Adequate reasons to be positive about newspapers
Despite the economic downturn, newspaper circulation world-wide fell just slightly in 2009 and the impact of the global recession on newspaper advertising revenues appears to be easing, said WAN-IFRA in its annual world press trends update. “Frankly, I have noticed a tendency amongst media journalists and commentators to dwell on the negative aspects of the business when it is clear there is much to be positive about,” said Christoph Riess, CEO of WAN-IFRA, who presented the report.
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he World Press Trends 2010 was released to some 400 publishers, editors and other senior newspaper executives from 32 countries attending the annual WAN-IFRA Publish Asia conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Including data from all 233 countries and territories where newspapers are published, the report showed that, contrary to conventional wisdom, newspapers remain a large and thriving industry world-wide, despite the impact of the global recession and the rise of digital media. As per Christoph Riess, though traditional newspapers in many mature markets have been losing readership, newspaper companies in those markets are in the forefront of the digital revolution. “Many newspaper companies in mature markets have embraced digital platforms and new forms of print publishing, growing their product portfolios, audience reach and revenues, even while their tradittional print circulations have come under pressure,” he said, adding, “In fact, it is this metamorphosis of the printed newspaper business into a dynamic, print based but digitally expansionist new media business model, that is both the problem and the opportunity for our industry.”
“The evidence is building that, for many, our print business is facing deep changes. We know of the challenges facing our large metro-based newspapers in developed markets, but we hear less of the changing and expanding printed newspaper market elsewhere, where new products and new newspapers are launched to match the needs of a rapidly evolving and increasingly sophisticated market,” stated Riess.
The figures showed: 1.7 billion people read a daily newspaper every day, representing 25 percent of the world’s adult population. When non-dailies are added, the global reach of newspapers is 37 percent. Daily newspaper circulation fell -0.8 percent in 2009 - a small decline, given the depth of the recession, and in comparison with declines in other industries - but remained up +5.7 percent over five years. Circulation declines largely occurred in mature media markets of the developed world, while Asia continues to enjoy significant growth: up +1 percent in 2009 and +13 percent over five years. A majority of countries - 61 percent - report stable or increased circulations over one year, and 68 percent report stable or increased circulations over five years.
The number of newspaper titles world-wide was 12,477 in 2009, an increase of +1.7 percent from a year earlier. The five largest markets for newspapers include: India, with 110 million copies sold daily, China, with 109 million sold daily, Japan (50 million), United States (46 million), and Germany (20 million). Sixty-seven of the world’s 100 largest daily newspapers are Asian.
Global newspaper advertising revenue fell -17 percent in 2009, largely reflecting the global recession’s impact on all businesses. But advertising revenues are bouncing back and are expected to increase 3.5 percent in 2010, with growth in all regions, according to forecasts from Zenith Optimedia. Television is the world’s largest advertising medium with a 39 percent share, followed by newspapers with 24 percent and the internet with 12 percent. Much of internet advertising remains embedded in search, which is controlled by one player - Google - which takes 65 percent of the market.
