Burson-Marsteller

Coffee, Croissant and Newspapers: Endangered species or a luxury for few?

by Andrea Bailo on 3rd November 2011 • The Cast Blog

“…So, media becomes like fast food: people will consume it on the go, as they travel to and from work, watching news, sports and film clips on mobiles or handheld wireless devices, or others already in test by our satellite companies. [...] And, crucially, newspapers must give readers a choice of accessing their journalism in the pages of the paper or on websites such as Times Online or – and this is important – on any platform that appeals to them, mobile phones, hand-held devices, ipods, whatever…”

This is a quote from Rupert Murdoch dated 2006. Reading these words today, it seems that he might just have turned out to be right.

As in any historical period, revolutions don’t happen accidentally; they don’t develop by force of habit but are rather fueled, supported and eventually transformed into everyday life by big numbers, favorable markets and new consumer needs. It is the youngest generation and communication professionals leading the way this time. They determine the media’s present and future. 

But what about the much loved old newspaper? It seems it has to adapt to new forms of communication to still have relevance on the media scene. This necessary renewal process will have to involve the newspaper’s traditional business model but will above all have to broaden its use and offer of digital technologies.

However, progress cannot be stopped by outdated barriers and so it is necessary to find a new balance that will prevent newspapers from becoming a simple complement and enhance their role of classic tools for in-depth analysis.

This is an important responsibility that communication professionals must take on. They must refine and differentiate the specific features of the different media and attract the interest of companies for a more classic, and often more thorough, mean of communication. This is even more true if we consider that newspapers are well defending themselves against the signs of aging, as is shown also by the data contained in the Annual Survey of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), presented in Vienna on 12 October 2011 on the occasion of the World Newspaper Congress and World Editors Forum.

“Circulation is like the sun. It continues to rise in the East and decline in the West”, said Christoph Riess, CEO of WAN. According to the Survey, print circulation is increasing in Asia – though declining in mature markets in the West – and advertisers feel that newspapers are more time efficient and effective than other media.  Moreover, newspapers reach more people than the internet: on a typical day newspapers reach, 20% more people worldwide than the internet, with 2.3 billion versus 1.9 billion.

 Getting back to what Mr. Murdoch said, fast food represented the high point of the food revolution, wart and all: rapidity, reduced costs, popularity, worldwide diffusion, but also a strong impact on food related disorders and, consequently, on weight related diseases. Nevertheless fast food restaurants co-exist with gourmet restaurants, where people take more time to talk and enjoy great meals – created and cooked with passion and talent – and  is it just a coincidence that these restaurants  are often fully booked?

No rivalry then, no knockout competition aimed at choosing the winner with a click or sms: there is enough room for everybody. However, being updated doesn’t necessarily mean being informed, as well as getting satiated doesn’t mean satisfying one’s appetite. For further info, please contact those who choose not to give up coffee, croissants and newspapers. They might just know a bit more than we do …

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