a “tipping point” of digital-driven profitability. But the growth in digital platforms is not being followed by consequent growth in advertising revenues. News sites enjoy high readership, but the level of reader engagement is low. 

“Newspapers are not only losing readers, but also losing readership frequency. Even if paid circulation declines, newspapers reach a vast number of readers – print, online and mobile – and the latest trends show that advertising engagement in print keeps performing well and is improving in many countries,” he said.

He added that while the fragmentation of the market is a threat to newspapers’ business model, it is also an opportunity for newspapers’ to return to their core mission and values, which are about empowering free citizens by providing them with the news and information necessary to make informed decisions in society.