Who killed Bermuda's newspapers?

Last month, the Economist published a lead article looking at the challenges faced by newspaper companies in the West. The article quotes author Philip Meyer, whose book “The Vanishing Newspaper” suggests that newsprint will be dead in America by 2043. Could the same happen here?

Bermuda's press are not in quite the same situation as their American counterparts. However, they are struggling too, and for many of the same reasons.

Falling circulations are one. Bill Zuill, editor of the Royal Gazette, admits that the paper has seen a decline in paid circulation in the last couple of years. However, he says that the paper has not been severely affected and overall readership is steady. "We continue to reach around 80 percent of the adult market in Bermuda," says Mr. Zuill. "This is extremely high by international standards."

It's a similar story at the Mid Ocean News. Its editor, Tim Hodgson, acknowledges that the circulation of that newspaper has noticeably eroded over the last four to five years, but says that the paper's readership is higher than it has ever been as a direct result of its online edition.

The Bermuda Sun has its difficulties too. "The global trend in newspaper circulation points downwards and the Bermuda Sun has fought hard to stem the decline," says its editor, Tony McWilliam. "Sales increased when we launched a second edition in 1999 and also when we re-designed the paper in May of last year. But it's a continuous battle to gain new readers and retain the ones we have."

Newspapers are also facing a loss of revenue from classified ads, which have moved online. In Bermuda, there are more classified ads on E-Moo than there are on a typical day in the Royal Gazette. It's not hard to see why. The Gazette charges $15.96 for a single 20-word ad. E-Moo is free, there are no word restrictions, and you can post photographs of the item you're selling too. The Bermuda Sun offers free online ads on its site, but at time of writing there were a mere 7 ads listed there. It's safe to assume that few people ever visit.

Show me the money

Because of these problems, the local papers are starting to think about how to make money from their online editions. "Between the Gazette and the Mid-Ocean, we're getting some 10,000 hits a day Monday through Friday, and about half that number at weekends," says Mr. Hodgson. "Obviously, at some point, the company is going to have to start charging in some form for access to the on-line edition. The situation is under discussion right now."

Whether Bermudians will be prepared to pay for something they currently get for free depends on the model that the newspapers eventually adopt. We may not have to wait long to find out: a major overhaul of the website of the Royal Gazette and Mid-Ocean News is currently underway, the results of which should become apparent in the next couple of months.

Few British or American newspapers charge for their online editions. However this is probably because readers are unwilling to pay for news they could read for free on BBC News or CNN.com. In Bermuda, the newspapers are the only online source of news. For that reason, and that reason alone, more people here may be prepared to pay for the content. But it's still a risk.

Instead, the newspapers should be thinking about more creative ways to make money. According to The Economist, "The papers with the best chance of seeing their revenues grow are those experimenting with entirely new businesses online and off".

Unique opportunities

Fortunately for Bermuda's newspapers, they have opportunities that their American or British counterparts do not. While classifieds have gone to E-Moo, Bermuda still lacks an established online job-hunting site. The number of job ads that still appear in the back pages of the Gazette is testament to this. If the Gazette created such a site, it could leverage its brand to make it a success. Job ads are still one area where the person advertising (usually a company) expects to pay, so such a site could be extremely profitable.

Another opportunity is in breaking news. Unlike most other countries, Bermuda does not have an online news source that is updated throughout the day. In theory, ZBM and VSB should be best placed to deliver this, since they already provide regular radio and TV bulletins. However, neither has capitalised on this (indeed, neither has much of a web presence at all).

A continuously-updated news site, especially one run by a news organisation that could exploit its existing brand, would likely see traffic in excess of that currently enjoyed by the Royal Gazette's site (which is usually only updated once a day). This could make the advertising spots on such a site quite valuable. Moreover, the cost of running it should be small, particularly for a newspaper, whose content is already in written form.

We're all journalists now

If none of Bermuda's mainstream media companies set up such a site, ordinary citizens may do so. South Korea's Ohmy News does not have a single reporter on its staff, instead relying on amateurs to submit the articles. These are then edited by the site's founder, Oh Yeon Ho, a former magazine journalist, and a few of his colleagues. The site enjoys 2 million page views per day.

Bermuda is particularly well suited to the development of a citizen-led news site like this. Its small size means there is a great appetite for so-called "hyper-local" content, the community-level happenings often overlooked by mainstream media outlets, even in Bermuda. Even stories that do make the headlines are often sufficiently parochial that they don't require a journalist to report them. For example, Friday's story about the bus driver who suffered a seizure could have easily been filed by one of the passengers on the bus.

