Trinity Mirror Continue With Freesheet Cull

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Trinity Mirror has announced it will close three local freesheets in Milton Keynes, Luton and Northamptom in what is being described as an ongoing purge of Local World titles.

According to the National Union of Journalists, the newspaper titles, OneMK (formerly known as MK News), Luton on Sunday and the Northampton Herald and Post, are to close without consultation.

NUJ national organiser Laura Davison told journalists: “This announcement has come as a bombshell to staff on these titles. Once again Trinity Mirror has announced a shutdown of papers with no consultation with journalists or readers. Local people, democratic bodies and businesses are going to be stripped of a voice and plurality will be massively undermined.

“The company’s actions smack of arrogance. These operations are already run on a shoe string and now more jobs are set to go. It is another big red warning flag hoisted over the crisis in quality local journalism. We urge local people to join our campaign for properly resourced local journalism.

Trinity Mirror, which has closed 20 titles over the last two years, is unrepentant.

A spokesperson for the publishers said: “We are closing three free weekly titles in Luton, Milton Keynes and Northampton as part of a review of our portfolio to look at how we best serve our readers and advertisers in these markets.

“We are not exiting these markets but will retain a presence in a different way. We believe there is a better way for us to provide content and commercial solutions for the local communities, for example through a schedule of niche products and awards and events.”

“We will also be increasing the focus on Bedfordshire on Sunday which remains as both a print title and website. We will be increasing distribution of this title into Luton and broadening our online coverage.

“The number of roles we require to deliver the new portfolio of products is less than the current structure and as a result the business proposes to reduce the headcount, so unfortunately a number of roles in editorial and commercial are at risk of redundancy as part of these changes.”

Trinity Mirror is obviously making some very unpopular decisions regarding the closure of titles based on the cold, hard, financial realities of running a newspaper company in the digital age.

The question is, do these regions still offer an opportunity for smaller, more agile publishing companies to exploit? If journalists and editors think there is still an opportunity to make money from local news, now’s the time to prove the big guys wrong.

The Canary Proves Online Journalism Pays (If You Give Your Readers What They Want)

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The left leaning news website set up a just over 12 months ago on an initial investment of just £500 is proving that online journalism can pay if you give you readers what they want.

The Canary turned over £250,000 in its first year of operation, has grown to become a top 100 UK news site and now employs an editorial team of 25 (mainly) part-time workers.

The site is funded, like many other online publications, through a combination of advertising, sponsorship and subscriptions.

Unlike many other publications, The Canary doesn’t feel it needs to offer readers any other incentive to support the title other than their content.

The Canary’s editor-in-chief Kerry-Anne Mendoza told journalists (http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/the-canary-from-500-start-up-to-top-100-uk-news-website-in-the-space-of-a-year/): “Paying subscribers for this whole first year don’t get anything. They don’t get a mug, they don’t get a t-shirt, they don’t even get an email from us saying welcome.

“They are paying for content that they could get for free purely because they want our writers to earn more money.”

Highlighting the success of the operation Mendoza said: “What people seem to like us for is breaking open legislation that’s coming through and actually explaining it in a way people understand and can see what the risks are and then take action.”

The Canary operates a unique business model which it explains on its website:

  • First, we pay tax. We are based in the UK and are happy to contribute our share to develop a wonderful country, not without its problems of course.
  • Then we pay costs which we keep below 5% of our gross revenue.
  • What is left is our net profit. We split this simply:
    • 50% to our writers
    • 10% to our section editors
    • 20% to our leadership team
    • 20% goes back into the company for marketing and new projects

Each writer and editor is paid in two ways. Firstly, each article receives a flat rate equal payment from our monthly income from supporters. So with each new supporter the pay per article goes up every month. Secondly, each article receives a top-up payment based directly on the percentage of web traffic, and therefore advertising income, that articles generate during a given calendar month. It’s as simple as that.

While The Canary’s politics might not be everyone’s cup of tea (including many left-wing supporters), their approach to business should be of interest to any writer or publisher that wants to invest in the future of journalism.