Thursday 21 June 2012

Fairfax and News Limited reading the same paper?

Where are all the readers? At home on their iPads?

What happened last week to newspaper circulation?  Surely between Monday 11th and Sunday 16th June 2012 circulation and numbers didn't SO drastically drop in readership of our MAJOR newspaper houses, that on Monday morning both Fairfax AND News Limited woke up and thought:

"Gee, last week was pretty intense mate, we better act quick, let's change the face of the Australian Media landscape and let's change it RIGHT NOW!  We won't need to employ Jamie Durie for the new landscape design we have in mind and heck..... don't think we'll need the new seeds planted and watered by a shit load of the employees we currently got either!"

My heart goes out to those employees with uncertain futures.  It's the same struggle I find with my line of work week in and week out so I know that daunting feeling well.

You'd have to have been sleeping under a tree Jamie Durie planted not to have been acutely aware that newspaper circulation has been in slow decline for quite some time.  Like everything else today, we can now buy our newspapers on line on this thing called the internet.  Newspapers are SO cheap online, sometimes they're free.

It's difficult to find a true success story of a Newspaper's paywall.  This unchartered territory has danced one step forward, two steps back with more turns and backtracks than a blogger threatened with liability.

Rumor was that journalists didn't even like bloggers.  As blogging grew it's followers at the rate hard copy news paper circulation declined, there was a rumoured census that audiences were more entertained and interested in reading their 'news' from a multitude of forums.  However these blogging forums are purely opinion based and let's be honest..... I don't want to read about the current state of Greece's economy and how it could undo the whole EURO set up by dragging down those who DID pay their bills (like uptight Germany) written up on some blog by a Greek housewife (whose husband is one of those that thinks he can't be bothered paying his tax), I need to learn about it from a non partial professional who is reporting confirmed facts.

Regardless of whether I read a professionals confirmed facts backlit on an iPad or laid out on the coffee table written on fish and chip wrapping, surely someone has to get paid for writing it (and even FACEBOOK the most viewed website in the world hasn't successfully profited online advertising) so surely I have to pay some amount for reading it (cause eventually someone gotto be paid for writing it)?

I can confirm journalists DON'T dislike bloggers, I'm a baby blogger turning one month old only last Monday and was invited to meet with some GODs of News Limited.  Ironically it was the same Monday my blog turned one month that BOTH major news houses woke up and thought, shit.... better do something about this!  While my blog post wouldn't confirm the subject of my meeting I can assure you my meet did NOT bring down two major forces in our country's communication.

I can't know everything, so obviously i don't know your own personal news paper reading habits.  However, I can confirm that I actually don't know a single person in my immediate circle that DOESN'T buy the Sunday papers.... and they all own iPads.

The future is never written in stone, will it be written on paper or will it be written on a backlit screen?

I don't know..... can someone write about it and tell me so we all know?






3 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday to my bloggy baby! You are right, there is no comparison between bloggers and journos, but a lot of journos now blog personally which is awesome.

    Again, I blame an overall lack of time for the decline in print sales. Personally I live for the weekend papers... I buy 5! But during the week I read my news online. I check in every few hours to read updates, and you just cannot do that with paper.... der!

    Much love to you xxxxx

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    Replies
    1. Blog un-mundane mumma Woog d'World, thank you for the birthday wishes couldn't have done it without you. Thank you for also parking your comment here and not in a no parking zone (the principle wouldn't like that). I think a lunchbox as a soccer ball sounds uber creative. Miss you. Love A x

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