Mr. McWilliam seems to understand the threat. "Newspapers also need to change in the way in which they report the news in order to remain relevant," he says. "There is a credibility problem attached to much of the reporting in Bermuda and this opens up opportunities for competing media, especially those courting young Bermudians. Amid the information glut, established newspapers can use their brands to distinguish themselves as reliable sources of information, but this only applies if the journalism is sound."

The Gazette has started to make greater use of reader-submitted content in its new "Spotted On The Rock" section, which solicits readers' photos. The Bermuda Sun allows readers to submit written comments on all stories, a great feature. However it's still early days. The Sun recently made an attempt to solicit original articles from its readers in its "My Bermuda" section, however the paper didn't seem to know what it was trying to achieve and this is now indistinguishable from the paper's half-hearted forum.

More news, less paper

The Economist describes the usefulness of the press as "holding governments to account — trying them in the court of public opinion". The internet has expanded this court, but there can be no trial without evidence. There will always be a need for professional journalists to do the investigative reporting needed to gather this, since most amateurs do not have the time. However, the financial problems faced by the newspaper industry are a sign that newsprint may no longer be the best format in which to present the results.

Recognising that their core business is news, not paper, is essential if the newspaper companies are to survive. "I view the Royal Gazette as an information provider as opposed to a pure newspaper company," says Mr. Zuill. "Clearly the newspaper has strengths that the website does not have, and many people like to have something tangible to hold and don't like reading news on the computer screen. Conversely, the Internet has great strengths by enabling us to provide video, voice, related stories, documents, photo galleries, citizen journalism and the like to our basic print product."

Mr. McWilliam agrees. "Bermuda is slow to change, so chances are newspapers will survive here a little longer than they might elsewhere," he says. "What is certain, though, is that our newspapers have to change. We're no longer in the newspaper business, we're in the information business."

Comments

[Lookin4aJob on 05.09.06 at 23:28]

"While classifieds have gone to E-Moo, Bermuda still lacks an established online job-hunting site."

What about www.bermudajobs.com ?

Pay per ad is part of the business model there.

There are of course the other recruitment companies:

www.bermudatopjobs.com

and

www.thejamespartnership.bm

Although I don't believe that they allow payment only for advertising space.

[Jamaican Q on 06.09.06 at 00:04]

Limey the article was too long to read but I will say this much....I enjoy reading the RG and the Sun online...mainly for laughs because of the way the news is reported in these papers and the type of news that they find "news worthy'. However....they make a big mistake if they think people like myself will be paying for any online edition! They need to get those who place ads on their site to cover their costs...not me! I can do without Bermuda news since I have you to tell me what's happening..and if not...who cares what's happening? They need not penalise the reader but get those big companies in Bermuda to pay up....they can more than afford it!!

[Tony B on 06.09.06 at 00:10]

When I first looked for a buyer for Bermuda.com
The Managing Director of The Royal Gazette said that the Internet was a fad....and that I was dreaming to ask for $1 million. 3 years later I sold it (Bermuda.com)for almost $ 2 million to his competitior the Bermuda Sun.

I believe too Newsprint will be dead sooner than we all think.

Advertising will be by way of cel phone driven targeted marketing.

New companies like Neo Media - NEOM.OB on the stock exchange will revoltionise advertising.

Chip makers like Intrinsyc Software who are building customised software for feature phones will be a huge company soon.

In Bermuda local TV is also dying. Terrbile quality and everyone has cable or Direct TV. Who wants to watch the local crap ?

Even satellite radio: Sirius and XM are now being used by more and more Bermudians and the day bwill come when either the standard of local radio improves or they will die too.

The Bermuda Sun should really take advantage and put the nail in the coffin of the myopic Gazette. They should do NEWS delivered to cel phones and slowly faze out the Newspaper. In fact a merger with VSB news for internet video and radio would make real sense to me.....
Bermuda.com has only just begun to become something huge for Bermuda....The owners at Bermuda Sun just need to make it happen

ZBM has lost nearly $ 2 million in the past 4 years, and I hear that the owner recently pissed off a director who owns a huge operation in Australia, so much that he walked out on the directors meeting recently.

So All that rumour about him buying ZBM is just that. Only if Fernance Perry hands over the property in any deal to buy ZBM would anyone wnat this loser.

BUT YES NEWSPAPERS are dying and will be DEAD sooner than later

[Simon on 06.09.06 at 05:20]

Nice way to market a stock - hope you didn't buy this one given it's down 75% since last October and at less than 1% of its all time high - doesn't sound as though the markets agree with your views!

