Spending more time with industry personnel leads us to conclude Canadian Newspaper publishers, regardless of town, province or region, have much in common.
As incoming president of the Ontario Community Newspaper Association, this spring has been very hectic so far, with conferences in Halifax, Winnipeg, soon Toronto, then Montreal and possibly Edmonton.
Regrettably, we missed those in Saskatchewan and BC, which were held on conflicting weekends.
Despite differences in culture and landscape, we are quickly learning as we network with fellow publishers, reporters, salespeople and office staff that our challenges are much the same.
Passion for this business is evident, as is guarded optimism for the future. For many smaller publishers that operate with a subscription model, the challenge is keeping that list healthy.
Regrettably, weekly entries to the obituary page result in a loss on the subscription ledger because typically loyal readers are a more mature demographic. For those publishers, the challenge is engaging a younger audience who will support the hometown paper with a subscription.
Engaging an audience is a test for all Newspapers really. Larger circulation Newspapers like ours rely solely on advertising to pay the bills, making it a fine balancing act between revenue and a commensurate amount of space devoted to interesting News.
Businesses have many options today for marketing. Flyers, direct mail, display advertising, digital options like Facebook and websites, television and radio.
For local businesses, these options narrow based on budget and choices at hand.
We believe that Newspapers offer the best solution for local merchants. Adding some digital options is a reasonable choice too. A conversation is needed to determine what mix best supports the particular business. Discussions should include seasonal considerations.
We see a larger issue however for our industry, and that is the provision of professionally written News. Without strong revenue, editorial falters. That’s just the way it is, and our industry needs to find a way to convince and reinforce with readers how important independent News is.
There are now more public relations people employed in North America than journalism reporters. While we have no quarrel with PR people, it is reporters who sift through the work of public relations writers to get to the real story.
Imagine for a moment if the News was merely what a government agency or enterprise had to say on issues. Think of a provincial government writing its own stories on scandal after scandal.
The recent announcement that Hydro One was being sold off might more mirror the minister’s comments in the legislature that the government was merely “expanding ownership interests.” Joking with a colleague about that phrase, he thought it was genius to say it that way, but we countered that wordplay, however genius, can’t be allowed to pass as fact.
Without a free press and professional journalists, this is what would pass as News. Instead of an independent report, citizens would be fed propaganda – whether through government, agencies or corporate entities that market by press release.
Thanks to many loyal businesses who place ads with us, we are able to offer a Newspaper of value to our readers. In many respects, a Newspaper reflects the community it serves and we’re sure proud of the trust this community obviously places in us.
