Stop The Press - 2

Following on from yesterday ...

The size of the British market determines, to a large extent, the nature of the local media. Criticism that is sometimes levelled at it needs to be tempered by an understanding of this size, the resources that can be justified in serving the market and the advertising revenues that can feasibly be obtained.

Of the three "newspapers" that appear in the north, only one, the free fortnightly "Talk Of The North", is focussed solely on the region. The other two, the also free "Euro Weekly" and the for-sale "Majorca Daily Bulletin" are island-wide, though where the former is concerned, it's a case of partly island-wide and largely Costas in terms of content. As for distribution, the two free publications seem to be roughly on a par. My understanding is that "Euro Weekly" circulates 8,000 copies on the island (this certainly was the case; it may have changed). If one assumes that a thousand are diverted to the north, the same number as "Talk Of The North", then both meet their objectives. For two thousand British residents, one can also assume an average of two per household. A thousand is adequate.

"The Bulletin" has greater penetration, largely by dint of being daily. The actual sales figures for the northern area I don't know, but one can start to get an idea by looking at the audited figures. On the OJD site, these are given. They might surprise you. For the year 2008, "The Bulletin" had an average net circulation (sales, one takes this to mean) of 3,839 (the figure for average print run is higher). My understanding for this is that the one-eighth principle does not apply, and that the sales in the north are proportionally quite a bit higher. The sales figure does not, however, reflect readership. It is not unrealistic to believe that the readership number is some five times the actual sales. It is also worth noting that we are talking here of an average. In summer, the sales are over 6,000, quite a number of them - contrary to widely held opinion - to tourists; indeed, the paper is sold through some hotels.

While the figures do seem low, are they really that surprising? Put them in the context of the figures for the Spanish dailies produced in Mallorca. Ultima Hora's average circulation was 36,260; the Diario's 22,653. Once again, they may seem low, but there are factors to bear in mind. As with "The Bulletin", there is the readership equation, given that these papers are all easily available in bars, while one has to acknowledge the popularity of the main Spanish papers, such as "El País" (to say nothing of competition from the Catalan press). In the same way, one has to consider the British dailies like "The Sun" when assessing the circulation of "The Bulletin".

However one interprets these sales, the fact is that the markets, British and Spanish/Mallorcan, are not huge by any means. You can begin to work out for yourselves what this all means in bottom-line terms. "The Bulletin" sells for one euro. From that, you can take out 4% for IVA and any costs for production, distribution, staffing etc. That a monthly subscription to the paper would mean a receipt of a third less, you can see that there is not a vast budget to play with, advertising revenues notwithstanding. The point about this is that, when criticisms are levelled, one has to appreciate the true business picture.

One also needs to appreciate the scale of the effort that is involved with any publication: copy generation, advertising selling, chasing up, layout and print preparation and distribution. For "The Bulletin", the latter is handled through the established distribution network to retailers. "Euro Weekly" and "Talk Of The North" are basically boot-of-the-car jobs. The distribution alone is time-consuming and attracts its own costs, not least in terms of fuel.

Is it all worth it, then? The answer is still yes, if only because communities, be they British across the island or in the north alone, have demonstrated a demand for them. But these very communities are also all too ready to criticise. 'Twas ever thus with publishing. More than anything, everyone has a sense of ownership and an opinion where a publication is concerned. It should do this, it should do that; shouldn't do this, shouldn't do that, blah, blah. Any editor or publisher would want to do more or do something differently, but it all comes back to resources, and the size of the market and what it is willing to pay (or not).

This all said, it has been a mystery to me quite how the German publications on the island can all be so much superior - in every respect: size, layout, content and weight of advertising. There are two paid-for weeklies - "Mallorca Zeitung" (the "Diario" camp) and "Mallorca Magazin" ("Ultima Hora" and "The Bulletin") - and a freebie "El Aviso". The German market is bigger than the British, double the size perhaps, but is still not vast. However, a clue can be found if one goes to the website for "Mallorca Magazin". It states the paper's circulation figures. At their height, there is an average circulation (sales one assumes) of 31,850 with 8,500 subscriptions. How can this be? Other clues lie in "Auflagengebiet" (circulation area) and "Verkaufsstellen" (sales points). The former includes not only the Balearics but also Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and Holland. The latter contains an extensive list of train stations, airports and bookshops in German towns and cities. Is "The Bulletin" on sale at Paddington Station?

The German market is different in one major respect. The Germans treat Mallorca not so much as a holiday destination but as another part of the Bundesrepublik. The fascination with Mallorca is regularly reflected in television shows and with weather reports. Mallorca is a way of life to many Germans in a way that it is not for the British. Or maybe this is wrong. Because there is much evidence to suggest as close an affinity with Mallorca among the Brits as with the Germans. And that evidence comes from the internet. Which brings me to ...

To follow.


QUIZ
Yesterday's title (and today's) - Prince, "Batdance": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLlQpc8D2Kc
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)

The Deathly Shallows

And now we start to make the news. Remember the piece about the side road in Puerto Alcúdia; it being a potential death-trap (14 July, “The Bitter Sting Of Tears”). There it is - in a rather different form - in the current “Euro Weekly”. No, no, they haven’t nabbed it. Nothing like that. They were sent it. A combination of my words, Karen at Foxes’ instigation and John’s camera. The only slight problem is the headline, “Accident Waiting To Happen For Cyclists”. Well, yes, cyclists could have an accident, but it was more to do with a car going too fast and smacking into an inattentive tourist. But, no matter, at least it’s there.