I may just buy into it short term given the number of rich Bermudians your post will reach!!

[SarahT on 06.09.06 at 06:52]

I'm so glad I'm going in to the newspaper business.

Tony Cellular One already has a feature where they send headlines to your cell phone - for the most part they seemed to be headlines from The Royal Gazette.

[Tony B on 06.09.06 at 07:20]

Stocks go up and stcosk go down....But this technology will be going UP UP UP...and so too will the stock price....
BUT that is not my point Simon.....My point is that Neo Media has the patents to deliver advertising to cel phones worldwide.

See here:

NeoMedia Technologies, Inc. (www.neom.com), is a diversified global company offering leading edge, technologically advanced products and solutions for companies and consumers, built upon its solid family of patented products and processes, and management experience and expertise. Its NeoMedia Mobile group of companies offers end-to-end mobile enterprise and mobile marketing solutions through its flagship qode direct-to-mobile-web technology and ground-breaking products and services from four of the leading mobile marketing providers in the U.S. and Europe. By linking consumers and companies to the interactive electronic world, NeoMedia delivers one-to-one, permission-based, personalized and profiled dialogue -- anytime and anywhere.

The qode suite of easy-to-use, market-driven products and applications are based on a strong foundation of patented technology, comprising the qode (www.qode.com) platform, qode®reader and qode®window, all of which provide One Click to Content(TM) connectivity for products, print, packaging and other physical objects to link directly to specific desired content on the mobile Internet.

[Tony B on 06.09.06 at 07:22]

Yes of course Sarah...I know that...
The bigger picture is who will consolidate and use all the technologies to their advantage....

The Bermuda Sun group are sitting on gold mine...they just need to do a little more mining !!

[Tiger Bay on 06.09.06 at 07:33]

Tony, you sound like one of those pump and dump equity spammers!

[Jennifer on 06.09.06 at 08:55]

I think offering home delivery of the Royal Gazette (and Sun) would increase their membership. They apparently offer home delivery in certain areas of the island and though I live on a very main road close to a few of their corporate delivery sites (south road in Paget), I have been told they don't deliver to houses in that area. I would certainly pay for a subscription to both papers if I could. I don't always get the chance to get out at lunch and purchase the paper, so on those days, home delivery would have guaranteed them that extra bit of revenue.

[Martin on 06.09.06 at 09:03]

There is a tendency to accept that every house has a computer, and all it's occupants are both computer literate and interested in viewing on line.

That thinking is banal.

I accept that newspapers have to change, but just as there will always be people who buy CD's rather than download, people who use public libraries rather than buy or download books et al...so there will always be a need for a newspaper that you buy and hold.

Life is not all about headlines...the small print is also interesting.

[silencedogood on 06.09.06 at 09:05]

interesting post limey. Disregarding Tony B's stock quotes, I think he has a point that we are often limited by our imagination when it comes to the web. creativity is the key to unlocking the potential of the internet.

I scan the online editions of the papers several times a day and rarely buy the print edition. The online papers need to focus on selling ad space. I wouldn't pay to read it.

Maybe they could deliver Jennifer her paper for a fee, but to her inbox instead of her doorstep.

[Raptor on 06.09.06 at 09:17]

Very interesting post Limey. I read a number of U.S. newspapers online. For $50 a year you can subscribe to the New York Times’ “TimesSelect” service, which provides access to their best columnists, brings whole sections of the paper to you in advance, and gives free access to about 100 articles a year from their archives. Of course, that paper is worlds away from Bermuda’s. I also read BBC, London Times, and others online. What a world! I remember growing up in Bermuda when the Archdeacon censored certain magazines and the movies (which ended up being about 45 minutes long), and there wasn’t much you could buy anyway. We read all the books in the Junior Library. What then? The adult Library was an unwelcoming place, believe me. So now I’m in heaven, but also trying to control an info overload at times.

If the RG is holding steady and reaching 80% of the adult market in Bermuda, that’s pretty impressive. It’s also impressive that the MO’s readership is higher than ever (because of online delivery). But we keep hearing both those papers are regarded as suspect by many black Bermudians. Is progress being made in that area? McWilliam seems right on target about their “credibility problem.” That should create more opportunities for the Bda. Sun.

And the Bermuda Sun is getting more online readers too.

It’s amazing none of these papers was up front in sponsoring free or low-priced ads for everything from jobs to real estate.

