IFRA Magazine, January 2008

January 2008 EUR 9 / US$ 11 English edition D20835E

magazine

Empowering the news publishing industry

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Sven Egil Omdal, CEO of Aftenbladet Multimedia AS in Norway, is heading a project aimed at reorganising the group’s newsrooms, the final phase of which will be in 2008.

Decision-makers’ Guide 2008

Seize web revenues, and chase the waste + Convergence: Seek

+ Consumables: The

+ IFRA: Mission affirmed

the added value

source of savings

and projects for 2008

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January 2008

Viewpoint

IFRA Magazine

Fortuitous title

Kerry J. Northrup IFRA Director of Publications northrup@ifra.com

Contact us IFRA Magazine is the international magazine of newspaper strategy and technology.

It is a conduit for new ideas and the latest developments affecting the newspaper industry. We encourage you to share your reactions and information.

> reader@ifra.com – to submit a letter to the editor, to comment on anything you see here or on the www. iframagazine.com web site, or to contact any member of our editorial staff

> www.iframagazine.com/ pressrelease – to submit press releases directly into IFRA’s Industry Updates database (inc. attachments)

> ads@ifra.com – to request information or to comment on advertising in this or any IFRA publication, or to order article reprints

> subscriptions@ifra.com – for issues related to subscriptions or to order extra copies of this or any IFRA publication

> +49.6151.733-789 – to telephone the editor in chief

Even if your job is mostly dealing with newspaper printing technology, it is a certain bet that this is not the only area in which you need to be informed to participate fully in your company’s discussions and strategies.

An increasing portion of our readership – more than 24,000 people worldwide and climbing – is now deeply involved with digital media, mobile services, cross-format strategies, customer relationship management, editorial reorganisation, new product development, user-participative journalism, advertising base shift, and trying to anticipate the “next big thing” in news publishing.

IFRA has been on top of these trends.

And readers of this magazine have witnessed how it has evolved over the years from just a member communication to a comprehensive professional trade journal to meet their information needs.

Then this past October the IFRA Board and the members’ General Assembly voted to make issuing a magazine for the new publishing industry about the news publishing industry officially one of IFRA’s core purposes. That heightened mandate was the final trigger for the title change you see on our cover this month. newspaper techniques is now IFRA Magazine. (Readers of our Russian and new Arabic editions have already seen this change.)

Only the title is different. Our editorial focus and commitment to quality coverage about everything to do with print and digital news publishing remain the same. We are even expanding our editorial staff and our budget this year to add greater information value in our pages and to help in your search for the next big thing.

Legend has it that the English-language title of this publication these past 41 years was a mistranslation. If true, then it was an insightful error because newspaper techniques is an excellent description of what we have always tried to cover.

The story goes that the title should have been “newspaper technology” because that is what it said on our covers in German (zeitungstechnik), French (techniques de presse) and later Spanish (técnicas de prensa), also because technology for newspapers is all our association concentrated on for the first three decades of IFRA’s existence.

But instead someone supposedly confused the English word for “technology” as “technique” and it was never corrected.

I hasten to mention that none of our current industry-leading team of translation editors, under the expert guidance of Translation Services Manager Birgit Becker, worked for IFRA back then. They would not have made that mistake.

Yet it was not really a mistake.

“Technique” in English is a word that refers to something more than just technology and technical competence. It implies a level of skill in a specialised area that comes at least as much from inspiration and long practice as it does from a command of the fundamental procedures.

We often talk about an artist’s technique or a doctor’s technique as something special about how those professionals accomplish their work.

Over more than 400 years, the practitioners of news publishing have amassed quite a lot of technique as well as technical competence. It has been the proud role of IFRA, in part through this, its flagship publication, to chronicle that expertise.

The fact remains, however, that the magazine’s title in most languages never embodied the nuance of technique and had become increasingly misleading with the implication that our pages are only about technology and only about printing newspapers. Clearly, our industry’s activities and concerns today are much broader than that, as is the range of our readers’ professional interests.

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» www.iframagazine.com

Table of Contents

IFRA Magazine

January 2008

» IFRA Magazine is a fully integrated print-digital publication. See the directory of online story elements listed in this space with each article, and the accompanying code number in parenthesis. To access a particular article, simply go to www.iframagazine.com and input that number into the “article direct link” space.

Our Viewpoint: Fortuitous title

3

Decision-makers’ Guide to Publishing 2008 Budget Priorities

6

Major multimedia developments Valérie Arnould

Cost Savings

10

Save efficiently with little outlay Charlotte Janischewski

Top Technologies

14

Technology tips for market needs

Business Models

16

Utilise the dynamics of the market Jochen Dieckow

Advertising Spend

18

Be aggressive with online strategy Constantine Kamaras

Free Newspapers

22

‘Free’ reign for foreseeable future Brian Veseling Sven Egil Omdal, who is over 50 years old and can look back on a long career as a journalist working for the printed press, is responsible for managing the impressive multimedia expansion of Aftenbladet Multimedia AS. He is one of the more than 200 managers who participated in the survey conducted

by IFRA Magazine on budget priorities for 2008.

Page 14 Cover photo by Anders Minge, Stavanger Aftenblad

Web Strategy

24

The top five online offers for 2008 Steve Shipside

Convergence

28

Redefining convergence in 2008 Kerry J. Northrup

Material Issues

30

If prices rise, don’t compromise Caryl Holland

IFRA Activities 2008

34

The Mission: ‘Get the big picture’ Dean Roper

Viewpoint: Amazon’s Kindle aims for full-service e-reading

36

Stig Nordqvist

IFRA Bulletin Events: IFRA Middle East Conference IFRA Board active around the world www.iframagazine.com: The portal www.iframagazine.com: The microsites How to read IFRA Magazine ePaper IFRA Calendar of Events IFRA Magazine service

A workshop held last October in Berlin focused on the possible future scenarios for newspaper companies as part of the IFRA Where NEWS? project. This type of activity, as well as Special Reports, conferences, etc., are among the services IFRA provides to the industry.

Page 34

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37-46 37 38 40 41 42 44 46

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Decision-makers’ Guide

January 2008

IFRA Magazine

Budget Priorities The suppliers of web technologies will undoubtedly do good business this year. That is the most clearly identifiable trend to emerge from our survey on budget priorities in 2008.

Major multimedia developments Some 247 newspaper managers worldwide were asked to participate in the third edition of our survey of what are publishers budget priorities in 2008. Of these, 132 provided answers to this difficult question. The survey began in October and caused one of our participants to joke that he gave his reply between two budget meetings. The ranking of the priorities in the replies showed once again that achieving tradeoffs are difficult in all of the 41 countries that are represented in this survey.

two ways to analyse this overflow and both are probably true.

The first is that some of the proposals listed in our questionnaire have become sub-categories of other proposals. For example, those who are currently reviewing their web strategy will logically reply that they plan to invest in new technologies, reorganise their teams, review their classified ad services, etc. The second analysis is of the number of projects to be carried out in our industry, aimed at developing customer relations, improving distribution, launching new products, optimising distribution and production, etc. Raise your hand whoever does not have several of these topics on his agenda!

The temptation to cumulate It is noteworthy again this year that many participants categorise a larger number of projects as “priorities.” There are

Stavanger Aftenblad changing premises much more effectively than it would have been possible if we had remained a department in the predominantly paperoriented organisation. So we’re ready for part 2: Physical integration. The TV station is currently located 3 kilometers from our headquarters, and the rest of our staff works in offices spread out over four floors in the old building. Together with the newspaper we are now in the process of designing the new organisation where journalists from the two companies will sit close to each other and work for all platforms.

“As you can understand, this will not be an easy task, but we have high hopes. We have an annual growth in our web traffic of 47 percent this year, and expect approximately the same next year. The newspaper has a circulation of 69,000, the web site 200,000 weekly unique users and the TV station has 120,000 weekly viewers.”

Stavanger Aftenbladet, or simply Aftenbladet, is a daily newspaper published in Stavanger, Norway. It was founded in 1893 by the priest Lars Oftedal and was for a long period a publication for the Liberal Party. In 2007, Schibsted ASA became the main shareholder of this newspaper.

Sven Egil Omdal is chief editor and CEO of Aftenbladet Multimedia AS in Norway. He has a long career as a journalist and reporter, covering topics Sven Egil Omdal as diverse as politics, international conflicts and football. In his replies to our 2008 survey, he cited an internal reorganisation as a priority. Asked for the reason for this urgency, we explore with him the highly ambitious project that this regional daily newspaper is preparing: “Aftenbladet Multimedia, which comprises aftenbladet.no and TV Vest, will together with our mother company, Stavanger Aftenblad, move into brand new premises in May. We are building what we think will be the most modern multimedia house in Scandinavia, with TV and radio studios and all facilities for running a modern multimedia operation.

When Aftenbladet Multimedia was established last spring, the idea was to create judicial separation and physical integration. The first part has proved successful in the sense that we have created much shorter lines of command, been able to expand the staff (from 60 to 80) and establish large new projects

6

But, as Jonathan Markey, president of the North Jersey Media Group in the United States, rightly points out, the wide range of objectives is not the solution: “We try to limit the number of goals that we have for any year because we have (1) finite resources, (2) having too many goals usually means that the overall focus is too broad to be effective and (3) the ability to impact operating results in a significant way is more meaningful than having many goals that only deliver limited impact.”

The categories recording major increases Development and expansion of web strategy moves up to the top position in our ranking for 2008. This represents an advance of five places compared to the 2007 survey and of seven places compared to our first survey in 2006. But anything else would have been surprising in view of the numerous predictions of strong growth in Internet revenues worldwide by all the relevant organisations.

What do the participants in our survey say? “Our web strategy includes a total redesign and relaunch of our core website, northjersey.com, and the development of secondary, targeted sites,” says Markey.

Carlos Fernando Monteiro Lindenberg Neto, general manager of the regional Rede Gazeta group in Brazil, says: “We are reviewing our Internet strategy, and we formed a joint venture with other newspapers to launch a national classified portal for autos, real estate and jobs.”

Without going into individual strategies, a glance at the other sectors reporting strong growth in this survey gives us an idea of the hot topics in 2008: video and audio content move up 14 places; weblog, moblog, podcasting, other new digital formats move up nine places and the category search engine/portal competition moves up seven places.

In correlation with these projects, the IT systems (for content management as well as all tools for the editorial enrichment and marketing of websites or the mobile Internet) occupy a new place in the classification (up six places since the first survey in 2006).

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Decision-makers’ Guide

IFRA Magazine

January 2008

IFRA Magazine Budget Priority Survey 2008 Expanding/changing web strategy (+5) Developing new reader audiences/markets (-1) Advertiser relationships (0) New business activities/business models (-2) Newspaper marketing/brand development (-1) Editorial convergence/cross-media (-1) IT/editorial/digital systems (+1) Customer relationship management (-1) Video/audio content (+14) Classified advertising alternatives (+1) Internal reorganisation (-1) Production/workflow automation (-3) Mergers/acquisitions/investments (-1) Search engine/portal competition (+7) Production/materials/colour quality (-2) Weblog, moblog, podcasting, other new digital formats (+9) Reducing personnel costs (-5) Press equipment/facilities (-3) Circulation credibility (+3) Developing/expanding mobile strategy (-3) Partnering with other media companies (-3) Citizen journalism (-6) Distribution equipment/systems (-4) Free papers (-3) Outsourcing (0) Environmental/safety/waste issues (0) Compact/format conversion (0) * Number in parenthesis indicates position change of topic compared to last year regarding priority issues

A priority issue with significant budget and strategic implications

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

We will not deal with this issue in 2008

An issue being discussed; could have some budget ramifications

This year, the replies clearly put modification and development of Internet strategy at the top of the rankings. Logically, other categories linked to expanding Internet services rise in the rankings compared to the 2007 survey: audio and video contents, IT investments, alternatives to traditional classified ads, etc. Somewhat poorly ranked in the replies, the development of mobile services is awaiting a more extensive development of mobile Internet as well as a clarification of the strategy of builders, operators and new entrants, such as Google. Developing new audiences and new markets continues to be the main concern of the participants, of whom each rank this need according to the competitive environment context in which they operate. It is interesting to note that, in relation to the question of partnerships with other media, the door is open wider than a ranking at the bottom of the table would indicate, as 50 percent of the participants state that they are discussing such a move. The survey was conducted in October 2007. The 27 sectors listed in this table were compiled by IFRA Magazine. 247 managers from 41 countries participated.

The only paradox in the replies is that citizen journalism, which rose six places in 2007, drops down the rankings in all of the replies we received in the English, French, German and Spanish languages. But let us not draw hasty conclusions from this.

Newspapers have well understood the benefits of getting their readers to participate in their multimedia activities. But a powerful website is a prerequisite for collecting outside contributions in good condition (who knows how to manage SMS/MMS/ video peaks in real time?) as well as a harmonious and safe integration into the other editorial contents. If the technology and the

the expectations and needs of our customers, we must create “live” observatories to establish what makes our readers react and what interests them. Although that is not the prime vocation of citizen journalism, it is undeniably an extension of it.

newsdesks are not ready, readers will have to be content to comment or vote on articles, feed a blog or conduct discussions among themselves. But don’t neglect one course that would allow us to create within our sites the community aura that is so highly valued in the social networks.

There is also a lot to gain in terms of marketing reaction by the creation of panels for expressing opinions on different subjects (which we can also instigate). It is our custom to analyse periodically the behaviour of our audiences. To do so, we use the demographic and behavioural data “a posteriori.” But if it is our wish to anticipate

Customer relations management Relations with advertisers, customer relations management (CRM) again appear among the frequently cited stakes in 2008.

The approaches in these areas vary so greatly that it is difficult to give precise directions. However, like an impressionist painting, the recurring preoccupations be7

Decision-makers’ Guide

VIEWPOINT

come apparent in a series of brief brushstrokes. For example, we link the development of the replies concerning the credibility of circulation (up three places) with the desire to improve the image of the newspapers among advertisers. In many countries surveyed, there is also the wish to improve production and colour quality.

As regards the aspects linked to distribution, Jonathan Markey summarises what many think in his plan for 2008: “Our ambitions in distribution fall into (1) possible reorganisation of our distribution structure to bring more efficient use of resources and enhance timely delivery, (2) continue our work (with Ferag/ABB in this case) to enhance our operating controls using improved software and (3) continue improving operating performance and efficiency.”

With regard to customer relations management tools, the participants in our survey are less concerned with the technologies than with their utilisation. Alan Chan, CEO of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) for example, does not believe in a holistic approach to CRM: “we have not consolidated the customer data of our different (media) platforms. The cost does not justify the benefits at this juncture.”

Olivier Bonsart, deputy director of the regional daily newspaper Ouest France and president of INMA Europe also questions the organisation of human resources: “What is most difficult is to have a consolidated customer database between the various operating silos: subscriptions, advertising (advertising customers, both private persons and professionals), websites. This means reviewing both the information systems and the organisations. People must coordinate who have no reason to do so in their daily work and who frequently have different contacts or IT providers, besides different hierarchical lines. In addition, the technical situation is genuinely complex: who updates the customer’s file? Which systems to use? Update how often? Which information Olivier Bonsart is deputy director of the regional daily newspaper Ouest France, which, with a paid circulation of nearly 800,000 copies, is something of an exception in the French news publishing industry.