There I was talking yesterday about the non-jellyfish alert, and now there is a rather more ominous marine threat. Courtesy of another piece in “Euro Weekly”, it seems that the weever fish, a really nasty bit of work, is making its presence known near Mallorca’s beaches. While this most unpleasant chap is not uncommon, his numbers are up, as are the number of stings, and the fish has been reported in Alcúdia Bay and off Son Serra de Marina.

As the weever hides in the sand, often in shallow water by the water's edge, it might well be worth taking the precaution of wearing something on the feet. Flip-flops would probably not be sufficient, but something like those shoes with the quite thick, airy soles and the holes over the top of the foot (that everyone’s wearing this year) could do the trick. Anyway, watch out, weever’s about!


Quiz. A carabela was a three-masted sailing ship from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Columbus used carabelas. Misunderstood? ‘Twas The Animals, for which Geoff was very grateful!! Today’s title? Everyone must know where this is taken from and adapted.

And given this burst of carabela stuff, here’s another RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK. It is ... STEAK HOUSE CARABELA

Where: Avenida Reina Sofia, Puerto Alcúdia, opposite the Carabela Apartments.

What: Alcúdia’s best barbecue (well, that’s what the publicity says). Chateaubriand. Very generous portions.

When: Every day.

Who: Tomas is the top man here. José and Julie, also to be found at Nova Marina, are the owners.

Why: Excellent location for hotels like the Vivas Tropic and Golf, Alcudia Garden and Coral de Mar. Just over from the beach. Good-sized terrace.


And finally, I am indebted to Alastair who, given the combination of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore and Stingray on these pages these past days, mailed me a youtube. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua_wCMywEM0. Cut and paste to see the classic sketch that took the mick out of Thunderbirds.

(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)

OTT?

There has been a fine spat going on between Alexei Sayle and our old mate, Leapy Lee. A less likely combination one could hardly imagine; one, a reconstructed communist and comedian of repute (The Young Ones, OTT, The Comic Strip etc.), the other, not.

For those of you who do not know, Leapy pens a weekly column in Euro Weekly. It is often provocative. There is nothing wrong with being provocative, but provocation has to be tempered to lend it some charm. Otherwise, it is wholly one-dimensional and, as such, worth less than a fig. One can think of numerous columnists who provoke - Simon Jenkins, Boris Johnson, Matthew Parris, Simon Hoggard (from the political arena); Danny Baker, Victor Lewis-Smith, A.A. Gill, Martin Samuel and, yes, Alexei Sayle (from a sport/entertainment arena); Rod Liddle, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Littlejohn, all of whom can rant for England and can be utterly outrageous. These columnists represent a broad church of political leanings. But what all have in common is that they are either informed, intellectual, humorous, tangential thinkers, ironic, sharp observers, or often a combination of all these things.

Now I don’t expect local expat newspapers to be of “Fleet Street” standard, nor do I expect their contributors to be. I can understand the constraints on such papers. But I do expect at least one of the qualities I list above when it comes to contributions. What I do not expect is the equivalent of the pub bore who sidles up to you and earholes you for fifteen minutes on God knows what.

I must just say I think Euro Weekly is not too bad. It has its moments of curious reporting, as I have noted before on this blog, but it’s a well put-together paper, and I like Gordon, the guy who runs it on the island. Which brings me though to this spat.

Alexei Sayle, writing in The Independent, had a right old go at Leapy. To give a flavour of this, I quote: “Yes, that’s my idea of the perfect columnist, some expat singer with a criminal record and views tailor-made for his audience of drink-sozzled, golf-playing Costa Brits.” I only know this and can quote it because Leapy, having taken umbrage (understandably I guess), repeated it (along with much more) in his column. Now I would have thought that, having been the target of a vitriolic hatchet-job, you might prefer to keep it quiet. No, not Leapy. He goes ahead and reproduces it, for which we should be grateful. Had he not, we might never have known.

FIESTAS
Just to say that the Sant Jaume and Sant Crist fiestas are coming up in Alcúdia. Information on the What’s On Blog. Sant Crist happens only every three years, and this year is the 500th anniversary - some malarkey about sweating blood and tears and turning them into water, or something like that.

SERVICE OF THE WEEK
Also on the What’s On Blog, you will find some regular offers from our good friends at No Frills Excursions, based in Puerto Alcúdia. So, here is a Service of the Week thing - NO FRILLS EXCURSIONS:



Where: Avenida de la Playa 13, Puerto Alcúdia and various sales outlets around and about, plus web: www.nofrills-excursions.com.

What: Excursions all over the island, such as Marineland, Palma, Soller etc. Also local events such as the Alcúdia Bar Crawl.

When: Er, this doesn’t quite work like it does for bars, but no matter - something every day!

Who: Seamus and Toni are your men. Then there is Lisa and numerous others.

Why: Low-cost but high-quality excursions with a strong personal touch, well-informed and friendly guides who make for a great experience.


Quiz: So, what was Alexei Sayle’s hit record? (One thing he has in common with Leapy is that he, too, was a one-hit wonder.) I forgot to mention that Troy Tempest was modelled on James Garner. And as for 200 Motels etc, it was Frank Zappa, though strictly speaking the song lyric came from a collaboration with Captain Beefheart (the album “Bongo Fury”). The lyric referred to the 200th anniversary of American independence.

(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)