Closing weekday metro titles is just responding to consumer habits, says Fairfax CEO
Fairfax chief executive Greg Hywood has vowed to lift the quality of its digital product as he reiterated his intention to close the publisher’s metro week day editions.
Greg Hywood: “We are responding to consumer demand by matching what they need”
He told a conference it was clear that readers are consuming news online during the week and buying newspapers, when they have more time to read them, at the weekend.
Losing Monday to Friday mastheads would simply be responding to consumers’ reading habits, he added.
I wonder whether Hywood is himself a reader? His evident ignorance of what readers value has been apparent for yonks. He also has a faintly ridiculous habit of aggressive assertion (note the “der” bit) that I assume works in dealing with his bosses. But I would have thought by now that the empirical evidence of commercial failure was sufficient evidence that his arrogant confidence in what readers want is profoundly misplaced.
Many of us would like our newspaper/web site back. Preferably before it becomes a porn site.
Well, we knew this was going to happen, but I contest Hywood’s assertion that the bulk of us are online. It COSTS TOO MUCH to read the paper online, such as if you’re on the go AND particularly if, like me, you’re on a $25 per month mobile phone plan. No data checking with that one.Tight budget works for me. I’d rather be sitting on my stationary exercise bike reading the Herald and the Tele each morning rather than glued to my desktop computer screen. What I’ve not mentioned yet is that I live in regional Australia and pre-NBN too. And old newspapers work a treat to line my chook cages. Hmmm, not happy, and not rich!
hywood is a genius, but only in his own mind. Thank god I have “time” to watch tv during the week. Tragically smh is less than a shadow of the once great paper. Long live news corporation.
The demise of newspapers is not because of falling circulation.Its because Hywood doesn’t want to innovate his brands and is not even trying to save the icons of Australia.
Falling circulation i think not more like falling revenue from not being able to sell ads.
Digital only he will kill fairfax.
Hywood will kill Fairfax.
Circulation dropping more like revenue from ads dropping.
Arrogant he does not care what the public want.
“fall from 53,121 to 62,643” Wish I could get a fall like that!
Sack Hywood, you fools, before his destrunction of Fairfax is complete.
Hywood has been talking about this for years. Did they seriously pay all those consultants just to make Fairfax disappear? What about those new revenue streams Hywood promised? It’s hard to take anything he says seriously.
Greg Hywood;
“Third rater. Obviously an idiot” John Singleton.
New booking coming soon;
How Hywood killed Fairfax: Nothing left but Domain.
Hywood’s ultimate caper is in the fact that Domain is dependent on print. The guy’s made millions inventing a “new business” that even his accountants can’t stand up.
Closing the paper versions during the week will be a boon to The Australian. I expect their circulation to increase as ex-Fairfax readers go to a publisher that will let them get their news on newsprint.
“Our consumers have the time, which they don’t have during the week, to take a high-quality, deep printed product on the weekend.”
Then why aren’t you producing one? The Saturday and Sunday papers – epecially Sunday – contains big chunks of whatever’s left over from what an exhausted workforce has in the can after manning the hamster wheel all week.
It’s a real pity as they once were fantastic papers (except the Sun-Herald, which for some reason has always been terrible).
Typical trade press comments, happy to sling mud but in the same breath you offer no valuable contributions
lets make the timeframe public, although it’s a widely known date within the publishing industry. Weekday print editions of the SMH are already slated to cease in February 2017.