» www.iframagazine.com

January 2008

to share, which information to reserve for a “vertical” application? Absent in many cases is a global “works” function as well as a

“We have not consolidated our customer data of our different (media) platforms.

The cost does not justify the benefits at this juncture.”

»

Alan Chan

CEO of Singapore Press Holdings

single “foreman” function. It is even not always obvious to define where to position these new posts in the traditional hierarchical structure.

Brand marketing, still in the top 5 Marketing and brand development have appeared regularly among the top rankings for three years. This is the second priority this year for German speakers and the third for the French. As for subjects occupying the attention of all our industry: launching new activities and developing new markets, a strong brand is a powerful driving force. We won’t list the many advantages of good brand marketing, but it is worthwhile to mention the remarkable manner in which Singapore Press Holdings capitalises on its activities. In reply to our question: you list brand marketing among your priorities for 2008, what must you do as a matter of urgency in this area? Chan of SPH, says: “As we have 14 newspaper titles in our stable, it is very important for Singapore Press Holdings to identify which are the ones that can help us carry new products. For example, we have decided to use the Straits Times titles to support two new web products: STOMP (Straits Times Online Mobile and Print) and our classified website ST701. On the other hand, we have used the SPH name to support our outdoor project,

Mobile services did not unleash a wave of enthusiasm in our 2008 survey. Olivier Bonsart gives us an explanation that holds true for several countries: “Where mobile services are concerned, the French market is especially lagging behind due to the very closed position of the network operators who have built viable business models uniquely for themselves. Except for pay-for games (very much used by TV stations), no mobile phone-based service was profitable for the publishers. That will undoubtedly change now with the development of mobile Internet and the advent of

IFRA Magazine

i.e. SPH MBO and our new search project in the form of SPH Search.”

Overcome internal obstacles An analysis of the degrees of priority of certain countries based on the survey results causes the question “internal reorganisation” to rise in the rankings. For example, in the middle of a strong development phase, Indian publishers, who were well represented in the survey, have other priorities in 2008. But many publishers will see their own considerations reflected in the analysis of other participants. Thomas Silvestri, president and publisher of the Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch in the U.S., explains the reason why he makes internal reorganisation his priority: “The internal changes are connected to becoming a true multimedia business, which includes continuing to be a quality regional newspaper despite the changes. The big project is a Continuous News plan that will revamp our news operation, with a web-first concept.”

Marco Stettler, the young general manager of Ringier Ukraine, says: “We all were talking about cross-media and publishing our content in different channels apart from print, e.g. online, mobile, podcast, web TV and so on. Now it becomes crucial to adapt our organisational structures accordingly, key word is newsroom.

This is a revolution, and many internal obstacles and resistances will have to be overcome; maybe its even a question of a generation change in publishing houses.”

Let’s not be pessimists, in every newsroom worldwide there is a Sven Egil Omdal, the fifty-year-old who, after a long career working as a journalist and reporter for the printed newspaper, is managing the largescale multimedia development of Aftenbladet Multimedia AS: “In an ever more specialised society there’s still room for a jack of all trades,” he says with a laugh.

Who is your Sven Egil Omdal?

Valérie Arnould (arnould@ifra.com)

new business models, such as that of iPhone. The change of business model between operator and builder is in itself a first that will reshuffle the cards throughout the process. The arrival of Google in the mobile phone sector, with an original business model, also foreshadows changes of this nature. It is possible that France will go directly to the mobile Internet. Therefore it would be more logical to design websites that work well on an ‘edge’ or ‘3G’ mobile. The main requirement is the ability to access websites via a very powerful mobile support that gives impact to online advertising and classified ads among mobile Internet users.”

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Decision-makers’ Guide

January 2008

IFRA Magazine

Cost Savings The subject of lowering costs is as topical as ever. It does not always demand major investments. Simple measures can also be effective.

Save efficiently with little outlay Costs should never be considered on their own, but instead always in relation to income. In the same way, savings should always be measured both against the outlay for their realisation and their ROI. For example, it makes no sense to achieve major direct cost savings by introducing massive cuts in the workforce if, as a result, the number of personnel is no longer sufficient to do the job to the satisfaction of the customers and generate the required turnover.

It is equally impossible to justify a largescale outlay whose saving effect takes too long to kick in.

Therefore: Anyone wanting to lower costs must first achieve cost transparency and calculate the saving potential of the measure under consideration. In the area of printing, the calculation model explained

by Denys Kissling in IFRA Special Report 3.37 “Newspaper cost calculation model,” is a suitable tool (see page 12).

Personnel savings by automation, outsourcing all sorts of activities to the service sector as well as waste-reducing measures – those are the biggest screws that are always tightened further first when a new round of cost reductions is launched.

But some smaller measures can also be effective: Optimised press presetting can reduce start-up waste considerably (especially effective for many short print runs).

Check whether one or other position in the printing and mailroom sector could be eliminated by training personnel to multitask.

Operators can do simple cleaning jobs on their presses themselves, thus reducing the number of service tasks.

Workflow tools can also bring about savings, e.g. for imager control, circulation management or mailroom control.

It is possible to lower costs also by relatively simple measures and thereby frequently positively influence quality and efficiency. You will find several ideas below.

logical step to take a closer look at consumption figures and investigate the savings possibilities. Energy management means “operating the building and technical supply systems in an energy-efficient way, improving them continuously and adapting their operating methods to suit actual needs,” says Karsten Koeppe, head of building services engineering at Germany’s Druckhaus Spandau (Axel Springer), which has gained a lot of experience in this area.

According to Koeppe, the cost of installing energy management at a newspaper production operation depends firstly on the existing technical and personnel organisation in the sectors of energy/environment/supply. In order to be able to develop and successfully implement measures, a large number of data must Karsten Koeppe be regularly recorded, processed and evaluated. That requires both personnel resources as well as a certain basic endowment with counters, data processing and know-how. Whereas other large printing operations use service providers, e.g. via contracting models, in Spandau four own personnel from building management are assigned to the tasks. Outside services are called on only for maintenance and upkeep.

Since the operation was EMAS-certified about 10 years ago, energy management has been practised in Spandau. And the results show that it pays: “We have halved our specific energy consumption in the past 10 years,” Koeppe says. (editor’s note: Specific energy is total energy consumption per printed square metre.) Without energy management, therefore with consumption at a level as 10 years ago, and taking into account the development of the price of energy, the energy costs alone for 2006 would have been about 750,000 euros higher. (editor’s note: Total energy costs in 2005 were about 1.3 million euros; more recent figures are not available). “We achieved one of the greatest single savings by using the exhaust waste of the presses. (...) Otherwise it is the sum of the many smaller measures and the constant ‘push,’ ” Koeppe says.

Energy management Newspaper production is an energy-intensive business. In view of the enormously increased and continually rising energy prices, it is a 10

As long as the costs for energy management are clearly lower than the energy costs, the effort is worthwhile.

Less ink consumption Inks, especially colour inks, are expensive. One possibility to lower consumption without having to compromise on colour quality is offered by software programs that, with the aid of GCR, replace the grey components from the CMY colour areas with black. Additional benefits are: a more stable grey balance, shorter makeready times and less start-up waste.

A number of suppliers work in accordance with this principle, often combined with additional functionalities. The following are several products available on the market: > :Arkitex OptiInk from Agfa (www. agfa.com), preferably in conjunction with the :Arkitex production workflow. > ORIS Ink Saver from CGS Publishing Technologies International (www.cgs.de). > CMY Optimizer from Alwan Color Expertise (www.alwancolor.com), colour optimisation including preflighting. > PlugINKSAVEin is a plug-in from OneVision (www.onevision.com) for Asura and Asura Pro software for automatic control, correction, normalisation and optimisation (PDF, PS, EPS). > CoLiPri SaveInk from ColorLogic (www.impressed.de). CoLiPri is a plug-in for

The DeviceLink method With DeviceLink technology, the input profile is converted directly to the output profile without the intermediate step of the neutral L*a*b* colour space. The used DeviceLink profiles permit optimisation of the print data with the objective either of saving colour ink through the changed colour separation or through limiting the total tonal value to a certain maximum (for example, 220 percent) – or both.

This does not change the optical colour impression.

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January 2008

IFRA Magazine

Enter (Article Direct Link) numbers online

A really effective RFID Kosteneinsparung or barcodes project ?

» Interview with Ronald Sonnleitner, Landesverlag Druckservice (5251) » Interview with Karsten Koeppe, Druckhaus Spandau (5270)

Adobe Photoshop with which it is possible to produce, edit and apply DeviceLink profiles directly in Photoshop. SaveInk is one of several CoLiPri modules. > basICColor Devil and demon from Color Solutions (www.basiccolor.de) allow the production, editing and application of ICC DeviceLink profiles in the standard desktop programs. > GMG Ink-Optimizer (www.gmgcolor. de) supplies a profile with three different reduction steps as a standard function. > DuoScreen Pro from MMS Heidelberg (www.mms-heidelberg.de) combines GCR with a special combined screening technology that significantly increases the ink saving effect (see newspaper techniques, December 2007, page 28).

Some manufacturers promise colour ink savings of up to 25 percent, though it is always necessary to take into account the existing situation in each case. If a newspaper house works in accordance with the

“A comparison of the ink costs for last year with those of this year shows 7 percent effective savings.”

»

Ronald Sonnleitner

Prepress Manager, Landesverlag Druckservice

specifications of the ISO 12647-3 printing standard, which already contains GCR, then the effect will not be as great. Therefore, the No. 1 IFRA recommendation is “use the IFRA ISOnewspaper26v4.icc profile, it corresponds to the ISO process standard for newspapers and can be downloaded free of charge from the IFRA website. That way you will be guaranteed to do no wrong,” says Ulrike Cremer, IFRA training manager and colour management expert.

The Landesverlag Druckservice in Wels, Austria, has been using OptiInk software from Agfa in production since midJanuary. Prepress manager Ronald Sonnleitner describes the integration into the workflow (with the existing Agfa products :Arkitex and Delano for production and business processes) as smooth. The software paid for itself after about six months. Naturally, this period should be regarded in relation to ink consumption: Seventy newspa-

pers and 30 semi-commercial products with a wide range of different page counts are printed every week at the printing centre in Wels, in a volume of between 4 and 6 million copies. “A comparison of the ink costs for last year with those for this year shows 7 percent effective savings,” Sonnleitner says. Ole Nielsen, IT production engineer at Nordjyske Medier (Nordjyske Stiftstidende) in Denmark, where the software has been used in production for more than four months, puts the current savings at about 15 percent and estimates payback at one to one-and-a-half years.

Ad workflow The ad workflow is a labour-intensive business for any newspaper, especially where the large display ads are concerned. Today, ad booking and transmission are mostly two separate processes. > Booking: With the OBS (Online Booking System), ZMG, the central newspaper marketing organisation in Germany, has initiated a process for online ad booking that is in use already for magazines and is now about to be adapted to suit the needs of newspapers. The aim is to make the booking process simpler, safer and lower cost, both for advertisers and their agencies as well as for the publishing houses.

The OBS software (free of charge for the advertising customer) can be integrated into existing booking and planning programs and permits the paperless booking, confirming and changing of ad orders. Thirtyeight publishing houses are already on board with their newspapers (including Bild, FAZ and WAZ); 50 is the target in order to attain the “critical mass” desired by the agencies. The test operation is under way (www.zmg.de). > Transmission: The supply and preparation of ad files for production is a delicate step in the ad workflow. “The biggest problem for the newspaper is that the customer or commissioned agency supplies the ad in an undefined way – as an e-mail attachment, FTP upload or CD – and the person doing the processing must first gather the information,” says Roland Thees, IFRA research engineer for newspaper production

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Decision-makers’ Guide

January 2008

IFRA Magazine

Enter Article (Direct Link) numbers online » Information on IFRA SR 3.37 “Newspaper cost calculation model” (5253)

>

technology. “Before processing, the ad must be brought into line with certain specifications (data format, colour, size, resolution) and transferred to the ad system. This is still largely done manually,” Thees continues.

Ad acceptance via an Internet portal used by customers and the newspaper offers the advantage of both making the process safer as well as, due to the given structure, largely automating it.

The customer can upload the PDF of his ad – ideally combined with a job ticket that contains all information relating to the ad in the form of XML metadata (e.g.

AdsML). Depending on the version, he receives a reply stating whether his file can be processed and finally a proof for checking and release. This eliminates later complaints. Browser-based solutions for ad transmission include: > Adfrend from evolver (www.evolver. de) allows online production, booking and transmission of display ads. The newspaper can subsequently alter the file. > AdPortal from Vio Worldwide (www. vio.com) supports AdsML and ensures the efficient incorporation of the ads into the production workflow. > Quickcut adstream (www.quickcutadstream.com) ensures the production and transmission of ad material as required.

Asura Enterprise from OneVision (www.onevision.de) offers a web-based solution for directly integrating the customer via Intranet/Internet. He then receives a softproof of the production file. > AdFast (www.adfast.co.uk), a subsidiary of the Newspaper Society, operates an ad transmission system for the U.K and Ireland cooperates with Vio. National agreements on uniform transmission standards also exist, e.g. in Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Outsource ad production Personnel costs can be saved by outsourcing certain labour-intensive processes that do not belong to the core competency of the newspaper operation.

Besides tasks in the service sector, such as maintenance, cleaning and IT to name just a few, U.S. newspapers have now discovered ad production as a worthwhile candidate for outsourcing. To do so, they enlist the services of companies that are able to offer extremely favourable prices by using personnel based in India.

All of the approximately 30 north Californian newspapers belonging to the MediaNews Group (MNG), including the well-know San Jose Mercury News, have

Calculate and reduce printing costs figures from similar printing operations), the model is of little help.

Denys Kissling, the project manager at Ringier Print Romania in Bucharest, was the inspiration and author of the IFRA Special Report 3.37 Denys Kissling “Newspaper cost calculation model.” He was supported by an expert working group in its realisation.

IFRA: What can a newspaper operation do that wants to lower costs but cannot afford any major investment?

D. Kissling: Without investing, it is only

possible to save on material and on personnel. The levels of error in platemaking and of waste should be examined.

Overmanning is another aspect to consider in efforts aimed at reducing costs.

Smaller investments, for example in a new CTP system, increase productivity.

But frequently the consequences are not drawn and the personnel levels not reduced correspondingly. For example, nowadays it is possible to have the platemaking done by the printers, thus reducing the size of platemaking department accordingly.

IFRA Magazine: How can your calculation model be used to show cost lowering potential?

Denys Kissling: The effects of changes to

the print run, page count or number of printed titles can be quickly calculated by using the model. It is also very simple to establish what share the paper, personnel or depreciations have. However, it is necessary to have comparisons in order to know which costs are too high.

