What
do the mainstream media and Christian denominations have in common? Great histories
and uncertain futures.
That’s
the view of Bob Cox, publisher of the Winnipeg
Free Press and chair of News Media Canada, an umbrella group for newspapers
and radio and TV stations in Canada.
At
the same time, they share another important thing: “We have a mission that we
feel is crucial to the communities we live in,” he stated.
Cox
shared that perspective on November 20 during a webinar with members of the Canadian
Christian Communicators Association (CCCA).
He
went on to say while newspapers like the Free
Press are facing severe challenges, “demand for what we produce, news and
information, has not gone away.”
According
to the most recent data from Vividata, the Free Press reaches 64% of
adults in Winnipeg, and 64% of Winnipeggers say they read a newspaper in some
form, he noted.
Nationally,
things are similar, he said, with 79% of Montrealers, 68% of people in Toronto,
76% of people in Victoria accessing newspapers.
“Basically,
about three out of every four Canadian adults get news from newspapers every
week,” he said.
Good news: People still reading
newspapers, but new ways of consuming news
But
if people aren’t abandoning newspapers, it’s also true they aren’t consuming
them the way they used to.
That
same data from Vividata shows many newspapers in Canada have digital audiences
larger than, or the same size as, their print audiences, he said.
This
includes the Globe and Mail, the National Post, the Toronto Star, Le Devoir, the Ottawa
Citizen, the Calgary Herald and the
Windsor Star.
All
of these “papers” are “actually majority digital media or close to it,” he stated.
“We’re
fast approaching the tipping point where all daily newspapers will have
primarily digital audiences.”
Bad news: Falling advertising revenues
While
its good news that people are reading newspapers, the bad news is financial
support for them as fallen dramatically.
“In
many ways this is like a lot of churches that have widespread community support
but empty pews so they don’t have enough donations to keep their doors open,”
he shared.
A
chief reason for the financial drop is how local businesses, which used to
support newspapers with advertising, spend more and more of their advertising
dollars on Facebook and Google.
Those
ad dollars, which used to support local journalism, now “leave the community,”
he stated.
Nationally,
Cox said, ad revenues in newspapers have fallen by half in the past five years
to about $1.5 billion from $3 billion, and that $3 billion is half again of
what existed a decade ago.
More bad news: Drop in circulation
Added
to that is the change in consumer habits, as readers who used to buy
subscriptions go online expecting to get news for free.
The
result is a significant drop in circulation. Cox said the Free Press sold about
250,000 copies on Saturdays in 1984; today that figure is 73,000.
Nationally,
the number of printed papers sold is half what it was a decade ago, he noted.
And
yet, surveys show people still really value local news, he said. “They see it
as a public good that is vital to the democratic health of their communities.
They just don’t want to pay for it.”
According
to Cox, only about 20% of Canadians are financially supporting news, either
through subscriptions or donations.
The result: Media in a precarious state
This
isn’t just a problem for newspapers, he added.
“Most people are unaware of the
precarious state of local news, the fact that all local TV stations lose money
on news,” he said.
The
result for all media is less money for local news gathering, print, TV or
radio.
“In
many communities there remains the appearance of news sources, since newspapers
still publish, but there is not the reality of local news, as very little money
is put into news gathering,” he said.
“They
call these ghost newspapers.”
So
if readers are moving to digital, is that were newspapers should be placing their
bets? Yes, said Cox, but it isn’t easy.
“Most
of the newspaper industry is not positioned to survive the switch to digital,”
he said.
“The majority of their revenues are related to the sale of printed
copies and the sale of advertising in those printed copies.”
Digital revenues not filling
the gap
At
the same time, digital advertising isn’t filling the gap left by the decline in
print advertising.
The
Free Press, he said, has digital
revenues of about $5 million a year and expenses of $45 million—nowhere near
enough to help keep it going.
Some
bigger newspapers, like the New York
Times, have made great strides, he said, and may soon earn enough from
digital to cover the costs of its journalism.
But
the Times has 3.2 million digital
subscribers and a national audience, he observed. “Most of us are not in this
game.”
What are the solutions?
If
those are all the challenges, what are some solutions? Cox had a couple ideas
if newspapers are to survive.
The
first is to give up the printed
newspaper—if digital revenues aren’t keeping up with expenses, the only thing
left to do is reduce expenses, Cox said.
That
means cutting print.
“Most
of the $45 million in annual expenses at the Free Press is related to the cost of producing a manufactured good
every day,” he said—things like buying paper, paying press operators,
delivering the paper.
The
newsroom budget, on the other hand, is only about 15% of total expenses.
“Strip
away all the manufacturing and you have expenses of about $12 million to
produce and present digitally all of that journalism,” he stated.
If
that’s the case, $5 million of digital revenues “looks a lot more promising,”
he stated.
And
if only 20% of Winnipeggers subscribed to the Free Press digitally, he would be able to meet that budget, he
stated.
“It
is only when we embrace this future, and put our best efforts into achieving
it, that we will really have our heads around keeping the newspaper alive,” he
added.
The
second idea is to find alternative,
non-traditional sources of revenue to support journalism.
This
includes things like what the Free Press is
doing with faith coverage—soliciting support from faith groups to produce more
articles about religion.
It
also involves government support.
This
includes funding for journalists to cover so-called news deserts—communities
where there is little or no local news reporting anymore.
It also includes a refundable tax
credit for employing journalists; a tax credit to encourage people to take out
digital news subscriptions; and allowing news organizations that operate as
not-for-profits and receive donations.
Although
the federal government has spoken affirmatively about these ideas, Cox said, nothing
has actually been done yet.
For
him, this is a problem.
“Time
is of the essence. I first went to Ottawa in January of 2016 to talk to
bureaucrats and politicians about the crisis in newspapers and we’re still
waiting. Government simply has not moved fast enough.”
Important to be honest and engage public
more
The
media also needs to engage the public more and make them aware of the dangers
facing local news, he said.
“The
general public is only vaguely aware of the threat,” he said, noting after a
Quebec newspaper declared bankruptcy people in the local business community pledged
more than $1 million to the newspaper.
“The
problem is that we all don’t want to have to declare bankruptcy to find out if
our communities will support us.”
Surveys
have shown educating the public on the benefits of local news, and the fact
that it is in trouble, increase the likelihood of support.
“My
advice to people in newspapers at all levels is to tell readers about what is
going on,” Cox said.
“Don’t
cover up financial troubles, explain them. Give people the information that
will allow them to act before it is too late.”
At
the end of the day, “public support is the only hope we have,” he stated.
“It always
has been.”