I think that if the local papers start charging for their online editions, they should also start being more responsive to their readers. That means responding to basic questions that are emailed to them, and also printing more of the letters to the editor (I keep reading here that a lot just disappear). Also, they’ve got to update more frequently, and you’re right about that service being an excellent opportunity for advertising revenue. And maybe there could be a blog-type component for reporting local community news. Anyway, I’m excited to hear about the upcoming overhauls.

For many people info is going ever more mobile, although I do see the local papers persisting--there's a real need for something in hand too in Bermuda. It all seems such a long way away from the days when the headline would be “Tourist on moped goes down Burnaby Hill into the Harbour.”

[Jennifer on 06.09.06 at 09:25]

Silencedogood,

I can already purchase the entire paper online. However, when I am sitting in Victoria Park on my lunch break, or relaxing on my couch after work, I want a PAPER to read. I spend all day at the computer, I am not going to start lugging a wireless laptop around so I can read the newspaper. The online version is a nice alternative when I am away and want to keep up with Bermuda news, but for an every day fix, the paper version is my preference.

[SmokingGun on 06.09.06 at 10:11]

Hmmmm... One for the board. RG gets into the hands of 80% of adults in Bermuda. It has very little online advertising and charges $15.95 for a 20 word classified ad. Emoo is all online and offers free ad space yet certainly cannot reach 80% of adults in Bermuda.

What's Emoo's telephone number?

[Tony B on 06.09.06 at 10:27]

Tiger Bay....
Like the MD of the Royal Gazette told me the Internet was a fad (FOOL) I look to the future and know that advertising is changing fast in the wireless world...Neo Media is I BELIEVE a player to be reckoned with.

I believe in this technology...and I am not pumper...I am a believer...I own and have done so for a long time...We will see who wins out here.... We talk in a year :)

[Bill Cook on 06.09.06 at 10:34]

Jennifer,

I am surprised you are not able to get delivery of newspaper, as I live in that area and get delivery of both Gazette and MO.on border of Paget and Warwick.
Maybe if a few of your neighbours wanted it, it would be more cost effective ?

I have 9 newspapers on line for referral including The Christian Science Monitor, as it uses its own reporters, rather than the usual syndicated internationals we use in Gazette, whose quality and accuracy is often suspect I think.

[silencedogood on 06.09.06 at 10:48]

Jen,

Fair enough...depending on where you work the Gazette may be willing to deliver to your office/job site. I'd ask if you haven't already.

[Bill Zuill on 06.09.06 at 11:26]

Thanks for all the comments so far. They are very interesting and helpful.
With regard to Jennifer's comments, all newspapers in Bermuda have had endless problems with recruiting and keeping newspaper deliverers. But there's a solution at hand. If you go to the Gazette website there is a link in the left hand column for "electronic edition" where you can get an online subscription to the print edition which you can download and print.
Finally, Phil touched on a point that I should have raised. The Internet is a wonderful opportunity for newspapers because it puts us back on a 24 hours news cycle ... something we have not had since radio was invented. That means we can publish breaking news at any time and are no longer tied to our presses. That's good news for journalists, who love to be first, and better news for readers.

[loki on 06.09.06 at 11:47]

I agree that the internet is a fantastic way to disseminate information to the masses. However, there is always the risk of alienating a segment of the population who are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with technology. Both my inlaws, who are in their 70s, have no clue about computers at all, and I daresay that a large segment of the population in their age bracket are in the same position. They have a terrible time just trying to book tickets on BA these days, and I personally find it offensive that they are subject to a surcharge if they book via the phone. Technology's great, but I would like to see it introduced in a sensitive manner.

[tony b on 06.09.06 at 11:50]

So Bill

If that is the case...then have your news online for 7am or earlier please.....Or does your MD think that is a threat to NEWSPAPER sales ????

[ap on 06.09.06 at 15:54]

The Royal Gazette has such badly written stories, but I guess when you're the only game in town you can grab 80% of the market, bad sentence structure or not.

[Triforce on 06.09.06 at 16:06]

Why *don't* ZMB/ZFB or VSB have any online presence, even if considering radio webcasts or something...

FreshTV may have missed the chance to get a leg up when they were formed.

[Phillip's Mum on 06.09.06 at 16:12]

loki- it's never too late to learn tell your in-laws. Phillip's grandma is 84 and just over two years ago she took herself off to the local library (unbeknown to any one) and did a computer course. She then bought a computer! Her latest post can be found over at 'A Baby in Bermuda' Amazing eh?

[Phil on 07.09.06 at 13:46]

Loki said: “I agree that the internet is a fantastic way to disseminate information to the masses. However, there is always the risk of alienating a segment of the population who are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with technology. Both my inlaws, who are in their 70s, have no clue about computers at all, and I daresay that a large segment of the population in their age bracket are in the same position.”