Without these comparative values (i.e.

12

outsourced their ad production to Express KCS (www.expresskcs.com), a U.S.-based company with offices in India. Talks between MNG and the company specialising in outsourcing began only the summer before, according to CEO Robert Berkeley.

“They were looking for alternatives in order to lower their production costs.” Nor are they the only ones – interest is growing.

Comparable services are offered by CCI Sourcing (www.ccisourcing.com), a young joint venture of Stibo A/S (parent group of systems supplier CCI) and the Indian publishing house Kasturi & Sons in Chennai, India, that has a long tradition in the newspaper business (Kasturi & Sons publishes one of the leading English-language newspapers in India, The Hindu).

CCIS also offer the production of web banners, a service that is utilised by Skive Folkeblad in Denmark.

Affinity Express (www.affinityexpress.com), which is based in the United States with offices in Puna, India, specialises in providing services to the graphics industry. Among its newspaper customers in the area of ad production is The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch since the end of 2006.

The newspaper saw itself compelled to take this step in order to assert its position in a changing media industry. “We consider this a cost-efficient way to both improve the quality and speed-up our service to our advertisers,” said Michael F. Curtin, COO of The Dispatch Printing Company.

Lower paper costs Paper costs, together with personnel costs, are the two largest single items among the production costs of a newspaper. Already at the time of buying paper, newspapers (e.g. all newspapers belonging to a group or region) can act together and by placing a joint order negotiate a bulk discount with the paper suppliers. The consumption-dependent costs can be positively influenced in many ways, such as various measures aimed at lowering waste, e.g. reducing start-up waste and reel stub waste as well as avoidance as far as possible of overproduction.

Reducing paper width, as is common practice in North America, also has a positive influence on consumption. Whereas lowering grammage reduces the number of reels (fewer reel changes, etc.), this does not automatically lower the buying price.

» www.iframagazine.com

January 2008

Laurent Favier, paper expert at SPPP in France, says: “There is no price advantage for the newspaper when buying, as the price per square metre is about the same. The price per tonne is even higher than for the standard grammage of 45 g/m2.” Despite this, some newspapers can save on distribution: the mailing and freight costs, that are based on weight, are lower. Many newspapers have already changed to 42 or 42.5 g paper. In France, for example, newspapers on lightweight paper are not “We succeeded in reducunusual: the La Moning the amount of paper tagne newspaper group uses standard remaining on the reel core paper with a gramfrom about 20-25 mm to mage of just 40 g/m2 9-11 mm. This corresponds for all of its titles, and the high-profile to a savings of about 1 Le Monde also uses kilogram per paper reel 40 g paper. With lightweight paper, and our total consumption however, it must be per year is about 500,000 ensured that certain parameters are obreels.” served in relation to Nabil Sahl opacity, stiffness, Head of Printing, Al-Jazirah firmness, volume, etc. in order to avoid negative influences, such as ink strike-through or show-through, web breaks and finishing problems. It is important that too high ink densities at the prepress stage should be reduced and the press presetting optimised. It is urgently recommended that printing tests be carried out with sample reels.

An optimised press presetting when processing different types of paper and reel widths also reduces the makeready time and lowers start-up waste. Various manufacturers offer software solutions for this. The Presetting Calculator (designed for the sales division of EAE) is reported to show newspapers “realistic approximated values of the annual savings possibilities” by efficient press presettings. According to EAE, depending on the individual orders situation, savings in the six-digit euro range are possible.

Moritz Schwarz, iMedia consultant, discussed another effective possibility to save on paper costs during an IFRA Seminar on the topic of waste reduction in March 2007: “It is possible to reduce the amount of paper remaining on the reel core, for example from 19 mm to about 6 mm – by only a few settings at the autopaster.” He points out that these values may possibly deviate from the recommended values of the Moritz Schwarz press manufacturers and corresponding interventions should only be carried out on the basis of a profound understanding of the processes at the operation.

Also speaking at the March conference was Nabil Sahl, head of printing, Al-Jazirah, Saudi-Arabia, who stated: “We succeeded in reducing the amount of paper remaining on the reel core from about 20-25 mm (recommended by the manufacturer) to 9-11 mm. This corresponds to a savings of about one kilogram per paper reel – and our total consumption per year is about 500,000 reels.”

Charlotte Janischewski (janischewski@ifra.com)

»

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Decision-makers’ Guide

January 2008

IFRA Magazine

Top Technologies IFRA’s editorial team along with IFRA’s Dietmar Schantin and Harald Löffler and iMedia’s Allan Marshall look at today’s key technology considerations.

Technology tips for market needs Editorial: One system for all

system. In truth they saved a fortune in production, but reduced efficiency in advertising sales. Sales systems continue to focus on booking and production and not on the issues of good customer relationship management, and the factors that drive revenue growth such as client maximisation and the frequency and revenue per advertiser. Publishers need systems that track the key performance indicators of advertising revenue, and not simply book the advertisement and report on revenue.

Web 2.0 has shown publishers how to successfully get others to do the work for them. Let the advertiser create, design and book his ad. But if you only invest in such an advertising portal – something you should do in any case – you must provide additional incentives to ensure that it is used. Only if your customer sees an added value in it for himself will he be willing and able to do the work for you.

Approach your customers, seek out an agency or another key account that will carry out a large number of transactions or high-quality transactions with you. Initiate discussions and find out where the benefits of integrated business processes lie for you and your business partners. The AdsML standard (supported by IFRA) can help.

The new motto of our industry is Continuous News, which can lead to the revamp of news operation with a web-first concept in mind. So if you are about to invest in an editorial system in 2008, you need to forget about the traditional “one tool, one aim” principle: “Publishers shouldn’t look for a print system that also does online or also does digital, but a media publishing system” advises Dietmar Schantin, director of IFRA Newsplex. He also underscores that the priority should be on workflows and processes, rather than on functions: “Functionality is one part, but how this functionality builds the processes they want to achieve in terms of cross media maybe, or also just for one media, that should be the focus. And planning: How much the system supports them in media planning and story planning.”

On the technical side, IFRA Research Manager Harald Löffler says: “There are a lot of newspapers that do not have real maintenance contracts, which means they don’t get the further developments from their system providers and these upgrades can keep a newspaper from having to make an eventual major change very rapidly.”

Advertising: Keep your customers Let’s be honest, in most cases the advertising area is tightly organised. In order to reduce costs in prepress, many publishers automated the process into the booking

Marketing: How flexible are you?

In marketing, the need to invest in new technologies will be felt only by those

> How IFRA can help you All the trends described in this article are being closely monitored by IFRA. This is done by our research department, which is in charge of the IFRA Special Reports programme and also covers long-term development such as the future position of newspaper companies (Where NEWS? initiative); topics of current interest (mobile activities, video in newspapers or semi-commercial printing, etc.) and the latest information on standardisation and improving production.

IFRA Events organises numerous conferences, workshops and study tours throughout the year to address all those topics and provide the essential networking platform to share best practices. IFRA is also assisting on the operating side. This is done though a variety of trainings and consulting. The IFRA Newsplex team has consulted on many newsroom reorganisation projects. iMedia consulting team acts to improve from production processes to strategic review of all commercial activities. All IFRA activities are listed at: www.ifra.com.

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who plan to intensify and diversify their offerings. Let us take the example of subscriptions, as that can be applied also to advertiser management. A classical management system knows how to handle relations with a subscriber. But CRM tools are a precondition for adapting to a more complex offering: the subscriber wants to receive the newspaper only three days during the week, the TV guide on Thursday, move to e-paper or start a subscription on the evening before for the next day by sending an SMS or e-mail to the newspaper. “This presupposes a management system that is sufficiently flexible to handle a large number of offerings and link the customers to the various print, e-paper, web products. But we are talking also about a better and faster system of communication within the company, such as management systems with electronic carrier books, mobile web pages for delivery information, with the possibility to communicate and report within the total distribution organisation,” says Jonas Rehn (MWM business director Distribution).

At the same time, investing in CRM does not mean acquiring tools with overdimensioned investment and maintenance requirements. Most of the big players on the market, Oracle or SAP to name just two, are subjecting their products to a close examination. At our presstime, the leader in this sector, SAP, presented a Web 2.0 version of its tools at the SAP Influencer Summit in Dallas, U.S.A.: “People accustomed to using easy-to-use Web applications in their personal life are starting to expect that same ease of use in their business software.

We’re trying to bridge the gap between a cool, user-driven web application, and an enterprise software application,” said Stefan Haenisch, SAP’s vice president of CRM product management.

Before investing in a technology, does your organisation have an information manager with authority extending over the various “silos” of data gathered and used at your company? In the final instance, it is frequently the quality of customer information that proves to be the stumbling block.

In the more purely marketing area, one of the gurus of CRM, Denis Pombriant (Beagle Research Group), whispers to us an

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January 2008

Decision-makers’ Guide

IFRA Magazine

Enter (Article Direct Link) numbers online » Interview with Knud Erik Rødbro (5271) » Interview with Leopold Kurz from April 2007 (3774) » Allan Marshall’s advertising technology tips (5296)

extremely tempting idea: “Often CRM systems collect a lot of semi-useless information like key clicks on a web site or demographic data and try to ‘analyse’ it using business intelligence or analytics. Unfortunately, that kind of analysis only tells you what the parties thought at a point in the past. The most valuable information you can get will give you a concrete idea of what these people will do in future. That requires a community of interest. There are multiple companies that use social networking techniques to capture deep insight from people — like they would in focus groups but faster and on a greater scale. If I could recommend one CRM tool for publishers it would be a community system.” To discover how that works, Communispace is one of the most highly talented companies in this area (www.Communispace.com).

Production: UV dryers worth a look If you are contemplating expanding your printing activities into semi-commercial business and don’t have heatset printing capabilities, you might want to consider installing a UV dryer onto your coldset press.

For most newspaper printing operations, capital costs continue to be the major obstacle to acquiring a dryer. But these are clearly lower for a UV dryer than for a heatset dryer, which also requires afterburning and cooling systems. However, on the down side, ink costs are much higher.

One area where the UV dryer scores points is its smaller dimensions compared to hot-air dryers. Regarding printing quality, the UV process need not shy away from comparison with heatset, presupposing that printing is done on newspaper rotary presses. The heatset quality that can be achieved on commercial presses is remains superior.

One drawback – both in relation to UV and heatset printing – is that special inks are required. Moreover, special printing blankets and rollers must be used.

Therefore as a matter of principle it is vital that the section of the newspaper press equipped with UV dryers should be used only for UV printing. For practice, this means that the UV tower cannot be included in the page capacity available for normal newspaper printing, but represents a dedicated extension.

Whether the UV process can develop to a worthwhile business for a newspaper printing operation depends on the condi-

For semi-commercial printing, UV dryers are a consideration. Here, two Eltex UV dryers are built into a satellite printing tower. The dryers were inserted in between the two printing units of the tower.

The web, printed on one side, is dried before its entry to the second printing unit where the reverse side is printed. The web lead is simpler in blanket-toblanket configurations.

tions concerned (job prospects, utilisation, price calculation). Herold Druck in Vienna unequivocally says it is worthwhile. At IFRA Expo 2007 in Vienna there were three representatives of UV dryers (IST Metz, Eltex and Prime UV) and one specialised supplier of UV inks (Arets), all of whom reported strong visitor interest. We will report in-depth on UV printing later this year.

will attempt to carve out the lion’s share of this market for themselves. This is why newspapers must face a major challenge and hold on to this area of activity. To do so, there must be a good quality/price ratio and to be competitive in both presupposes a completely automatic production process, with the shortest possible distance from the pallet to the mailbox. None the less, readers and advertisers seem to want supplements to be targeted for each individual mailbox.

To satisfy it, the printing plant must be extraordinarily flexible and be able to define distribution zones based on highly detailed criteria – without lessening the performance capacity of the printing plant in the process. Such a printing plant requires many supplement inserting stations, without this affecting the price of the product.

The trend towards making the mailroom an operational centre for marketing campaigns motivated many newspapers to select systems allowing the attachment of self-adhesive labels or samples on the newspaper pages, or the collecting of the inserts into a type of plastic bag (“polybagging”) that can also include an advertising message. Ferag, for example, sold five MemoFlag systems during IFRA Expo to the Zeta group printing plant near Barcelona.

Similar sales will continue this year. Last but not least, the trend towards automation in all areas of newspaper production should not be forgotten.

Mailroom: Serve marketing needs Innovations in the mailroom continue, as do the requirements that spur them on: on the one hand efforts are being made to increase profits and reduce costs, and on the other hand to ensure that the equipment is as efficient as possible and simply adaptable. A difficult combination but not at all impossible as shown in 2007 by two new inserting systems for newspapers. Müller Martini introduced its ProLiner and Schur Packaging Systems attracted much interest at IFRA Expo with its NewsStar, equipped with automatic format adjustment “to switch quickly and smoothly from one product to the next and therefore save time and avoid errors,” says General Manager Knud Erik Rødbro. “The process consists of presetting the inserting and supplement stacking stations so the formats are first registered in the Schur TMS system and then systematically controlled step by step throughout the production line,” he adds.

The competition among the distributors of printed advertising matter and supplements is expected to increase in 2008.

Both postal service and private distributors

IFRA’s Charlotte Janischewski, Valérie Arnould, Mari Pascual, Brian Veseling, Harald Löffler, and Dietmar Schantin contributed to this report, as did iMedia’s Allan Marshall.

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» www.iframagazine.com

Decision-makers’ Guide

January 2008

IFRA Magazine

Business Models Many newspaper publishing houses are aware of the fact that they must do something and capture new markets. But making the right decision is difficult and anything but a trivial matter.

Utilise the dynamics of the market ing five points summarise aspects that are very useful for managing new ventures.

The media industry is on the move – competitive biddings, acquisitions, concentrations, founding of new companies, new forms of ownership, e.g. Private Equity companies are a fixed feature in the reporting in the media about the media.

Convergence is probably the word that best describes the direction in which things are going. Convergence means on the one hand that formerly separate markets are growing together or new markets are hooking up with existing ones, and on the other hand the convergence of different media formats that a media business must cover. Who knew anything two or three years ago about offerings such as Facebook or YouTube, to name just two new global brands that can now lay claim to an immense reach?

But it is not only new businesses that are gathering pace: industry outsiders such as Apple or Google as technology businesses have penetrated the ranks of the established media companies and are now attempting to secure a top position in the valued-added chain.

Using search and display technology, Google especially has positioned itself at the interface between consumer and advertiser where it competes with the traditional media companies and additionally offers its services as a media agency for advertising in a wide range of different channels. The range is cross-media and extends from online and mobile, TV and print, up to computer games.

The intention here is not describe a scenario involving a powerful competitor.

Instead, the examples are meant to show that the competitive and market environment can change significantly.

Dynamic periods are always both an opportunity and a threat; perhaps challenge is the most suitable description. Many newspaper publishing houses are aware that they must do something and conquer new markets, but making the correct decision in a complex media world is certainly not a trivial matter.

