In the course of doing this blog and other things through the internet, one thing that has surprised me is the degree not just of interest but also emotional attachment to Mallorca, be it the island or its individual towns and resorts, such as Puerto Alcúdia or Puerto Pollensa. The internet makes what was just the once-a-year, distant holiday destination, an all-year, close-at-hand companion. For the resident, the internet is no longer a mystery but a fact of everyday life that has become non-generational in terms of use; it is a standard news, information and entertainment medium.
If one takes the example of this blog alone, the diffusion has staggered me. While there is substantial interest locally, there are also regular readers from the UK, Germany, the US, Ireland, Australia, Scandinavia. One could go on.
The debate surrounding the provision of news and newspapers over the internet has been brought into sharper relief by the general decline in advertising revenue caused by recession. Temporary though this is, the activities of Google have also made newspaper publishers stop and wonder as to the wisdom of a business model which has allowed free access in the hope of generating advertising revenues to compensate. Certain newspapers, and the "Financial Times" is a prime example, have probably got it right by establishing a mix of "free-to-air" and "pay-per-view" or subscription.
The local media seems torn. While "The Diario" and its suite of publications are freely available, the Grup Serra company, which publishes "The Bulletin", offers only a partial reproduction and limited archiving. One can understand this. If one considers the circulation figures from yesterday's piece, the intuitive view would be that these could be substantially reduced through full and free publication on the internet. Chances are there would, very quickly, be no newspaper.
Wherever one stands on this debate, when one considers the smallness of the local markets, especially the British, but then takes account of the vastly greater international readership (or potential readership) via the internet, how sustainable is the print copy of any local paper? Print is expensive; it is also inflexible and demanding of lead times. It is anachronistic.
But. There remains the aesthetic attachment to the print copy. Much as the internet offers convenience, for many the physical paper is more convenient, more mobile and simply more pleasing. There is also a mentality issue when it comes to advertisers. An advert in a paper is some form of physical proof. The internet is somehow out of sight, and mobile-phone delivery even more so. The sophistication of the advertiser and indeed the market needs to be considered; and the local market, especially that comprising some Mallorcans, is still not that sophisticated.
Nevertheless, the advance of technologies does draw into question the viability of the print medium; for short-run and small-circulation publications if not for high-volume dailies such as "The Sun". The creation of an alternative business model is not easy, but the greatest obstacle to doing so lies, I believe, in the thought process of publishers. To now, newspapers via the internet have, by and large, been reproductions, and the worst horrors are those that actually have the paper, page by page, for one to flick through. The thinking is wrong. The publisher has to start with a mindset that he is no longer producing a newspaper; he has to completely re-conceptualise what his or her business actually is.
And the small-circulation publications are probably in a better position to do this than the major newspapers. Why do I say this? You know, and this may be frustrating, but I'm not going to tell you. And the reason is that I may want to do it myself. Sorry about that. But as this series has been called "Stop The Press", that is about the size of it. Stop the print presses.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Showing posts with label British media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label British media. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Monday, June 08, 2009
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 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.)
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Stop The Press
The British Consul popped up again in yesterday's "Bulletin", along with figures of the numbers of registered Brits in the various municipalities of the island. The figures were a bit of a surprise. At some 15 and a half thousand, the total seems, if anything, to have actually fallen. They don't necessarily give a complete picture, as there are those who live part of the year and those who simply do not register - for whatever reason, and I leave that to you to figure out. There was also no number given for one municipality, Sa Pobla. Not that there aren't any Brits there; so I don't quite know why there was a line where there should have been a figure. Be that as it may, the "pobler" Brits would not make a significant difference.
When one looks at the figures, a clear picture emerges. Calvia has by far the largest population - at over 5,000 - followed by Palma. If one tosses in Andratx and Lluchmayor, then over half of the Brit contingent is in the main parts of the south. Pollensa can claim something over 1,000 and Alcudia fewer than 900. A figure of 2,000 or so in the northern area, a figure I have gone by for some time, would still be about right.
What makes these figures interesting and important is how they translate in terms of the media. It is an oft-heard gripe that "The Bulletin" is too focused on the south, at the expense of the north. How accurate that gripe is, is perhaps debatable, though perceptions play a crucial part, as much as the reality. Nevertheless, if 60% or so of the target market is in the south, it is hardly surprising that there is a weighting in favour of that market, in all sorts of respects. The northern market equates to roughly one-eighth of the total; not insignificant but not as significant.
But in total, the British form about 2% of the whole population of the island; that in the north 0.25%. How are you supposed to market to that? While the population is of course augmented in summer by seasonal workers and tourists, the latter only create a temporary additional market. For the media, there is a further problem to that of the smallness of the markets, and that is the diversity within the British population. While in the UK, newspapers can appeal to a broad range of socioeconomic groupings and political views, a similar scope does not exist locally. One size fits all is the only real approach, which has the effect of alienating some and of failing to create a recognisable "voice". With markets so limited, it is not surprising, or should not be, that content does seem, at times, thin or weak.
At this point ...
I started to get rather intrigued by this whole relationship between the media and the population in Mallorca. It will take me more time. Maybe tomorrow, the whole thing will appear. But what I have unearthed is, I believe, quite surprising; well, it surprised me. It may also give you all an appreciation of quite what we are talking about in terms of the local media. To follow ...
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Keane, "Spiralling": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-LZ7yH-JBM. Today's title - which film theme tune has this?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
When one looks at the figures, a clear picture emerges. Calvia has by far the largest population - at over 5,000 - followed by Palma. If one tosses in Andratx and Lluchmayor, then over half of the Brit contingent is in the main parts of the south. Pollensa can claim something over 1,000 and Alcudia fewer than 900. A figure of 2,000 or so in the northern area, a figure I have gone by for some time, would still be about right.
What makes these figures interesting and important is how they translate in terms of the media. It is an oft-heard gripe that "The Bulletin" is too focused on the south, at the expense of the north. How accurate that gripe is, is perhaps debatable, though perceptions play a crucial part, as much as the reality. Nevertheless, if 60% or so of the target market is in the south, it is hardly surprising that there is a weighting in favour of that market, in all sorts of respects. The northern market equates to roughly one-eighth of the total; not insignificant but not as significant.
But in total, the British form about 2% of the whole population of the island; that in the north 0.25%. How are you supposed to market to that? While the population is of course augmented in summer by seasonal workers and tourists, the latter only create a temporary additional market. For the media, there is a further problem to that of the smallness of the markets, and that is the diversity within the British population. While in the UK, newspapers can appeal to a broad range of socioeconomic groupings and political views, a similar scope does not exist locally. One size fits all is the only real approach, which has the effect of alienating some and of failing to create a recognisable "voice". With markets so limited, it is not surprising, or should not be, that content does seem, at times, thin or weak.
At this point ...
I started to get rather intrigued by this whole relationship between the media and the population in Mallorca. It will take me more time. Maybe tomorrow, the whole thing will appear. But what I have unearthed is, I believe, quite surprising; well, it surprised me. It may also give you all an appreciation of quite what we are talking about in terms of the local media. To follow ...
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Keane, "Spiralling": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-LZ7yH-JBM. Today's title - which film theme tune has this?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
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