News Corp: Sales Have “Stabilised” & Print’s Here For The Long Haul

News Corp: Sales Have “Stabilised” & Print’s Here For The Long Haul

On top of promising EMMA readership figures today, News Corp has confirmed its commitment to its print products amid ongoing speculation that rival Fairfax will soon stop printing the weekday editions of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

Speaking to B&T, News’ CMO Damian Eales said that print sales had “stabilised” and its business had become so digitally diversified it was plain wrong to call the publishers newspaper businesses.

“It’s not an accurate representation of our business,” Eales said. “Our business has at its heart content generation and journalism of the highest level. Our focus is very much on publishing that quality journalism whichever platform the reader wishes to consume it.”

Eales’ comments mirror those of News Corp’s CEO Robert Thomson who was quoted in today’s The Australian as saying print was invaluable in these uncertain times for providing readers with quality and analyses.

“The rapid pace at which the contemporary world is turning with attendant economic and social upheaval has put a premium on premium content,” he reportedly told News staff yesterday.

Thomson acknowledged that a number of new digital players had entered the market and were trying to snare News’ readers. However, he thought the quality of some of them were dubious describing it as “a vast cauldron of crap”.

Eales likened the news business to another News-owned business, the book publisher Harper Collins. “I think newspapers and books have an interesting parallel. The book industry has undergone enormous transformation and many people said the printed book wouldn’t survive. But Australia, like a lot of many many markets, has basically stabilised now, digital books represent about 20 per cent of the mix and it’s no longer really challenging the print copies. All medias will have a place but it’s just not going to be one or the other. There’s going to be lots of combinations.”




Please login with linkedin to comment

2Day FM Advertising Standards Bureau Emaling

Latest News

Indy Enigma Delivers Signage For NSW’S First Purpose-built Surf Park
  • Campaigns

Indy Enigma Delivers Signage For NSW’S First Purpose-built Surf Park

Enigma, one of Australia’s largest full-service independent agencies, today unveiled a bespoke placemaking campaign for URBNSURF – Sydney’s new, world-leading, purpose-built surf park. The creative team behind Enigma’s Property & Place division has developed a unique set of wayfinding and environmental graphics and signage for URBNSURF Sydney, ahead of its opening at Sydney Olympic Park […]

JCDecaux Secures All Major Bus Advertising Contracts Across Sydney 
  • Advertising

JCDecaux Secures All Major Bus Advertising Contracts Across Sydney 

JCDecaux has been awarded the Transport for NSW (TfNSW) bus advertising contract for all buses in the Sydney Metropolitan regions. Lead image: Ben White, general manager. Winning the competitive tender process marks a significant expansion of JCDecaux’s current bus advertising contracts across Sydney. It extends JCDecaux’s Transit reach across the whole of Sydney Metropolitan regions […]

CommBank Launches The Brighter Side TV On 10 And 10 Play
  • Marketing
  • Media

CommBank Launches The Brighter Side TV On 10 And 10 Play

CommBank has today unveiled The Brighter Side, a new television series to be broadcast on 10 and 10 Play to inform and empower Australians with practical tips and bright ideas to help them take control of their financial future. The Brighter Side showcases a diverse range of stories to inspire Australians to make their money […]

IMAA Announces Next Female Leaders Of Tomorrow Programme
  • Media

IMAA Announces Next Female Leaders Of Tomorrow Programme

The IMAA is celebrating the success of its inaugural Female Leaders of Tomorrow programme for providing a real-world solution to address the gender pay gap at senior levels* with events in Sydney and Melbourne. It has also announced its new 2024-25 programme. The 2023-24 programme’s 16 mentees and mentors, along with mentee leaders, IMAA directors […]

QMS Boosts NSW Billboard Network With Australian Turf Club Agreement
  • Advertising

QMS Boosts NSW Billboard Network With Australian Turf Club Agreement

Leading digital outdoor company QMS today announced a further expansion of its NSW network, signing a new agreement with the Australian Turf Club to manage key assets at Sydney’s iconic Rosehill Gardens Racecourse. The agreement, which was secured as part of a competitive tender process, takes effect on 3 June 2024 and covers six locations […]

VMO Signs Deal With Stockland Shopping Centres.
  • Advertising

VMO Signs Deal With Stockland Shopping Centres.

VMO has secured an exclusive agreement with Stockland to manage the operations of 22 large format digital screens, strategically positioned throughout nine Stockland town centres across Australia. These centres include Stockland Piccadilly in Sydney’s CBD, Stockland Merrylands, and Wetherill Park in Western Sydney, Stockland Green Hills in the Hunter region, Stockland Shellharbour on the south […]

Day Management Appoints Paramount’s Tim Wall As Head Of Talent And Publicity
  • Media

Day Management Appoints Paramount’s Tim Wall As Head Of Talent And Publicity

Day Management has appointed Tim Wall in a newly-created role of head of talent and publicity. Wall will be responsible for managing and overseeing Day’s broad and impressive portfolio of talent, including Day’s most-recent coup, the highly sought-after breakout star of Married At First Sight Australia, Lucinda Light. Wall was previously senior publicist at Paramount […]

Enjoy A Hahn Solo… And May The Fourth Be With You
  • Campaigns

Enjoy A Hahn Solo… And May The Fourth Be With You

This May the fourth Hahn will celebrate alongside Star Wars fans rewarding their passion via a giant Hahn travelling solo through the sky. It’s the one day of the year when all sci-fi fans rejoice and giggle to themselves and Hahn in partnership with Thinkerbell, UM and Affinity is celebrating with an out of this […]