What should publishing houses take into account when contemplating entering new markets in order to launch new products and services successfully? The follow-

Market research Media operations, and especially newspaper publishers, invest relatively little in research activities compared to other industries.

The main reason for this is, undoubtedly, that the printed newspaper has been a highly successful and constant medium for decades and continues to be so.

The move into new areas of business was not essential, and research expenditure was regarded largely as an avoidable cost factor. But the change from a newspaper to media house and involvement with other types of media or totally different product and service areas, e.g. e-Commerce activities or local search, have marked the end of continuity.

Competitors, target audiences and their needs, potential revenues are just some of the determinants that cannot simply be derived from experience that has been gained to date.

Especially the consumer and user becomes an even more unknown quantity due to his altered behaviour. This is all the more critical because it is he who sits in the driver’s seat. New technologies and the immense selection of consumption possibilities are pushing this development.

The requirements for companies wanting to succeed in such dynamic markets are very exacting. For publishing houses, it means gathering more knowledge in order to prepare and support the necessary management decisions. Many different aspects should be examined before the final decision is taken to enter a market.

Especially in view of changing user behaviour and heterogeneous target audiences it is essential to deal intensively with consumers, possible target audience segmentations and their needs. One question, though not the central question, is how lucrative is the target audience? Can I use it to build up a worthwhile business model?

When considering which new markets appear to be lucrative, besides the users it is also recommendable to investigate the needs of advertisers as their importance in 16

the business model is destined to increase rather than decrease. How do you want to address your customers and how can the publishing house be of assistance here with its products and services?

The potential of the markets is one aspect, the competitive situation another.

Who will be active on the market?

How many competitors must I expect to face? Which competencies are necessary in order to win against the competitors?

The problem here is not just to analyse the traditional competitors, but to include companies that you did not come up against to date in a market.

As a complement to the research activities it is advisable to compile scenarios in order to run through different possibilities of how the market could develop. This involves not only investigating the most likely developments, but also the unlikely and potentially detrimental ones. The scenarios can help to orient the strategy and organisation towards the various options and their consequences.

Experimenting allowed Market research and scenarios help put investment decisions on a firmer footing, but are not a guarantee that the investment will also bring the desired yield.

The uncertainty about whether the desired success will actually come about remains, and market tests can be unavoidable, despite thorough market analyses. Launching activities in the new business areas frequently necessitates a high investment of resources for an uncertain yield.

In order to create space for experiments and thus better estimate market opportunities as well as simultaneously utilise more than just one opportunity, it is logical to limit projects and release some trial balloons. Tests before full market entry check the market acceptance of your own offering and provide indications of how the offering would have to look to become established in the market.

An unsuccessful experiment is in any case less costly than a project that, despite poor market prospects, is kept alive by investing extensive resources.

» www.iframagazine.com

Technologies drive business possibilities Access to the technology and business possibilities are interconnected. Thus it is not just new business possibilities that drive technological developments, but technology also opens up new markets and revenue possibilities. The outstanding example in the history of the newspaper industry is undoubtedly the access to the printing press. This was a precondition for the widespread distribution of the daily newspaper. Even today, the technological lead can mean the decisive competitive edge for media operations.

By using technology that is more sophisticated than that of competitors, for example, it is possible to serve advertisers’ needs in a better and more aimed way or contents prepared for different media channels with little additional work.

The major strategic importance the technology can have is illustrated by the rise of Google and Yahoo which, driven by technical innovations and massive investments in technology companies, are penetrating many markets in an attempt to occupy them. Another example is Apple, which has succeeded in penetrating the mobile added-value chain with its iPhone and has secured a share of the revenues through exclusive partnerships with mobile operators such as AT&T or T-Mobile.

January 2008

Decision-makers’ Guide

IFRA Magazine

financial possibilities nor the know-how to acquire competitive technology.

The bottleneck can be overcome via cooperation agreements to permit entry to the desired market.

Cooperation beyond technology can also be useful to make the offering competitive. Especially when entering a market it is difficult to reach the necessary critical mass of users required for success. With partners, offerings can be packaged to obtain a greater reach. Marketing campaigns can also be organised more efficiently and extensively. Moreover, partnerships help gain new competencies that are not available at the publishing house or cannot simply be acquired.

publishers move from a single-product to a multi-service operation, the more important it becomes to examine the ratio of the various sources of revenue to one another.

Should I put all my eggs in one basket or divide the eggs among different baskets? If the single-basket strategy succeeds, I will have the maximum possible yield, but if it fails the loss will also be greatest.

An analysis of the business models of the planned ventures can establish the income streams and their dependencies. Are the incomes mostly dependent on the economy? Do they depend on a small number of big advertisers? Do I have a wide spread of sources of income that can mutually support one another? These are some of the questions that help develop indicators, plan yield, and possibly mutually harmonise the different business models in relation to balancing risks.

Portfolio management Portfolio management is an area that many newspapers did not have to give much consideration to up to now. But the more that

Jochen Dieckow (dieckow@ifra.com), business and digital media, IFRA Research

Ink supply systems

Cooperation by pooling resources and risks The dynamic market development means that there are more promising new possibilities to enter the market than a single company can utilise.

Cooperation agreements help to bundle resources and capital expenditure, so that it is not only possible to tackle a new project as a lone fighter would, but can participate simultaneously in several new projects. This is especially useful in the case of high-risk projects where it is uncertain that expectations will be fulfilled but entering the market seems highly lucrative. Pooling risks with partners therefore facilitates experimenting to avail of as many good market opportunities as possible.

Access to technology, as stated already, can be costly. In particular for many of the regionally oriented publishing houses, the required investments exceed the existing possibilities. They have neither the

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» www.iframagazine.com

Decision-makers’ Guide

IFRA Magazine

January 2008

Advertising Spend Constantine Kamaras, vice chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe, advises publishers here to study the latest ad trends as online ad spend is set to surpass that of print in the near future.

Be aggressive with online strategy There are many sweeping statements being made about the future of ad spend, but given the myriad markets and media, multiplied by micro and macroeconomics alike, it’s clear that prediction is a very difficult business. So let’s take a look at some of the trends and see if a little fine tuning can help pick out the reality from the background noise.

Global ad spend would seem a useful starting point. Media planning/buying firm Carat predicts a 6.4 percent rise for 2008 – which is a significant rise on the previous two years. Good news, and a prediction based on sound grounds – specifically the Beijing Olympics and the U.S. presidential election.

Bear in mind, however, that this is also based on some big assumptions; namely that the dollar slides (but doesn’t plummet) and that the price of oil rises (but doesn’t soar). Plus on examination it turns out to be a potentially illusory figure since it’s not global – European ad spend is set to grow by less than 4 percent – and the projected strong performance for television (thanks to the Olympics) masks underlying trends that tell a different story altogether.

Jostling for a slice of that advertising action are the mainstream media. Zenith Optimedia, another leading media buyer, tells us that over the next two years, televi-

Global Advertising Spend projections for 2008 Global United States Asia Pacifiic Japan China Europe United Kingdom Germany France Italy Spain Figures in brackets show previous forecast, issued Dec 2006

2006(act.)

2007(est.)

2008(est.)

5.9 (6.0) 4.9 (5.4) 7.3 (7.2) 1.8 (2.2) 19.5 (20.5) 4.4 (4.4)

5.8 (5.8) 5.1 (5.2) 7.8 (7.4) 1.1 (2.1) 20.9 (20.0) 4.1 (4.1)

6.4 5.6 9.3 1.2 23.1 3.9

1.4 (1.0) 0.7 (1.9) 4.8 (4.8) 3.2 (3.4) 4.6 (4.6)

4.1 (4.2) 1.0 (1.5) 3.1 (2.0) 2.7 (2.6) 4.0 (4.0)

3.9 1.3 3.7 3.2 3.7 Source: Carat

Carat, Europe’s largest media-buying firm, predicts that global advertising spend will increase by 6.4 percent in 2008. “Online – the single biggest driver of ad spend growth in every region and country – will continue to outgrow the rest of the industry by some margin, but we would also expect to see increasing impacts from new hardware and technologies, including 3G, HD radio and multi-casting and IPTV and other forms of interactive broadcasting,” according to Carat.

sion appears set to retain around 38 percent of the market. Once again that picture is skewed by the global figure – in reality the growth of new media and Tivo mean TV is likely to lose share in the developed world.

Radio and magazines are due for slight declines and newspapers, we are told, are in for a hammering, dropping 1 percent share per annum. On the winning side of the

equation there should be modest gains in outdoor advertising based on the spread of digital signage, and, inevitably, the Internet.

The Internet is predicted to have carved itself a 10 percent share of the market by 2009. In the U.K., described as “ad land’s test tube” by the Economist, interactive is expected to push beyond 15 percent

5 tips for advertising strategy in 2008 1.

Newspapers should work on scale and on developing alliances, both among themselves or with a third party, if it brings superior reach and technology – the Yahoo network is a prime example.

2. They should free their online divisions from the shackles of print, particularly on the commercial side. The much overused term “synergy” is often just another word for “muddle,” ending up more as a constraint than as a value multiplier. This requires both new people and new thinking, which may well prove to be the hardest task.

3. Marketing spends are rising, but advertisers are spending an increasing share of their marketing budgets on non-media advertising: in theory, local/regional newspapers could develop (as some have) marketing services that cover non-media communications demand. But this – if it is to be offered at top level

18

and executed as such – requires a noteworthy investment in human resources and, lest we forget, with budgets that are relatively small, compared to national players.

4. With broadband growth as it is, 2008 will probably be the year when online video ad spend will take off. Pricing is not really a concern, as industry standards are gradually emerging – they are based on cost per thousand views (as in impressions, for traditional banners) and command far higher prices, often more than double what a rich media banner does. The great challenge will be the availability of (original) video content.

5. Print advertising remains the revenue to rely on for paying the bills, but with advertising outlets and competing media multiplying, so the pressure on pricing is growing. The answer is more and better audience research, along with a pricing model that directly reflects the ROI.

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January 2008

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in 2008, putting it in second place amongst the media. WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrel predicts that the Internet will reach 20 percent of media spending by 2009. In the United States, Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS) predicts that Internet advertising will surpass newspapers in 2011.

But it’s not all bad news. James P. Rutherfurd, executive vice president of VSS, tells us that: “By our projections, Internet advertising associated with newspapers will have a compound annual growth rate of 25 percent per year for the next five years, so it will be almost a US$ 10 billion industry in five years.”

By his own calculations that means one dollar in every six spent on Internet advertising in the United States will go to a newspaper-related site. The issue of size (via alliances, notably) is critical but “depth” could be just as crucial – and this need not refer to content but to research concerning their audience.

If newspaper websites are sold on the basis of their more upscale and “valuable” audience, then it is high time that this is substantiated with hard data and capitalised upon. This will be increasingly important as local advertisers (the press’s historical stronghold) up their spending and are offered more choice, via competitive channels that threaten newspapers’ core markets.

So how should traditional channels respond?

>

Again, more and better audience research would be one step, along with ROI pricing, “one order, one bill” networks and cross-media selling. Realistically, however, what we’re most likely to see is increased blurring of the content/advertising divide, with more sponsored content appearing in the press and more sponsorships and product placement popping up on television.

In particular in the E.U. the new Audiovisual Media Services Directive, with its deregulating impetus, is expected to lead to a seven-fold increase in such spending. Secondly, pricing pressures will persist or grow stronger, as advertising outlets and competing media multiply.

You might reasonably think that with spending increasing 6.4 percent there is space at the table for everybody. The truth of the matter, however, is that advertisers are spending an increasing share of their marketing budgets on non-media advertising.

In the United States, national advertisers upped their spending by 3.6 percent over the last year but only 0.6 percent of that rise went to media communication. Most of the gains were made by direct marketing, paid search, in-store promotions and events.

Media advertising accounted for less than 30 percent of total communications spend as of 2005 – a figure which is only likely to fall further. > So if Internet and out-of-home advertising are, according to Carat, the fastest growing spending areas, then these would seem to be the targets for traditional media to aim at. Arguably there is not a lot that newspapers can do about the latter, which ups the pressure to address the former aggressively and accurately. Newspapers would do well to focus on developing a better understanding of interactive advertising trends. Given the confusing proliferation of interactive advertising forms, they could be forgiven for seeing this as a daunting task.

According to Forrester’s latest figures it would seem that by 2012, online will absorb 18 percent of marketing budgets.

“Online” is a broad category, so it’s useful to break that down 19

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Decision-makers’ Guide

January 2008

Newspaper Online Advertising Surge in the U.S. Year 2007

2006

Quarter

Total print

Change

Total Online

Change

($ Millions)

%

($ Millions)

%

($ Millions)

Total Print and Online Change %

1

9,840.16

-6.40

750.04

22.30

10,590.20

-4.80

2

10,515.23

-10.20

795.68

19.30

11,310.90

-8.60

3

10,147.33

-9.00

773.029

21.10

10,920.35

-7.40

1

10,509.11

0.35

613.282

34.90

11,122.39

1.80

2

11,694.84

-0.31

666.954

33.20

12,361.79

1.10

3

11,152.71

-2.60

638.339

23.00

11,791.05

-1.50

4

13,244.68

-3.70

745.485

35.00

13,990.17

-2.20

Source: Newspaper Association of America, 20 November 2007, MC Marketing Charts

According to the Newspaper Association of America, online advertising in the United States surged 21 percent in the third quarter of 2007, while print advertising declined 9 percent.

into the principle advertising media; display and e-mail, search, online video, and emerging media. Of these, display and email will decline (from 33 percent to 22 percent and from 15 to 7 percent, respectively) and search will stay broadly stable, losing only 3 percent in share (from 44 percent to 41 percent). Online video is expected to grow to 12 percent, with “emerging” forms of advertising being the most eyecatching category, shooting up to 17 percent. “Emerging” in this case means ingame advertising, social media, viral (“word of mouth”), and mobile.

form) of advertising’s traditional heavyweight but with the added targeting capabilities of the Internet. That’s an approach that even the most technophobic CEO can understand. With broadband growth as it is, 2008 will probably be the year when online video ad spend will take off. For newspapers, the great challenge would be the availability of (original) video content. Simply put there are two choices here, each with its own level of risk, cost and return. The first is to team up with a broadcaster. This reduces risk, as well as investment in both resources and time. The downside is that for all the experience and skill that the newspaper brings to the party it is likely to be the broadcaster that has the upper hand as the owner of the multimedia content. Alternatively, there is the DIY route with publishers developing their own video content.

Fixed costs, the scale of the investment, and factors such as bandwidth cost make this a brave choice. Be careful of business plans

Online video and mobile surge; social media and search follow For all the hype currently surrounding new forms of Internet advertising, the two critical areas over the next year are likely to be online video and mobile. > Online video represents the transfer to the web (albeit in a heavily modified

In-line stitching adds value to your newspaper.

www.tolerans.com

IFRA Magazine

that hope to recoup this by means of User generated content (UCG) – though popular with users – is unlikely to be easily monetized as advertisers have shown great reluctance in being associated with such material. > Mobile too will be crucial in the coming year but not because of any imminent, explosive growth in the technology. The familiar problems of screen size, user receptiveness and lack of industry standards are still hampering development, but the business model is starting to take shape and that means the battle lines are being drawn.

