June
 2004

There are many sources for news about developments in the newspaper industry.

But for sheer breadth and depth, it would be hard to beat the SFN Flash, a monthly update of world press trends from the Shaping the Future of the Newspaper project.

The latest edition of the SFN Flash contains 163 items on 66 topics of concern to media executives everywhere. In addition to global and regional trends, newspaper developments in 42 countries are included. The full text version (a headline version also exists) runs to 64 full pages.

The monthly Flash is one of the benefits of the SFN project of the World Association of Newspapers, which identifies, analyzes and publicizes all breakthroughs and opportunities that can benefit newspapers all over the world.

SFN provides WAN members and subscribers with strategy reports on these developments, a library of case studies and business ideas, and a wealth of other vital information for all those who need to follow press industry trends. More on the project can be found at www.future ofthenewspaper.com.

WAN conducts the SFN project with support from six international partners  - PubliGroupe, MAN Roland, UPM, Unisys, Telenor and Samsung Electronics.

The latest edition of the SFN Flash compiles information on media markets, advertising, circulation, printing and production systems, online and digital publishing, editorial content, young readers, management, media laws, copyright, ownership and labor and employment.

A sample:

-Aegis, owner of Europe’s largest media buyer, says it believes the advertising recession in Europe was “largely over,” predicting growth of 4 percent this year.

-The consultancy group Cap Gemini Ernst & Young concludes that carmakers are “wasting money” by advertising on TV and in print media and that the industry “must gain a better understanding of how consumers shop for vehicles and what factors lead them to buy.” The consultancy, which studied consumer-buying behavior in Europe and the United States, believes that automakers’ margins could be boosted by switching out of mass media and into targeted alternatives such as direct mail.

-Since the Chinese government started to reform state-owned newspapers seven months ago, 677 government and party newspapers have been shut down.

-The government is trying to eliminate mandatory subscriptions to government and party newspapers and compel newspapers to become self-supporting.

-The Indian afternoon daily Mid-Day has surprised its readers with a “dawn” edition. Editor Aakar Patel says the new edition is positioned as an alternative to the available morning newspapers and differs from the afternoon edition, with emphasis on delivering news in a compact form.

-BBC Online is under fire from the U.K.’s regional newspaper representative body, which claims that it threatens its commercial interests. The Newspaper Society has made a written submission to the government’s review of BBC Online, saying there is evidence that some local BBC Web sites are giving free publicity to advertisers that would normally use newspapers.

-Free dailies are now being read by 19 percent of the urban population in 11 European countries - an increase from virtually nothing 10 years ago to the current figure of 12 million readers.

-More Americans are reading newspapers today, but spending a little less time with them when they do, according to a survey released by the U.S. Readership Institute, a division of the Media Management Center at Northwestern University.