The Messenger suspends print editions due to coronavirus – but will continue publishing community news online
Messenger newspapers are among News Corp community titles across Australia which are suspending their print editions after next week – but will continue to publish local news online.
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Messenger News is among News Corp community titles nationally to suspend its printed editions from next week.
As coronavirus continues to wreak havoc with the advertising market and distribution of newspapers in Australia, News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller announced the suspension of printed copies of the community titles in the four key states, but would be seeking to preserve jobs.
“We have not taken this decision lightly … the coronavirus crisis has created unprecedented economic pressures and we are doing everything we can to preserve as many jobs as possible,” Mr Miller wrote in a note to staff.
News Corp’s community publishers include Messenger News in Adelaide, News Local in NSW, Leader Community News in Victoria and QUEST Community News in Brisbane.
The decision has been primarily made as result of the rapid decline in the real estate advertising market, with Mr Miller telling staff that it was no longer practical or sustainable to print the community papers.
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“The suspension of our community print editions has been forced on us by the rapid decline in advertising revenues following the restrictions placed on real estate auctions and home inspections, the forced closure of event venues and dine in restaurants in the wake of the coronavirus emergency.
“As many of you will know, real estate advertising is the single biggest revenue stream for our community titles. Without vibrant listings for auctions and home inspections, it is simply not practical nor economically sustainable to print and distribute our community newspapers without their main source of revenue.”
Despite the decision Mr Miller assured staff News Corp would step up its community news coverage digitally and would continue to launch more digital mastheads over the next year, with News launching 16 new digital mastheads in recent times.
“Our community titles will continue to publish digitally – the thirst for local news delivered online is so strong that our hyper-local journalism is now an important driver of digital subscriptions for News Corp in Australia. They will be stepping up their coverage digitally.
“This demand for local news digitally is increasingly every day during the COVID-19 crisis as Australians turn to our trusted media brands for news and information to help them plan their lives.
Readers who are not already subscribers will have access to the 28 days free subscription following a decision by News Corp to lift the paywalls to its community and metro mastheads.
Reporters, photographers and some editors will continue to work for digital mastheads, however Mr Miller said there would be discussions between staff and managers about what this means for individual teams.
“While the print titles are suspended we will be concentrating on delivering high-quality local journalism on our digital sites,” he said. “During this unprecedented time it is imperative that we reduce costs while continuing to keep the community informed and doing all we can to retain jobs.
“The print suspension will allow us to assess the shape of the market itself and future conditions, taking into account how the coronavirus situation unfolds in the coming period.
“I know this news will be difficult for many of you and I want to acknowledge your personal and professional efforts during the past few months – we are all in this together and I appreciate that we are all surrounded by colleagues who are the best and most committed in the industry.”
In recent days Nine Newspapers have also announced the suspension of sections for their leading mastheads the SMH, The Age and The Australian Financial Review.
Mr Miller said the decisions being forced on media companies highlighted the need for digital giants Google and Facebook to start paying for the use of original journalism.
“The decisions we have been forced to make provide inescapable evidence of the urgent need for the digital platforms to start paying for using publishers’ content. Consequently, we are calling on the Federal government to ensure this is the year the platforms begin paying media publishers for their journalism. This is essential for all media to have sustainable and agile business models.”