If media companies don’t move now they stand to lose billions. Phone operators have already taken a large cut of media’s subscription income – some keep 50 percent.

As a distribution cost that would be considered outrageously high even for a print product, let alone a service that does not include the demands of physical transfer. In addition, none are sharing out data transfer revenues and some are even developing and unfairly promoting “white label” competing services (e.g. Vodafone News). To use a print analogy, it is as if newspapers’ distributors and/or the association of kiosk owners produced their own newspaper which they then sold in conspicuous Point of Sale (POS) showcases while keeping other papers tucked away behind the shelves. Now they look set to repeat the feat with advertising.

This can only be a bad deal for media and if steps are not taken to change this right now, it will be cemented into standard practice and become an industry norm. > Social media’s business model remains unproven and its path towards the mainstream is fraught with difficulties, not least the reluctance (or sheer annoyance) of users when confronted with commercial messages in a peer-to-peer environment.

Widgets, in-game advertising and other such novelties are far too early in the development cycle for them to take a significant slice of budgets in the coming months. > “Display search,” though representing the fusion of the two dominant forms of online advertising, will not catch on rapidly as the respective starting points (branding for the former, response for the latter) represent different approaches and goals.

IFRA’s Valérie Arnould and Dean Roper contributed to this report, as did Steve Shipside, Ifra correspondent.

20

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Decision-makers’ Guide

January 2008

IFRA Magazine

Free Newspapers The free newspaper market is booming, with more launches and higher circulations.

If you are considering joining this segment in 2008, here are five things to keep in mind.

‘Free’ reign for foreseeable future copies that are being distributed in the city’s subway system. To date, free dailies have been relatively rare in China.

Second, in India – another major market that has not seen much activity on the free paper front – The Hindu launched a new free daily called Ergo in Chennai on 10 December (with an eye toward eventually expanding it to other major cities) with an initial circulation of 50,000 copies.

Third, Metro International, which is the largest newspaper publisher in the world with a total daily circulation of 8.8 million copies in 23 countries, announced on 30 November that Chief Operating Officer Chris Spalding, who had served as interim CEO for several months in 2007, would resign at the end of the year. Metro was the first major free daily and is by far the largest in terms of circulation, and anything happening at a high level there is worth watching.

This was the latest development in an

Things move fast in the free daily newspaper world. Even after several years of tremendous growth, this market continues to expand rapidly. Circulation of free dailies increased a further 40 percent in 2007 to 42 million a day (from 30 million in late 2006), and they now appear in at least 52 countries (up from 41 in 2006). These figures are from Piet Bakker’s excellent website at www.newspaperinnovation.com. Bakker, a journalism professor in the Netherlands, is an expert on free dailies and regularly blogs about all aspects of this market segment on his website. Beyond these massive circulation increases and expanded availability worldwide, this market is a fount of developments – not all good. Consider just the following three items from recent weeks.

First, in late November, it was reported that the Beijing Daily Messenger, formerly a paid-for daily, had relaunched itself as a free daily with a circulation of 200,000

RedEye profits from mixing models The Chicago Tribune’s free daily, RedEye, is an interesting case study because of the mix of models involved. RedEye started in October 2002 Brad Moore as a paid-for daily, but switched to free in 2005. Last May, a Saturday issue was added, which unlike the daily, is only home-delivered. Daily circulation is up to 200,000 copies, and the paper is profitable. Here RedEye General Manager Brad Moore discusses some of these issues.

reasons we launched the weekend edition was we thought there was more of a demand for RedEye after Friday, but also – given that RedEye Monday through Friday is primarily a ROP vehicle because preprint advertisers typically don’t run a whole lot of inserts in single copy vehicles during the week – we felt if we could get a product in the home on the weekend that would give them a great opportunity, and that was really part of it: targeting the preprint advertisers. And we’ve secured a number of commitments on that front.

IFRA Magazine: How is the Saturday edition being received by readers and advertisers?

Brad Moore: So far it’s been received won-

IFRA: There are different theories on distributing free papers, how did you decide on yours?

B. Moore: We went back and forth on this,

derfully by readers. We have over 60,000 ‘opt-in’ subscribers. It’s a free home delivery, but you have to ‘opt in’ to receive it. Our hope was to have about 50,000 home subscribers, we’re up to 60,000, and we hope to get to 100,000 by the middle of next year (2008). ... one of the

certainly it’s a lot easier to do ‘opt out,’ (deliver to everyone in an area, unless they ask you not to) ... but it’s our belief there’s a lot more value, particularly to the preprint advertisers if you can prove that somebody’s asking for this and wants it. See expanded interview online (5292)

22

eventful year at Metro (from the company’s pulling out of Poland early in the year to several changes at the senior management level – including the mid-year departure of CEO Pelle Törnberg, who had helped create the free newspaper concept in the mid 1990s, to major losses in the company’s third quarter (approximately 18 million dollars. The paper also had its first profitable year only the year before). New CEO Per Mikeal Jensen, who joined Metro only on 1 November, is likely to be looking at an intensive first year on the job, so stay tuned.

What should you expect to see from this segment in the year ahead?

“In 2008 numbers will continue to climb, but perhaps not at the meteoric rates of 2006 and 2007,” says Jim Chisholm, joint principle of iMedia Advisory Services, who has regularly written and spoken about the development of the free daily newspaper market in the past several years. “We will see more specialisation, and alternative business models. I also believe we will see more hybrid distribution, with paid-for newspapers developing free aspects of distribution, either for geographic expansion or to widen the time of their availability or to target selected groups. This is already happening. Germany and the USA have still to see the development of free dailies, and there are plenty of opportunities in both markets. We also see more and more conversions from paid to free.”

Basic idea remains sound Considering there are so many free dailies being published and that there is a great deal of competition for advertisers in many markets, there has been some speculation as to whether free dailies are still a good business model. Chisholm disputes this notion. “Like any other business, it takes time to make money, and of course some free dailies are and will continue to lose money. But some are extremely profitable, I know of one which makes nearly 40 percent return on sale (profit as a percentage of turnover). My estimate is that 80 percent of free daily launches survive, compared with less than a third of paid-dailies. ... While the original concept of launching into urban transport

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January 2008

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Enter Article (Direct Link) numbers online » Expanded interview with Brad Moore, General Manager of RedEye (5292) » Our previous interviews with Piet Bakker (1512 and 3308)

systems is becoming saturated, alternative forms of distribution are emerging (see more on this below). Metro International for example now distribute over 40 percent of their copies outside transport systems, and for most other titles it is the majority.

We are also seeing more focused free papers launching, in finance, sport, entertainment.”

Consider a weekly Publishers don’t necessarily have to jump into the free market with a new daily. In the October / November issue of his “Free Daily Newspapers” newsletter, Piet Bakker notes that newspaper publishers who are interested in starting a new product might want to consider a weekly rather than a daily.

“Launching a free daily might prove to be costly and complicated. A weekly could serve as a test or an independent business model,” Bakker says. “In fact, there are already many free weeklies available. Not just the traditional shoppers or local advertising-driven publications. More weeklies have a distinct magazine or daily look and feel. In France and Spain many of these are published, while also Londoners can choose from many titles.”

Distribution is key As we noted in our December issue (see page 8), as the number of free papers and their circulations continue to rise, “whoever develops the best distribution model will have the competitive edge.”

In the early years, many free dailies were distributed mainly through public transportation systems. Then came a number of other models, including the one used by the Examiner in the United States, which is only home delivered to residents in wealthy neighbourhoods. This is similar to direct mail marketing, which means it also has the same main drawback (i.e. being thrown away unread).

Chisholm says he is “less convinced about the viability of home-delivered free dailies. In street or transport distribution the consumer elects to be a reader. In home distribution the newspaper elects the home, whether the reader wants the title or not.

The result is that reader per copy levels for street deliveries tends to be between 2.4 and 2.8. But for home delivery it is often less

Up, up and away: Free daily growth 2004–2007

Countries

Copies (in millions)

© 2008 Ifra

This past year saw the continuation of the strong rise of free daily newspapers worldwide both in terms of overall daily circulation (now at 42 million copies a day) and the number of countries (52) that have free dailies.

Figures are based on information from free daily expert Piet Bakker’s website at www.newspaperinnovation.com.

Stay current

than one. So not only is the distribution more expensive, but the value of that distribution to an advertiser is lower.”

An interesting spin on the home delivery model is what the Chicago-based Tribune company is doing with its free daily RedEye (see box opposite page): It is offering free home delivery of its Saturday issue (and that is the only way the Saturday edition of the paper is available), but readers must request it, says RedEye General Manager Brad Moore. The Monday-Friday editions of RedEye are also available for home delivery, but to receive those, readers must pay US$ 1 per week. “We have very few that take us up on that,” Moore says and adds “we hardly promote it.”

Regardless of whether you are seriously considering launching a free newspaper this year or even if you currently already publish one, it is imperative that you know what is happening in the free-daily marketplace because this segment has become too large a part of the industry to ignore. And, keeping up with what’s going on in this area will help you to decide how to deal with it for your market. After all, years ago when your newspaper was first launching a website, you were looking at what other publishers were doing. As with your online offerings, you can get a lot of ideas for a free paper by knowing what others are doing.

Perhaps the single best resource for what’s happening in the free daily market worldwide is Piet Bakker’s blog at www. newspaperinnovation.com, which he often updates daily. Bakker has been following the developments of free daily newspapers since the late 1990s, and he has been blogging about them since August 2004. He also regularly publishes an electronic newsletter, which you can receive for free by signing up at his website, where you will also find both current and back issues available. Like the market he covers, Bakker’s newsletter has taken off as well. He currently has approximately 800 subscribers, up from 550 in late 2006.

Take a proactive approach Starting a newspaper, whether paid or free, mainly to defend your territory is a reactionary measure, and one that is generally not a path to greater success.

“Many of the titles which lose money have been launched as protective measures, rather than aggressive initiatives,” says Chisholm.

Instead, you should think positively and proactively: Launch a free newspaper because you want to reach new readers (and of course new advertisers) and expand on the existing relationship you have with your community.

Brian Veseling (veseling@ifra.com)

23

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Decision-makers’ Guide

January 2008

IFRA Magazine

Web Strategy Video, mobile, social networking, and advertising networks remain unfamiliar territory for publishers, but digital domain leaders say these will become mainstream this year.

The top five online offers for 2008 With some notable exceptions, usually from the deeper-pocketed publishers, video and mobile have yet to truly take off in newspaper publishing. They have generated much debate, and pioneers attract attention and plaudits, but for most publishers the areas of multimedia, along with social networking and even ad networks have yet to migrate from the wish-list to the core business. That could well change in 2008 as a number of commentators argue that this is the year to take the plunge and partner or pioneer in some very unfamiliar areas of activity. Those at the heart of the brave new world give their visions of the top five to focus on in 2008.

To expand its audience, the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph has created “channels” on video sharing websites such as YouTube and Daily Motion. Among the most popular of the Telegraph’s clips is one singer Kenny Rogers sings a message to the England rugby team.

Mobile

to operators, or offering basic SMS services; instead we need to ensure that our products are easily consumed on mobile devices – which is where a lot of publishers fall short.

Here in South Africa we are seeing a growing penetration of smartphones – aided by relatively cheap data rates – and growing usage of WAP sites so the challenge is there to make your mobile presence and services as compelling as your other channels.” And

Elan Lohmann, publisher of South Africa’s News24.com, is undoubtedly weighing both his own experience and what he heard as moderator of the Beyond the Printed Word Conference in November when he says “this is the year that publishers will need to start taking mobile seriously. We have to see mobile as more than just providing our content

> Get IFRA reports about these topics Each year IFRA publishes numerous in-depth Special Reports on a wide range of subjects vital to the newspaper industry. The follow new reports deal with topics mentioned in this article:

> Mobile Services – An Update: Available now This Special Report offers an overview of which mobile services media houses are using as well as provides insights into their service portfolios, business models and expectations on how mobile services can benefit newspaper publishers.

> Newspapers go Video: Available in early 2008 This report will look at European Newspapers’ TV and Video activities. The project analyses different ways for newspaper publishers to distribute Video/TV content via their platforms.

> The Changing Newsroom II – Change in Practice: Available now This Special Report in detail at four case studies of newsrooms in Europe that are planning and implementing change programmes.

IFRA members can download reports at www.ifra.com (under “Research”). To order print copies, contact Ulrike Leis-Kolb by e-mail at: leiskolb@ifra.com 24

the first step towards that? “We have to approach mobile as a separate medium; not something that follows on as an extension from the web, and for that you need a mobile division formed of people who think mobile first – not how web content might be translated to mobile.”

Fellow South African Colin Daniels, digital business development manager at Johncom Media, wholeheartedly agrees that “by the end of the year mobile is going to be extremely big” and singles out the launch of Apple’s iPhone as a key contributor.

“With the iPhone you can browse web pages as they were meant to be rendered with a full HTML web browser, which means Apple has redefined the standard, and this will provoke a lot of competition. I’ve just completed a five-city tour of the States and the iPhones are evidently already popular and with that you have a huge shift for publishers. Instead of worrying about [dedicated] WAP sites they are starting to optimise their mainstream websites for mobile devices.”

Video Everyone’s talking about video whether it’s UGC (user-generated content) on YouTube or IPTV from the likes of Joost, but while much of the debate is about quality and skillsets, some pioneers have found that the issue is not creating the content – it’s helping people to find it. Last October the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph set up its own YouTube channel with the intention of “bringing our video

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content to a wider user base,” according to Richard Underwood, digital distribution manager. “When it comes to text and images you have the likes of Google to bring visitors, but with video it’s a whole different story since they don’t actively index it and display it with search results. So we’ve turned to YouTube as well as Daily Motion [www.dailymotion.com], Blinkx [www.blinkx.com], and Veoh [www.veoh.com] as we’re looking to expand our audience.

We’re doing it in true Telegraph style targeting key strengths such as fashion and business, but one of the nice things about the YouTube demographic is that we “If you look at the ongoing can do some things which may not exsaga for publishers, the actly address the immediate challenges are traditional audiclearly video and community ence.” Indeed so – the most viewed and while these are areas we clip on the Teleare already operating in, we’ll graph’s YouTube and Daily Motion be working further on them channels turns out next year.” to be singer Kenny Simon Waldman Rogers delivering Guardian Media Group an exclusive TV message to the England rugby squad after they adopted his song “The Gambler” as an unofficial anthem. “Other favourites have included shorts by our staff – one of the features guys did a piece on how to be a stunt driver that has gone down really well, as has another on solving the Rubik’s Cube, and material from our journalists in Iraq. With video being that much harder to distribute [than conventional web content], you have to give it a bit of a push and get it out on as many platforms as you can until the major search engines aggregate it. Until then we’ll keep our eye on Blinkx as one of the few, if not the only service to do that.”