Martin said: ”There is a tendency to accept that every house has a computer, and all it's occupants are both computer literate and interested in viewing on line.

All true, however the predictions of the demise of newsprint are medium- to long-term ones. Philip Meyer’s date of 2043 is almost 40 years from now. By that time, we will be the elderly and there probably will be a computer in every home.

Jennifer

However, when I am sitting in Victoria Park on my lunch break, or relaxing on my couch after work, I want a PAPER to read.

I agree that there are times when it’s useful to be able to read the news from a piece of paper rather than a screen. However, that doesn’t have to mean that the newspaper company has to be the one that prints that paper. Printing a paper once a day can mean that a newspaper sometimes misses late-breaking stories (for example, the fire at the Godet & Young warehouse and the shooting at Swinging Doors).

Several newspapers are starting to experiment with downloadable papers. The Toronto Star has an afternoon edition that readers can download for free and print themselves. The Guardian has several PDF files containing the latest news available for readers to download and print, and these are updated throughout the day.

The advantage of this for the papers is that they eliminate any printing costs. The advantage for the readers is they get current news.

Such a distribution mechanism also has the potential to allow readers to get only those stories that they’re interested in. I buy the print edition of the Royal Gazette every day, but most of it goes straight in the trash. I never look at the ad pages at the back, and I rarely read the sports (not interested), lifestyle (ditto) or overseas (get the info from BBC News instead) pages. If I could download and print my own paper, all I’d select would be the local and business news pages. I’d even be willing to pay – maybe 50 cents for the local news section and 10 cents for the business news. If the Gazette could work out an appropriate pricing structure, they might find that the money they save in printing costs would allow the digital download to be more profitable than the print edition, while simultaneously allowing some readers to pay less for the sections they are interested in than they currently do for the whole paper. This is pure speculation, but it’s an avenue that I’d like to see the papers explore.

Lookin4aJob

All the sites you mentioned are poorly implemented and contain few jobs. For example:

A search on BermudaJobs for “IT professional” returned only 6 results, 3 of which were not for IT jobs. The site has no provision to search for keywords within job ads.

The James Partnership has no IT jobs listed and again, it is not possible to search by keyword.

The search function on bermudatopjobs prompts for a username and password.

Compare these with the likes of Monster or jobserve.

A jobs site, just like a classifieds site, needs lots of "buyers" and "sellers" to be effective. Bermuda needs a job-hunting E-Moo – something that doesn’t just carry ads from a single recruitment firm. At the moment, we don’t have this. The Gazette, in my opinion, is ideally placed to provide it.

[mr. slim on 07.09.06 at 14:31]

Why is there such a strong need/desire to hear news right away? Self-gratification? Who cares if we didn't hear about the Godet and Young fire until the next day? Great if you are a news junky, but why does it really matter? I find the newspaper provides more clarity, facts, and analysis the next morning anyway. Something i look forward to reading about in more depth. I might be traditional, but I agree with Jennifer. Reading the newspaper is a routine for me. Something I enjoy in the morning with my coffee. Speaking of coffee, I can also get caffeine by popping some pills into my body, but I'd rather drink a nice hot cup of java instead. Point is, newspapers represent a lifestyle, a routine, an institution. I think they will always have a following. Once upon a time, people were saying that there would no longer be libraries or bookstores because people would be reading everything on a computer. That's the same people who claimed a few decades ago that the work week would shorten to 20 hours a week because computers would do everything humans do. Just go to any Barnes and Nobles and watch the people mill about the books and journals, reading, conversing, etc - it's a popular pasttime, a leisure activity. No doubt, "new media" will rapidly grow in usage, but i don't think that will adversely spell the demise on print media. Technology has only increased our need and desire to get things faster. It's completely unnecessary to me. Breaking news has made our world more complex, when it really should be more simplified. I don't think it is healthy. Newspapers, in my opinion, will always have their place, especially local newspapers like the Royal Gazette, because they will run stories that are local, community oriented, stuff that matters to me and affects me as a citizen. It's the mass media's reporting that's in danger. The more they report about wannabe pedophiles that drink champagne in first class, and the follies of clueless celebrities, the less likely I will rely on them to report the news to me. I want to know that when i search for news, i am going to get something important reported to me in return. Stuff that matters. That is more important to me than how long it takes to get reported to me.

[teacher on 08.09.06 at 16:43]

Newspapers will not die, they survived the radio, the t.v. cinema news etc.

They will be complimented by these other media