The weekday editions of the Central Western Daily, the Western Advocate and the Daily Liberal will only be available online, but the publications will print ‘expanded’ editions on Saturdays.
Additionally, the Oberon Review and the Blayney Chronicle will stop publishing in print for good, and move online from late August.
Is it a sign of the digital times we live in? Yes. Is it something we will see more of in the future? Yes.
Print costs are continually rising – there are very few options when it comes to producing newspapers on a printing press.
It is a specialised industry that is facing its own increasing costs of paper and equipment – much of which comes from overseas.
Stopping a publication’s print editions is one solution to address a decline in revenue.
But there are other ways to turn things around – some mastheads are raising cover charge costs; some are changing their advertising models; and some are cutting back staff.
What does all this mean for readers? What does it mean for the community – especially in regional and rural Australia?
There’s no doubt newspapers need to embrace and include a digital component into their business model – and most have to varying degrees in the past five to 10 years.
But what do you lose if you cut your print editions?
Firstly, you lose a big chunk of your readers – while there is a decline in the amount of people who buy and read the print editions, there are still plenty, especially in regional areas, who love nothing more than to sit down and read the news on the pages of a newspaper.
The online version of stories lose so much compared to those that appear in a curated newspaper, where the placement of the stories and the photographs in each section engages a wide range of readers to soak in all the information.Would you know about that stolen car that appeared in a three-sentence brief if you didn’t read the ‘big’ story about the local council on page 3?
Would you have seen that a local business was having a sale and could save you some dollars if the advertisement didn’t appear next to an engaging photograph that took your eye?
What about that job that gets you thinking about a career move when you peruse the classifieds’ section?
A newspaper includes a long list of ingredients – not just news and photos – that interests all sorts of people, and it constantly amazes me the sections that people are drawn to.
We get complaints if the quiz is not published, there are plenty of readers keen to read our motoring section each week, and don’t get me started about the popularity of our sports photos each week.
Sure, the different sections can be placed on a website, but the big stew of ingredients that make up a physical newspaper cannot be replicated online, and if they are – they certainly don’t attract the same level of exposure and eyes on them.
A digital edition where readers can flip through the pages online tries to replicate the experience of a newspaper, but it doesn’t get anywhere near the levels of readership that actual newspapers attract, nor that of specific digital stories.
The curation of a newspaper is unique in its packaging and presentation to readers – the light and shade of stories – the serious news mixed with community events; the features on people who are achieving the remarkable or making our community great; the editorials that highlight key issues important to the region, and coverage of sport that is so important to the functioning of our regional towns, just to name a few.
Secondly, a region loses their voice, their number one advocate for key issues and their key conduit for galvanising the community when their newspaper diminishes.
So what does all this mean for community newspapers such as The Weekly Advertiser?
A free-of-charge newspaper, we don’t need to worry about cover charges, and we are very much based on a traditional method of producing newspapers – strong advertising combined with quality journalism and production.
And while we have a growing website and social media presence, our printed editions remain our focus.
But like any newspaper, this only happens with the support of our local businesses who see value in placing advertisements in our printed editions, and, of course, our local communities.
Our commitment is steadfast on delivering a high level of quality newspapers each week.
Quality and commitment, no matter what the medium, is the real point of difference.
The entire July 24, 2024 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!