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Partnerships Google and co. have for so long been the elephant in the room – or else identified outright as the enemy – that it is interesting to hear publishers increasingly looking at ways not of competing but of partnering with non-traditional allies in online advertising.

“One of the biggest things we have to watch for is the growth of advertising networks” observes Simon Waldman, director of Strategy and Digital Development, Guardian Media Group. “With ever more sophisticated advertising networks, it becomes all the more important to work with them as partners. When it comes to technology and scale, what they offer can’t really be matched by publishers, which is both a threat and an opportunity. Google is not the only one; it just happens to be by far the biggest.”

From his perspective at the other end of the planet, Colin Daniels of Johncom is mulling the same challenge. “People are afraid of Google for many reasons, mostly based on losing control over content, but Google also offers hosting, YouTube, custom channels, and all sorts of other things such as ‘white label’ Gmail so you can give your visitors an e-mail address at your domain driven

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Guardian’s “Soulmates” “used to sit at the back of the Guide [listings section], and we never pushed it, but it’s become huge now both as a community and as a revenue generator,” says Simon Waldman of Guardian.

Community Another issue that comes up in the context of partnerships is that of community and how publishers can best profit from the phenomenon that is social network.

“If you look at the ongoing saga for publishers, the immediate challenges are clearly video and community,” confirms the Guardian’s Waldman, “and while these are areas we are already operating in, we’ll be working further on them next year.” One example of that is the dating/socialising website Soulmates – “Soulmates used to sit at the back of the Guide [listings section], and we never pushed it, but it’s become huge now both as a community and as a revenue generator.”

That approach is also one endorsed

by Lohmann who feels that “rather than try and build stand-alone social network sites publishers need to include social networking functionality in an integrated manner within their existing product set. USA Today is doing that with the site they relaunched this year [in 2007] and the Sun is doing well. The key thing is rather than try-

Nailing the fundamentals This may not seem like a positive stance to take moving into 2008 but a few commentators have observed that with all the rush to embrace the latest hot topics there is still a lot of work to be done in the groundwork of areas we are already familiar with.

Colin Daniels observes that “I don’t think a lot of publishers are doing the basics right – in many cases there still aren’t even proper blogs with visitors given the opportunity to blog alongside journalists and editors. I’d like to go on record as saying that with the exception of some of the bigger publishers there are a lot that are not doing the basics. So for next year that’s probably the first concern before venturing into the unchartered territory.”

Which is a theme taken up with some passion by Randy Covington, director of 26

IFRA Magazine

The Guardian’s Waldman also points out that just as MySpace was the talk of 2006, and FaceBook drew a lot of attention in 2007, he thinks that 2008 could be the year of Bebo.

ing to build new communities, publishers should take the ones they already have and give them the tools to talk to each other.”

Regarding those stand-alone social networking giants, Lohmann observed at November’s Beyond the Printed Word Conference in Dublin that whereas last year MySpace dominated proceedings, this year it had been entirely usurped by FaceBook.

On which Waldman notes that “while MySpace is still enormous, Bebo is very interesting and while FaceBook has done so well, it is now getting a lot of flak for Beacon, so you can see how rapidly the area is evolving. Next year could be the year of Bebo as it moves more towards being a content platform.”

by the Google back end and that’s pretty exciting. When it comes to partnerships with other companies, we need to move on from the mindset of owning everything – in future there will be more partnerships and joint ventures in which we won’t reinvent the wheel. The net has changed the rules; people want to be able to diversify their business to match demand, and in most cases it’s more expensive to build than to partner, and less risky.”

January 2008

IFRA Newsplex Training Centre at the University of South Carolina. “Working in Newsplex I have a bias of course, but it has become clear in this calendar year that the growing importance of multimedia content entails a growing importance in integrating the newsroom. Whenever I talk to a newspaper about online content I hear of dramatic increases in usage, and the issue of social networking and the relationship with their consumers, but all of that comes back to the way that newsrooms operate. The question is how to do this in a coherent fashion given the economic reality in which nobody can go and hire 30 more people for the new mobile department. The reality is that we have to change the way newsrooms operate, and I see 2008 as the year when we have to face up to those fundamental changes.”

It’s 2008, you have to do this stuff!

Finally the point that underlies all of the above advice is that the top five online offerings of 2008 are not nice-to-have luxuries to be cherry picked, but are all takethe-plunge moments.

As Covington recalls, “I had a conversation this morning with a French journalist talking about news organisations in France [traditionally seen as models of conservatism] becoming more open-minded about convergence but still not having taken the leap – 2008 will be the year organisations realise they have to jump in – they just can’t stand on the side anymore and dip their toes in with a podcast or pictures of readers’ pets.”

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January 2008

Convergence Convergence strategy has evolved since cross-media workflows were first implemented.

Five of the industry’s leading convergence strategists recommend what to do next.

Redefining convergence in 2008 Time was five or six years ago when the term convergence was disparaged as a fuzzy concept with little practical application to newspapers.

Today, convergence is an accepted practice and every publishing house of any significance has adopted at least some approach to integrating its print and digital activities toward the goal of expanding or at least preserving market and revenues.

Convergence ranked relatively high in the latest annual IFRA Magazine survey of budgeting priorities for newspaper decision-makers.

As the implementation of convergence has matured, however, opinions among leading convergence strategists are ironically diverging about what news publishers should be doing to keep pace with the constantly shifting cross-media environment.

Some are pushing an expansion of convergence into advertising workflows.

Others are stressing the need for further work at getting the basics down pat for successful full-media newsrooms.

Still others are suggesting that the “everything everyway” convergence trend has peaked and that publishers should now be moving toward more selective content models.

Juan Antonio Giner INNOVATION International Media Consulting Group

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Kerry J. Northrup Director of Publications IFRA

Tackle four critical issues

Create blended media

Multimedia convergence is not the future. It’s the past.

Digital technologies have long made it possible to work on several media platforms and not just on print paper.

The future is integration.

But if you want to achieve this full multimedia integration, you need to tackle four critical issues: First – newsroom leadership. Believe me, you will not advance adding new layers to your current editorial structure. Please, no more multimedia editors, but editors who embrace the multimedia world. Please, no more multimedia czars and similar positions.

If your editor doesn’t buy into the multimedia challenge, you need a new editor. Period.

Second – a new multimedia workflow. You are not anymore in the onedeadline-a-day world. You are in the 24/7 realtime information race.

Third – the newsroom facilities.

You will fail if you still work in the old assembly-line system. You will fail if your newsroom is a world of lone runners. You will fail if your newsroom is a collection of little kingdoms. You will fail if the internal and creative communication is almost zero. You will fail if your journalists still work like monks in cells. The silos systems doesn’t work.

Kill the cubicles. Kill the private offices.

You need an open space, walls-down newsroom.

Fourth – training. Training. Training. Training.

“Blended media” conveys the idea of a more sophisticated, more natural integration of media than is typical in today’s discussions and implementations of “cross media,” “multimedia” or “multiple platform publishing.” Blended media is an end-user experience of greater significance, greater weight, greater value than just the sum of its parts.

We used to talk about the term “convergence” in this way. Unfortunately, the news publishing industry is settling for a lower standard of convergence now. We accept as a successful cross-media strategy an evaluation of how we organise our newsrooms, whether our print and online people work well together, whether a newspaper house considers video, online and mobile as also part of its mandate. It is all very inwardly focused and has yet to produce many really new and more effective content models.

So if convergence has come to mean just an internal change project, then we need to introduce a new term that raises the bar for what we expect from a 21st Century media house.

Blended media is about how people consume and interact with our media, not so much to how we produce it.

It is blended in that people can seamlessly, fluidly move back and forth as and when they choose across all the ways that we tell a story and all the different content that we put into each media channel, with each medium contributing its part to the overall experience.

And it is blended in that our media mix is so pervasive, accommodating and natural that it becomes part of the consumer’s lifestyle choices. This is essential to the viability of our industry.

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Enter Article (Direct Link) numbers online » Expanded comments from Dietmar Schantin (5293) and Vin Crosbie (5294)

Dietmar Schantin Director of Newsplex IFRA

Vin Crosbie Managing Partner Digital Deliverance LLC

Jim Chisholm Joint Principal iMedia Advisory Services

Quality, revenue, performance

Grabbing the Long Tail

Divergence, not convergence

For those who have already changed the way of thinking and working in the editorial operation, 2008 presents a lot of opportunities.

Firstly, content and journalistic quality on digital media will become more important. The audience puts up with poor quality only for a certain amount of time. Now, after experimenting (especially with audio and video), it is time to recall the quality standards that make newspaper editorial products different from other media. In video, for instance, poor selection of suitable topics, poor meshing-up and integration with print and online content as well as lack of shooting, visual grammar, recording and production skills can jeopardise, in the long run, the editorial reputation and newspaper brand.

The second focal point should be monetisation of the multiple-media editorial offerings. It is imperative that the commercial units buy fully into the new world of print and digital opportunities.

The main advertising revenues will still come for a foreseeable future from the printed edition – no doubt about that.

But if the newspaper can’t offer an attractive package across print and digital, then the danger arises that the advertisers don’t perceive the newspaper as a competent advertising partner anymore.

The third focus area is a strategic performance management of the entire staff in the publishing houses. Publishers still in the planning phase of change need to make people understand why the change is important and in what direction the change will go as well as trying to generate a positive perception of the change. Publishers who have already started to implement new products and services, new workflows and structures and new technologies need to double check if their staff is well enough trained to produce the products and services to the level of quality required.

Chris Anderson’s renowned Long Tail diagram is simply a graphic of how many people share which interests. It aptly shows that though a great number of people share a few interests such as war, deaths, taxes and the weather, the vast majority of people’s interests exist outside those few generic interests.

No industry in the world is potentially better suited toward satisfying every consumer’s unique mix of generic and specific interests than the newspaper industry. It collectively possesses most, if not all, of the stories needed to satisfy everyone. The newspaper industry and other content providers possess standard coding (XML and specifically NewsML, AdsML, IPTC Photo XML, etc.), although today rarely used, that can route stories of specific interest among newspapers and to the appropriate individual. Major network vendors (notably the AP, Reuters, AFP, DPA, etc.) are seeking new or expanded roles and can be conduits for these exchanges of stories. Today there is no technological reason why the newspaper industry’s infrastructure cannot be reconfigured and each newspaper’s website be designed to deliver the stories that match a reader’s unique mix of interests.

But the newspaper industry must take this action collectively and now.

Except in languages that aren’t spoken by very many people, no one newspaper or newspaper company can succeed at this alone. The solution calls for unprecedented cooperation throughout all levels of the industry.

If instead the newspaper industry continues to provide the same selection of content online that it’s long been providing in print to satisfy generic interests, in this era when consumers have other choices of media that can satisfy their interests beyond the generic, then no amount of multimedia convergence will save it.

Convergence is a dated word for a technological certainty. Convergence has happened. Move on.

Humans want divergence. Diversity of opinion and knowledge. And the best available media in time, place context and content. Converged thinking focuses on doing everything conveniently for us. Diverged thinking focuses on giving our customers the best solution for their needs, not the average tool for every job.

Yes, gather and store all your content in one database, with one content management system. But focus on delivering that content in the most effective manner, under the most attractive brand.

Yes, continue to promote your newspaper as the biggest and best media brand in your market. But realise that it will be competing more and more with specialist, highly focused digital boutiques. You can’t be all things, for everyone, forever.

Yes, continue to offer a range of digital advertising solutions – banners, classified, search, notification. But accept that just because you can offer all of these doesn’t mean every advertiser wants to buy them. Most don’t. Tailor diverged solutions.

Converged advertising sales lead to reduced opportunity, a shrinking advertiser base, diminished yields, and greater efficiency at the expense of greater effectiveness. Upselling is for those seeking early retirement, professionally and mentally. While you nibble incremental revenues from advertisers, your competitors swallow the market.

Compete with your competition not with your conscience.

While most newspapers are lurching towards the myth of convergence, the smart ones are anticipating the needs of their customers. And that’s divergence.

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January 2008

IFRA Magazine

Material Issues Consumables take the largest slice out of the production cost cake. So how can you make the most of them and hence improve the bottom line in 2008? Here are our resolutions.

If prices rise, don’t compromise With the New Year here, resolutions come to mind. What should you resolve to do, or at least to consider, in 2008 when it comes to consumables? Top of the list must come newsprint/paper since, at around 55 percent, it represents the highest percentage cost when producing any publication.

What will happen to the price of newsprint this year depends on who is talking. The manufacturers, naturally, say that prices have to go up, pointing to the continuing rise in the cost of wood, recycled paper, energy, and transportation. On the other hand, it is reckoned that the global newsprint demand will decline slightly over the next 12 months, and it is interesting to note that at least one major European newspaper publishing group announced in its recent annual financial statement that its newsprint costs will come down in 2008.

Of course, as always, what happens will differ from continent to continent and even country to country. For instance, the downturn in the consumption of newsprint in North America last year resulted in a significant drop in newsprint prices. However, AbitibiBowater, the new company created by the merging of Abitibi and Bowater, has announced that it will reduce its newsprint capacity by around 600,000 metric tons during the first quarter of 2008.

When it comes to ink prices, there were some significant hikes last year. However, it does look as if this is not the end of the matter, again due to the continuing rise in the cost of raw materials. Currently, there is, for example, a shortage of certain pigments due to the Chinese government closing down plants to reduce the air pollution impact on the Olympic games.

For health and safety reasons, it is being recommended that triple-wide reels be transported on their bellies rather than the ends, something which is expected to be applied to all newsprint reels in future. Photo courtesy of UPM-Kymmene Corporation and News Corporation.

Colin Morris, managing director,

Megtec Systems. He points out that publishers risk idle press time with web breaks and more start-up waste when using cheaper paper.

the newsprint quality is not consistent especially when printing heatset, this can result in 15+ minutes of press downtime. As is pointed out by Colin Morris, managing director of Megtec Systems, this not only means idle press time but also web break and start-up waste paper.

According to a study carried out by the Web Offset Champion Group (WOCG) of which Megtec is a member, the cost of a web break for a single-width newspaper press can be 346 euros, while for a doublewidth press it can be 519 euros. Or to put it another way, a shift a week can be saved if

The price of consumables is not everything: quality and consistency are just as if not more important.

Of course, when prices rise the pressure is on to use cheaper products. However, as has been said many times before, buying on price is short-sighted: the negative impact a poor quality consumable can have on production costs can be far greater than the saving made. For instance, every time a web breaks, which can often happen when

Paul Casey, of the VAPoN study and Sun Chemical Europe: “We believe that the biggest lift in quality doesn’t come from the ink but the quality of the paper.”

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the frequency of web breaks is reduced from 4 to 1 percent.

Another point worth bearing in mind, and highlighted by the Value Added Printing of Newspapers (VAPoN) study being carried out by another supplier group alliance, PrintCity, is the impact of paper quality. “We believe that the biggest lift in quality doesn’t come from the ink but the quality of the paper,” reports Paul Casey, who is technical service development director (coldset) at Sun Chemical Europe and who is leading the study. “There is also a strong correlation between what advertisers will pay and the colour gamut.”

