Changing Times – Newspapers today and their movement to the online world

Every day, without fail, my Grandfather will walk to the village shop, whether rain or shine, to fetch a morning newspaper. Perhaps this is simply an excuse to get himself up in the morning, or it may because he wants to be alone with his thoughts, even for a couple of minutes. Yet, even if this is the case, he still hands in his subscription voucher for The Times newspaper, and returns home, reading the ‘news’ over a morning cup of tea.

To a modern viewer, this may seem like a timely practice, as why would you buy a newspaper when you can access everything from your phone? Certainly, this is a generational matter, and one that is embedded in the older routines of baby boomers, where newspapers were one of the most important ways in receiving the ‘news’. Today, on the other hand, consumers can see what’s going on in the world through numerous channels and outlets, consequently making the market incredibly diverse. With this in mind, I want to briefly examine how The Times, the newspaper my grandfather reads, operates both physically and digitally.

Principally, The Times both prints papers, as well as hosts an active online website (The Times, 2019). This is in an attempt to keep with the moving technological times, as well as to accommodate for those who still prefer the traditional feel of a newspaper. Of course, they are not the only periodical that has done this, yet The Times has stuck with their niche subscription business model. In this case, even though you are not buying a physical paper, consumers still have to pay £26 per month, or £6 a week, to access the online articles (The Times, 2019, Subscription). Unlike other newspapers, The Times uses a subscription model in order to fund the website without having to monetise their website, in order to create a professional atmosphere. On the other hand, other newspaper outlets such as The Guardian are free to access, in order to do this, their website is home to numerous advertisements, which is a strategy that is working but focuses around a different demographic (The Guardian, 2019).

Following this, there are evidently many benefits for The Times moving to an online platform. Firstly, the internet is almost universally accessible, which allows the newspaper to be seen by a much larger audience. This is undoubtedly a very generalised statement, however even looking at the UK, in 2017 nearly 95% of citizens owned a smartphone (Statista, 2019, para. 1). Tied to this, unlike printed papers, online articles published by The Times can be uploaded instantly and edited on the fly. This allows for a greater number of journalists to contribute due to the flexible nature of this platform as well as more articles to be published.

Yet, perhaps The Times moving online is a double-edged sword. What I mean by this is that whilst traditional newspapers face off against a limited number of competitors, as there is a low level of new entrants threat, the online market is free and open, as ‘news’ outlets must face off against countless websites all aiming to grab the attention of the consumer. From websites such as the BBC to other casual outlets like BuzzFeed News, it’s often difficult to differentiate and attract an audience amongst an endless sea of news (BBC, 2019; BuzzFeed News, 2019). In this case, the paywall that The Times resides behind may deter consumers away from their website, as such, the question begs whether in this age the articles should be free. An opportunity is clearly there, however one that may have a larger impact on the brands equity and positioning.

Regardless, The Times continues to print its newspapers that still appear nationwide, mainly for those who still prefer the seemingly traditional feel of a newspaper. Looking at this in general, newspapers have been a part of society for hundreds of years, and they a key part of the ‘news’ cycle, with the birth of print deriving in the 1450s (Temple, 2008, p. 4). Whilst printing papers may be costlier, and it does take more consideration when editing and creating the publication, this ultimately is a practice that The Times, and other newspapers, have perfected over their years of existence. As such, whilst there are still those wanting to have a newspaper in their hands, it would be foolish to ignore this market.

However, whilst it is important for The Times to retain their audience who likes traditional publications, ultimately the sales of newspapers are decreasing. Even in 2015, there was a decrease in newspaper sales by 7.6%, and the reasons for this are of course varying (Jackson, 2015, para. 1). Partly this is due to changing consumer habits, however it is also potentially fiscal, as it is far more cost efficient to maintain a website than to print a paper every day. In addition, with the world aiming to become paperless, newspapers are incredibly wasteful and maybe deemed unnecessary in a world full of smart devices (Bennett, 2017, para. 2).

With all this in mind, it is clear that The Times is using its online platform to expand its viewership in a digital age, much like other tabloids, however the question begs, how long until my grandfather no longer walks to the shop and simply picks up his iPad?

References:

BBC News. (2019). Homepage. Retrieved February 02, 2019, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news.

Bennett, M. (2017). Backing up your work in a paperless world. Retrieved February 02, 2019, from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/ready-and-enabled/backing-up-work-in-paperless-world/.

BuzzFeed News. (2019). Homepage. Retrieved February 02, 2019, from https://www.buzzfeed.com/news.

Jackson, J. (2015). National daily newspaper Sales fall by half a million in year. Retrieved February 02, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/apr/10/national-daily-newspapers-lose-more-than-half-a-million-readers-in-past-year?fbclid=IwAR2KqbZsm-GjmR51X1c_56kFjAwBuhts8qiSx_IeML-SY289OB1qBXMsg0w.

Statista. (2019). UK: Smartphone Ownership by age from 2012-2018. Retrieved February 02, 2019, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/271851/smartphone-owners-in-the-united-kingdom-uk-by-age/.

Temple, M. (2008). The British Press. London.

The Guardian. (2019). Homepage. Retrieved February 02, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/uk.

The Times. (2019). Homepage. Retrieved February 02, 2019, from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/#section-news.

The Times. Subscription service. Retrieved February 02, 2019, from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/subscribe/offers/8-for-8/?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=bing&utm_campaign=NS_UK_BP_o_Times_Brand_o_Exact&utm_term=the+times&adgroup=The+Times&ds_rl=1264123&gclid=CLqjqNP4puACFQ6xGwod6fwFRg&gclsrc=ds.