MediaNews Group is ramping up outsourcing its ad production, adding its Alameda Newspaper Group properties to Contra Costa Newspapers group papers now sending files to India for processing.

The move means some 40 northern California papers, ranging from the Oakland Tribune and Fremont Argus to the Contra Costa Times, are sending their ad production files to Express KCS, a U.S. firm with offices in Gurgaon, India, according to Robert Berkeley, Express KCS’ chief executive officer.

The Times was the first MNG paper to outsource its ad production, beginning in November. By early this month, all the papers in the two groups will have made the transition, costing approximately 40 jobs. Other neighboring MediaNews Group properties, including the San Jose Mercury News, are also said to be evaluating outsourcing, but no final decision has been made.

MNG, Express KCS’ first newspaper client, signed a “multi-year” contract with the firm, Berkeley said. Financial details weren’t disclosed.

MNG began discussing the project with Express KCS last summer, Berkeley said. “They were looking for alternatives to help them reduce production costs.”

‘Focus and future’

Berkeley, a former editorial systems integrator and trainer, took over Express KCS about three years ago, with the specific purpose of offering the firm’s outsourcing capabilities to newspapers.

“This is where we see our focus and future,” he said.

“We’re used to newspaper production and editorial systems and we absolutely understand newspaper production requirements,” he said.

Workers at Express KCS' Gurgaon, India, office at their workstations.
 

Express KCS has about 40 workers assigned to process  ad volume, which amounts to about 3,000 ads a week. The staffers log into the papers’ ad production servers via a virtual private network connection to create the ads, which are produced in time to meet the papers’ existing deadline requirements, Berkeley said.

“We have created a dedicated studio for this client, with specially recruited staff who are equipped with the same software (as is used by the newspapers),” Berkeley said. “We have a production manager, we have a discrete workflow and we then create the ad, produce the PDF, check it and (log the completed ad back on the server).”

Berkeley declined to say how much ANG and CCN are saving by outsourcing their ad production to Express KCS. Generally, firms can save from 25 percent to 50 percent of their costs by outsourcing, depending upon the work involved.

The papers use a mix of software to produce ads, including Agfa’s AdCenter and MultiAd Creator. Non-electronic ads are scanned and digitized by the newspapers before they are processed by Express KCS staffers.

Express KCS' facility in India will initially house about 40 workers to process MediaNews Group ads. That number could grow if other MNG papers decide to outsource their ad production.

Other papers taking same step

The move by ANG and CCN papers to outsource their ad production comes as papers take steps to corral costs in operations not deemed as critical as their core editorial product. The Los Angeles Times is also weighing outsourcing some of its ad production and The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch said it will turn over its ad processing this spring to Affinity Express Inc., an Elgin, Ill.-based outsourcing company with offices in Pune, India.

“This is a step we must take to maintain our vitality amid changes in the media environment,” said Michael F. Curtin, associate publisher and chief operating officer of The Dispatch’s parent company, as reported by the paper in November. “We believe this is a cost-effective way for us to improve the quality and speed of service to our advertising customers.”