So here are our resolutions for publishers to consider in 2008.

Check ink consumption: can it be reduced?

Rather than going for a cheaper consumable, the much better option is to reduce the quantity used. With inks, this is possible in a number of ways.

One is to use a hybrid screening technology.

Although not suitable for all operations, finer screens can give not only improved print quality but also more ink mileage.

» www.iframagazine.com

Then there are the recently introduced ink optimisation systems of which there are now several on the market (see more about ink-saving programmes on page 10). They can reduce the usage of the more expensive CMY inks by between 15 to 20 percent although, of course, the amount of the less expensive black ink used will rise. Even so, depending on the percentage of colour work involved and the type of product, it is claimed that the return on investment is possible within a couple of months. Side benefits have also been found such as cleaner copy and less ink scumming.

More straightforward and something that everyone should check out is over-inking. As was pointed out by more than one speaker at the recent North Wales WOCG seminar, this is a common problem in the web offset industry usually involving running between 10 and 15 percent too much ink. Reasons for this include customers de-

January 2008

Decision-makers’ Guide

IFRA Magazine

manding stronger colours and lack of use of densitometers.

What is often not realised is that once a certain level is reached any further increase in ink film density has no impact visually but the rise in ink usage is significant. For instance, increasing the density from 1 to 1.07 results in 11 percent more ink being used. If the density goes up to 1.14, the increase in ink consumption is 31 percent, while going from 1 to 1.3 there is a 73 percent increase in ink usage.

Reduce costs and help the environment by not using plate processing chemistry needlessly.

The over-use of consumables can also apply in the prepress department especially when it comes to the plate developer. This is a point raised by Mike Loose, plate product manager of Agfa U.K. As he explains, to-

day’s plate developer needs around one third the replenishment rate and has three times the bath life of earlier versions. It is also cleaner and less prone to sludge.

This can have a significant impact in terms of cost since a bath change typically involves 70 litres. Consequently, changing the bath weekly instead of every third week, as is possible with the latest chemistry, wastes 2500 litres per line per year, which in turn means higher manpower and waste care costs.

Concentrate on the plate technology available today, recognising that both violet and thermal have their pros and cons.

In fact, Loose suggests that the beneficial impact could be as great if not more than that of moving to chemistry-free plates, which brings us nicely to the next resolu-

eREV 2011 Explore ways to new revenue in digital media Are you looking for opportunities to create new revenue? Do you want to be part of a unique global network of publishers with the same goal? Join IFRA’s new three-year business initiative eRev 2011, a spring-board to new ideas and ventures.

eRev 2011 is now open for enrolment!

Push your revenue to the max!

For more information, contact project leader Dr. Stig Nordqvist nordqvist@ifra.com, tel.+46.70.6924635 or e-mail erev@ifra.com

www.ifra.com/erev

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light plate debate. Despite what the plate manufacturers say, neither technology is better suited to newspaper production. It all depends on the production environment and the publications being produced. In other words, it is a matter of horses for courses.

tion – to differentiate hyperbole from fact in terms of plate technology. It needs to be remembered that all plates have a coating that has to be imaged and the non-image area has to be removed, whether it is done in the platesetter, on the press or in a wash or gum unit.

In addition, at the current state of play, there is no such thing as a completely chemistry-free violet photopolymer plate, not even with the products that we are being told will be launched at drupa this year.

OK, the high pH developer is not required for making things better for the environment and removing many of the variables involved in conventional plate processing, but this does not make them “chemistryfree.” They are “developer-free.”

Also, in terms of newspaper production, at least initially, such plates will come at a price and/or compromise in terms of run length, system productivity and/or image quality. Nor are they expected to be commercially available for all types of newspaper production until at least the second half of 2008. Similar caveats should be applied to the thermal versus violet/visible

Turn costs into credits by segregating and recycling waste.

Being more environmentally friendly is something that is going to take on ever-increasing importance this year as advertisers, readers and customers (for contract printers) become more environmentally demanding and the legislation gains even greater bite. A case in point are the waste regulations, which are beginning to cover not just hazardous but also non-hazardous waste.

So the question to ask is “Do you segregate and recycle all your waste and, if not, why not?” In fact, there is no reason why all waste produced by the newspaper industry cannot be recycled rather than be sent to landfill or incinerated. OK, extra la-

> ‘Reel’ running reports by IFRA IFRA is currently running two projects to modernise systems in the area of paper handling at newspaper printers.

Paper reel identification The first project deals with replacing the IFRA bar code system for general paper reel identification, developed in the early 1980s. The bar code has a couple of problems; it mixes identification and information about the reel, and the space available for additional information is limited. Due partly to demands by modern reel handling systems, IFRA is working at creating a new system, which will replace the bar code in the mid-term. Rather than be dependent on a specific coding system (bar code, 2D-code, RFID etc), the new system should be based on existing standards like XML, which also provides human readable data information and can be subject to automatic data processing. IFRA is currently negotiating with the international partners involved about the requirements.

Reel core specification The second project concerns producing a specification for reel cores, an issue that has arisen with the increasing web width, not least in 6/2 presses. When the paper reel is almost completely consumed on press, the entire stability of the small remaining reel depends more or less completely on the stability of the reel core itself, which, though wider, may still be of the same diameter (78 cm) and made from the same raw materials (paper board) as for smaller reels. The aim of the project is to specify the stability requirements for reel cores used in extrawide newspaper presses for the benefit of all industry parties concerned.

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bour is needed to segregate waste and more space is required but, instead of having to pay waste disposal companies to remove the waste, if you segregate it, they could be giving you credit. In addition, if you don’t do it, increasingly your waste management company will have to do it, and consequently your waste handling costs are bound to rise.

Can reel handling be made safer, more efficient and greener?

Even better than recycling is, of course, another of the environmental “Rs” – reuse. This is something that is beginning to happen so far as newsprint reel cores are concerned. The concept was developed due to the fact that with triple-wide presses the structural integrity of standard fibre cores was being stretched to its limits.

Problems such as vibration, web flutter and instability during splicing can be reduced or eliminated by increasing the core wall thickness and density of the play.

However, this increases the cost of the core by between three to five times that of a standard core.

Hence, the introduction of composite cores that can also be reused. At the current stage of development, there are still some outstanding issues such as core ownership, the need for all mills to offer them and the implementation of a robust recycling infrastructure, especially as the cores have to be continually inspected and tested. On the other hand, where recoverable cores are being used, they have been found to improve press performance and splicing efficiency.

Incidentally, for health and safety reasons, it is being recommended that triple-wide reels be transported on their bellies rather than on the ends, something that is expected to be applied to all newsprint reels in future, while the introduction of recoverable cores has raised the debate of why printers have to pay for the whole reel including the core rather than the paper used.

As with all these resolutions, it is all a matter of seeing the wood for the trees and, as a consequence, having a more prosperous New Year.

Caryl Holland (ches@dircon.co.uk), IFRA correspondent.

Manfred Werfel, IFRA research director, and Cecilia Campbell, IFRA correspondent, contributed to this report.

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January 2008

IFRA Activities 2008 ‘Paper and digital are the platforms that we are dealing with, and the respective technical and business issues associated with them. For today and for tomorrow. Everything we do is focused on this strategy.’

The mission: ‘Get the big picture’ members to be able to better create their own picture of the future. On a practical level, today we have to answer, ‘What is new in print?’ or ‘What is new in digital?’

We have to put this into perspective for our members, and in essence, this is our mission to fulfil.”

CEO Reiner Mittelbach’s main message to IFRA’s members across the globe for 2008: “That IFRA is print and paper. IFRA is digital. IFRA is future oriented. This clearly describes the areas of our activities. Paper and digital are the platforms that we are dealing with, and the respective technical and business issues associated with them – for today and for tomorrow. Everything we do, all of it, is focused on this strategy. We have created this strategic focus where we know that technology drives business, but new business developments are, of course, driving technology. Here is where we want to help to facilitate all parties, the publishers and the vendor community.”

Mittelbach says to do this IFRA must provide the “big picture” for the industry in terms of future publishing. “We have various futures that we want to address: there is tomorrow, there is one year from now, five years from now, 10 years and so on… I think that with our research, we have to cover these various futures. We have already identified some of the major factors that will impact the future, how technology will develop, development of socioeconomic factors and media channels, to help our

Research Naturally, that mission covers all of IFRA’s activities, but the core part of that is research. Although the IFRA Advisory Council was still in the process of finalising 2008 research topics at our presstime (we will report on those in February), Mittelbach again stresses that IFRA’s work will be spread equally among print and digital topics. “I think there are equally interesting things happening in print as well as digital.”

One new area he says where IFRA will carry out more research is in advertising.

“Indeed this is a business issue and we will address that side of it, but like everything we do, we will focus on technology issues as well. So it is very much in line with our strategic focus. But let’s just say it is time for us to transfer our knowledge, so to

> IFRA Search set to launch The most talked about new service from IFRA for 2008 will be its new vertical search engine for the industry, called “IFRA Search,” which will go live in the first part of 2008. The response from publishers and media associations has been overwhelming since IFRA announced its plans for launching the service. “Many organisations reacted immediately by offering to contribute access to their proprietary databases so that the IFRA-developed service will be able to index their collective information and reports,” says IFRA project manager Amrei Wiederin.

Over the past two years, IFRA and its external technology partner have been developing this search engine that will unite content that is of high interest to the news publishing industry. The search engine is being built on a third-party search technology, modified and adjusted to IFRA’s specifications to be very effective for professionals working in the news industry.

“A key value of IFRA Search rests in the partnerships IFRA is creating with other top industry organisations to gain access to databases and reports not available to other search engines,” says IFRA CEO Reiner Mittelbach. Even where contributors limit access to the full reports for their own members, IFRA Search will be able to provide summaries and direct users to the source organisations.

In an upcoming edition we will present IFRA Search and its various possibilities in a four-page special.

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“We have various futures that we want to address: there is tomorrow, there is one year from now, five years from now, 10 years and so on … I think that with our research, we have to cover these various futures.”

»

IFRA CEO Reiner Mittelbach

speak, ‘to the playing field,’ much like we did with Newsplex for editorial.”

Mittelbach says IFRA’s Where NEWS? project has now reached a stage where the results of the initial research are starting to be honed to provide a much clearer image of how publishers should address their future activities. (See box opposite page.) “The idea is to get sharper and sharper as the project goes forward so newspapers can really apply all of this to their strategic planning and everyday activities.”

Expo IFRA Expo 2008 is returning to what is considered, according the most recent survey of participants and suppliers, to be the most preferred location for an Expo: Amsterdam (27-30 October). “Whereas Vienna [site of IFRA Expo 2007] attracts more of technical staff, Amsterdam tends to attract more CEO level staff,” says Michael Heipel, director of IFRA exhibitions. “I expect that we will have more visitors from the U.K., France, Belgium, for example, than we had in Vienna, and also from regions like the Middle East. And as always, the exhibition will cover all aspects of media publishing to help publishers address all their business needs. I don’t think most other exhibitions can do this.” For information on IFRA Expo, visit www.ifraexpo.com.

Events IFRA will offer a full menu of international events in 2008, and kicking off the year will be a Study Tour to a number of multimedia newsrooms in Europe (13-19

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January). “The interest for study tours in 2007 was really overwhelming,” says IFRA Events Director Heide Orlich. “We had to expand our capacities and staff to be able to respond to the number of requests that we got, especially for individually organised tours. So in 2008 we will have a whole portfolio of tours – in addition to the officially announced tours – that can be offered and customised according to the wishes of individual companies.” For more information on Study Tours, send requests to studytours@ifra.com, and for Ifra’s other events, visit, www.ifra.com/events.

Cyril Treptow, right, of TA Media in Switzerland and project leader Jochen Dieckow during the Where NEWS? Scenario Workshop in October in Berlin.

Newsplex

Where NEWS? charts out media’s future

Dietmar Schantin, director of Newsplex, says he expects audio and video to continue to be hot topics this year for editorial, as well as reorganisation and change management, and that Newsplex offers an array of opportunities for newsroom staff to hone their skills. He says a new two-day workshop will be added to the programme, “Multiple-media newsroom simulation.”

“The idea behind it is each participant will take a certain role in a multiple-media newsroom and then a full day’s editorial coverage is played out,” he explains. “Six stories will be covered over the day, and the team has to produce pages for print, online content with audio and video and mobile alerts.” Schantin also says “Leading a creative team” will be a new topic in 2008.

Training Training Manager Bettina Werner says this year’s programme will feature the many topics that have made IFRA’s offer as dependable and practical as any in the industry, such as colour management issues or production workflow, as well as some new ones to help streamline prepress workflow. But there also will be an increased focus on the topic of newspaper design. Specifically, there will be a new programme called “Advert Design,” addressing many of the issues newspapers face today when going to more compact formats, i.e. ads are just as crucial design elements as editorial.

Membership A new fee structure is now in effect that gives smaller suppliers a better opportunity to join the IFRA family. The rates are based on the number of employees of a company, with these categories:

to take part in the challenging and creative process of developing possible scenarios in their particular markets. In the first stage, we are looking at organising further scenario development workshops in different markets, defined for instance regionally or vertically.”

The Working Group, made up of IFRA members, will hold its next meeting at the end of February, to decide on a more detailed plan. The goal for this stage of the project is to help publishers prepare for the future in a concrete and practical way. Publishers interested in taking part in the Where NEWS? workshops should get in touch with Jochen Dieckow at: dieckow@ifra.com.

As IFRA’s Where NEWS? project nears its second anniversary, it moves from research to the reality of the publishing markets. In October 2007, an extended Where NEWS? Working Group met in Berlin to take part in the first Scenario Development Workshop organised as part of the project. Publishers, suppliers and media agencies spent two creative days preparing for the future and formulating recommendations. The Scenario Development Workshop marks the beginning of the second phase of the Where NEWS? project. The first year and a half saw the publication of several scientific reports looking at technical, social, demographic and media aspects that will affect the media consumption over the coming 5-15 years. Now the project has entered the phase where it is time to try to identify what these predicted developments will mean for the newspaper publishing industry.

The results of the Scenario Development Workshop in Berlin, which focused on general media usage in 10 years time, will be published as a project report in the first quarter of this year. The plan going forward includes taking Scenario Development Workshops on the road, in order to help member companies formulate their own strategies for the future.

Says Project Leader Jochen Dieckow: “We want to give our members a chance

The following reports have been published and are available for free downloads to IFRA members. The reports can also be purchased by non-members. For more information, visit www.ifra.com/wherenews. > Business Models of Newspaper Publishing Companies > Strategy-Making in Changing Industries > The Future Development of Media and Communication Technology > Demographic and Socio-Economic Trends in North America and Europe up to 2020 > Drivers of Change in Media Channels, and > Economic and selected institutional framework conditions in North America and Europe up to 2020.

The Future Printing Technologies report will be available this quarter, along with the Workshop report.

> Supplier 1 (S1): less than 20 employees, > Supplier 3 (S3): 100-200 employees, an an annual fee of 3000 euros.

annual fee of 8000 euros.

annual fee of 5500 euros.

ees, 10,700 euros.

> Supplier 2 (S2): 20 to 100 employees, an > Supplier 4 (S4): More than 200 employ35

» www.iframagazine.com

Viewpoint

January 2008

IFRA Magazine

Amazon’s Kindle aims for full-service e-reading When Amazon finally launched the Kindle e-reader and Kindle Store at the end of November, the package immediately received a lot of attention from experts and consumers alike. The Kindle is the ereading enabler, but the truly interesting story is the service concept that Amazon is going for.

Content, ease of use, device and open platform are the four cornerstones Amazon, or anyone else going into the business of e-reading, need to get right. Have they done it? So far this is the best attempt I have seen. So let’s run through the four elements and reflect a bit. > Paid-for content. With the available content including over 90,000 books, a few newspapers and magazines plus some 100 blogs (will people pay for blogs?), the numbers are far more impressive than ever before. Compare this to the first ever launch by Sony in Japan 2004, where only 3000 books where available, and then not even the best-selling ones. The second big launch was in 2006, again by Sony, with the nice Sony Reader and 13,000 books.

Amazon has surpassed these attempts by a mile, with most top sellers in store, all nicely integrated in the traditional Amazon look and feel. It’s totally easy to browse and buy if you’ve ever used Amazon. > Ease of use is important for browsing and buying content and the Kindle device is evidently really easy to set up and start.

It’s preconfigured on delivery – when does that ever happen when you buy a computer, mobile or any other device? But the consensus among tech bloggers seems to be that for easy daily use, the Kindle is not there yet – it is not well designed, and the usability could be much better. But it is a start to build on and learn from – what functions are the critical ones to make future versions fly? > The device is often the focus of any service, for instance the iPod or a mobile phone. Rarely is the whole service food chain discussed. However, the device is important as it is the physical manifestation of the service and functionality you

Stig Nordqvist Director Business Development IFRA

Stig Nordqvist is also eNews and eRev principal at IFRA (eRev is IFRA’s new business initiative, which will run from 2008 through 2011). He holds a doctoral degree from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. He also heads special projects within the organisation.

Before joining IFRA in 2003, Nordqvist spent years involved in digital media development, global process management and IT, largely within the newspaper industry.

Do you have an opinion on this viewpoint? If so, please send it by e-mail to reader@ifra.com.

Contributions do not necessarily express the opinions of IFRA.

36

Amazon’s Kindle e-reader has more than 90,000 books available, a few newspapers and magazines, and about 100 blogs.

buy. The Kindle is not sexy enough but no doubt many people will buy it – it is better looking than any e-readers we have seen so far in the market. But it seems to be too slow and the display is too small. And it should be made water- and drop-proof. > Open platforms are key to growing the market. E-reading companies (i.e. suppliers of both devices and content) still do not understand that we live in a global community and that users act globally, live globally, share content globally and travel.

I sincerely hope that the Kindle book store will be open for me to use even if I choose to use my iRex iLiad or Sony Reader device to read e-books sold by Amazon. As long as devices or content are locked in any region, or for any specific device, ereading will not grow into a mass market.

And the consequence will inevitably be slow adoption.

So to sum up: the approach is good but the Kindle e-reader still needs improvements. However, Amazon is onto something major and should keep going – e-reading will be a Big Thing in the near future. Bear in mind that this is only the second big player going into this arena – there are many more on their way. <

» www.iframagazine.com

January 2008

IFRA Bulletin

IFRA Magazine

Events IFRA Middle East Conference IFRA’s third Middle East Conference took place in Bahrain from 20-22 November and drew participants from around the region as well as several other countries, including Poland and the United Kingdom.

What: Conference focusing on developments in the Middle East publishing market Where: Bahrain When: 20-22 November Number of participants: More than 100 Multiblog: http://www.ifra-nt.com/multiblog/mideast

IFRA’s third Middle East Conference examined newspaper publishing developments worldwide, but in particular ones dealing with the Middle East region. Among the highlights of this year’s event were: > Jehad Bin Hassan Bukamal, Bahrain’s Minister of Information, who supported the conference, urged increased competitiveness, quality and credibility of content. He expressed his wish to secure a free and responsible press. > Maryam Bin Fahad, executive director, Dubai Press Club (UAE), presented the most recent analysis of Arab media devel-

opments. A key message: Think globally.

Convergence is creating major changes. > Hazem Galal, Partner Advisory Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers (UAE), provided details for the six markets that were not included in the Arab Media Outlook. > Saad Al-Dossary, printing complex director of Dar Al-Yaum in Saudi Arabia,

demonstrated methods for improving printing performance. > Executive General Manager Ahmad Al Hammadi explained how Arab Media Group/Awraq Publishing (UAE) transformed itself from a state-run publishing house to a private company, following developments worldwide to help the process.

6 – 7 February 2008, IFRA Newsplex Training Centre, Darmstadt, (near Frankfurt/M.), Germany

Multimedia Storytelling This workshop is predominantly interactive, including discussion and practical exercises in audio and video production.

Exploiting the opportunities of digital media to enhance your print stories

> Identify the storytelling methods. > Identify the general trends and changes to news and media consumption. > Identify the strengths and weaknesses of storytelling methods. > Create basic audio content for the Web. > Create basic video content for the Web.

Contact: IFRA Training Washingtonplatz 1 64287 Darmstadt Germany Tel. +49.6151.733-6 grumann@ifra.com

More information and registration at www.ifra.com/newsplex-training

» www.iframagazine.com

IFRA Bulletin

IFRA Magazine

January 2008

The IFRA Board represents the global nature of IFRA, its members and the industry. At IfraExpo 2007 in Vienna, IFRA’s annual General Assembly culminated with the election of four new members to the IFRA Board. Here we present our Board for 2008.

IFRA Board active around the world VICE PRESIDENT Kevin Beatty Group Managing Director Associated Newspapers Ltd London, United Kingdom Board member since 2003

(3278)

Phillip Crawley

Terry Grote

Publisher and CEO

Managing Director

The Globe and Mail

Independent News & Media Ltd.

Toronto, Canada

London, United Kingdom

Board member since 2002

(3275)

Board member since 2004

(3279)

Ne w

Jan de Roos Chairman of the Board NDC / VBK de uitgevers Leeuwarden, The Netherlands Board member since 2007

(5235)

Ne w

Luc Rademakers General Manager, Newspapers Concentra Media NV Hasselt, Belgium Board member since 2007

(5234)

Mark S. Mikolajczyk

Iñaki Arechabaleta Torróntegui

President and Publisher

Director for Local Markets

Florida Today

Vocento S.A.

Melbourne, Florida, U.S.A. Board member since 2006

Zamudio, Spain (3276)

Board member since 2006

(3282)

Gérard Démocrate Chairman of the Board SPPP - Société professionnelle des papiers de presse – Paris, France Board member since 2004

Rodolfo Álvarez Rapaport

Martin Kall

Vice President of Operations

CEO

Empresa El Mercurio S.A.P.

Tamedia AG

Santiago, Chile

Zurich, Switzerland

Board member since 2005

38

(3277)

Board member since 2003

(3283)

(3284)

» www.iframagazine.com

IFRA Bulletin

IFRA Magazine

January 2008

Enter (Article Direct Link) numbers online » For biographical information on Board members, see (four digit number) in each box

Mikäel Pentikäinen

TREASURER Tore Stangebye

President Sanoma Corporation Sanoma WSOY Group Sanomat, Finland

CEO Berner Gruppen AS Oslo, Norway Board member since 2001

(3286)

Board member since 2006

Ne w

Kalle Jungkvist

(3290)

Editor in Chief Aftonbladet Nya Medier AB Stockholm, Sweden Board member since 2007

w

Ne

Tobias Trevisan

(5233)

Spokesman for the (FAZ) Board Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH Frankfurt am Main, Germany Board member since 2007

(5208)

Pichai Chuensuksawadi

SECRETARY Reiner Mittelbach

Editor in Chief

CEO IFRA Darmstadt, Germany

The Post Publishing Public Co Ltd

Board member since 2001

Bangkok, Thailand (3293)

Board member since 2004

Mohamed K. Alayyan Owner & CEO Jordan United Press Amman, Jordan Board member since 2006

(3287)

K.N. Shanth Kumar

PRESIDENT Horst Pirker

Director

Chairman of the Board of Styria Medien AG, Graz, and Publisher of Die Presse

The Printers (Mysore) Pvt. Ltd.

Graz, Austria Board member since 1999

(3288)

Bangalore, India Board member since 2004

39

(3294)

(3295)

» www.iframagazine.com

Website Features

January 2008

IFRA Magazine

How to use www.iframagazine.com

The portal IFRA Magazine’s portal is the online entrance to rich and constantly updated content provided by IFRA’s editors, analysts, correspondents and guest writers. From here, you can go to any of the topical microsites created as part of our monthly FOCUS reports in the print component of the magazine. You can also get the latest news between print editions and interact with our editorial staff on any subject. IFRA Magazine is the only publishing industry trade publication in the world with an international scope and multilingual delivery.

The entire site is specially designed with the user in mind, featuring non-scrolling pages that ensure all the information you need is on your screen.

The four most recent IFRA Magazine FOCUS topics are highlighted in the photo strip for quick and easy access.

Each monthly issue of the magazine features a multicomponent, multinational, multiviewpoint, multimedia report on an issue of urgent concern to newsmedia publishers.

The content menu provides access to continually expanding information and resource offerings, including the latest NewsGear® technology recommendations for advanced multimedia journalists, advertising opportunities, magazine archives and subscription offers.

Click on the IFRA logo to be taken to our corporate website for access to complete information about IFRA research, events, consulting, expo, membership and other activities. IFRA, the global research and service organisation for the news publishing industry.

Click here for a list of all FOCUS topics and more information about each report. Clicking on one of the FOCUS listings will take you to that topical microsite.

The print component of IFRA Magazine serves as a directory to all the digital content available to our readers at www.iframagazine.com. At the top of most print pages, under the blue www. iframagazine.com flag, editors provide a listing of expanded analysis, resource material, multimedia, downloads, contact information and other links that are part of their coverage, along with a Direct Link number to access that material without any need to search, click or navigate through multiple levels of the site. Enter any Direct Link here and click the arrow to immediately access that resource.

IFRA Magazine is the only publishing industry trade publication in the world delivered in your choice of multiple languages, translated by IFRA’s corps of specialist translation editors. Click here to set your language preference to English, French, German or Spanish. Cookies must be enabled on your browser. We make an effort to translate as much content on iframagazine. com as possible but not everything will be immediately available in every language. If you request material that is not available in your preferred language, an alternative language version might be offered, or the content might not be displayed. Please e-mail us at reader@ifra.com with any specific requests or suggestions.

Check the Breaking News box frequently to stay abreast of special announcements and offerings available only through IFRA Magazine and www. iframagazine.com.

Many of the leading minds in the newsmedia industry read and contribute to IFRA Magazine. Click here to read their Viewpoint columns and the complete transcripts of their conversations with our editors.

Click here to access the IFRA Magazine weblog. IFRA’s Executive News Service and IFRA Magazine’s editors are constantly updating the ntWeblog with the latest in publishing industry news and their expanded analysis of important developments.

Click here to access our database of press releases provided to IFRA directly by all of the industry’s most significant suppliers. The list of Industry Updates is provided in multiple languages. Suppliers can input their releases directly at www.iframagazine.com/pressrelease.

www.iframagazine.com features Internet Advertising Bureau standard display spaces – half and full banner – that are always visible to users because of the site’s special non-scrolling design.

For advertising rates and opportunities, e-mail ads@ifra.com.

www.iframagazine.com was specially designed for IFRA by Morris DigitalWorks using some of the most sophisticated online technologies available, including Cascading Style Sheets, multi-column formatting JavaScript, and many innovations derived from the groundbreaking Eyetrack III news website user study released by The Poynter Institute, the Estlow Center for Journalism & New Media, and Eyetools. Morris DigitalWorks provided much of the test site design for the Eyetrack project.

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» www.iframagazine.com

January 2008

Website Features

IFRA Magazine

How to use www.iframagazine.com

The microsites IFRA Magazine is a thoroughly integrated print-digital publication. Each monthly issue of the magazine features a multicomponent, multinational, multiviewpoint, multimedia FOCUS report on an issue of urgent concern to newsmedia publishers. And each month, editors create a completely new and completely self-standing microsite to serve as a resource related to that FOCUS topic. The eight graphically-enhanced pages in print provide the most significant and concise analysis, while the topic microsite provides all the expanded discussion, links, contacts, downloads, updates and other material that our readers look for and expect from the leading international magazine for newspaper strategy, business and technology.

The latest update is always indicated here.

Click here to easily access any of the other IFRA Magazine FOCUS topic microsites.

Click here to immediately go to the IFRA Magazine portal page.

Click on the IFRA logo to be taken to our corporate website for access to complete information about IFRA research, events, consulting, expo, membership and other activities. IFRA, the global research and service organisation for the news publishing industry.

This is the content area for the microsite. On the home page, it displays a concise executive summary about the topic being covered in this report. All content is displayed such that it can be viewed without scrolling long pages, and on average size monitors. The presentation also automatically adapts when the site is accessed by a user on an Internet-enabled mobile phone or other small-screen device.

Quick links at the bottom of each microsite page provide fast access to information about the topic. You can also use these links to contact the IFRA Magazine staff, and to immediately return to the microsite’s executive summary home page.

www.iframagazine.com features Internet Advertising Bureau standard display spaces – half and full banner – that are always visible to users because of the site’s special non-scrolling design.

For advertising rates and opportunities, e-mail ads@ifra.com.

www.iframagazine. com uses a non-scrolling design that fits on the vast majority of user’s computer screens at 800x600 or higher resolution. The non-scrolling design has been shown by the Eyetrack III news website user study to be preferred by users and ensures all content is visible.

The location of all primary content on the left of the page also benefits from Eyetrack research that has identified the “Golden Triangle” of where online users look most on any web page, as depicted in this “hot-spot” Eyetrack illustration. www.iframagazine.com was designed for IFRA by Morris DigitalWorks, which provided much of the test site design for the Eyetrack project.

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An innovation in website design, the microsite’s right rail provides users with a self-contained, non-scrolling combination navigation menu, site map and incremented index. In this one presentation, a user can see all the types of content available on the topical site, and can jump back and forth to any item by clicking the desired heading.

• Expanded Articles – Additional and expanded sections of articles published in the FOCUS section, as well as further material not appearing in print.

• Updates – The latest news related to the microsite’s topic, updated by IFRA Magazine’s editors and IFRA’s Executive News Service.

• Viewpoints – Viewpoint columns and the complete transcripts of interviews with experts in the field.

• Discussion – Interact with IFRA Magazine editors and other readers interested in the microsite’s topic.

• Multimedia – Direct access to interactive and multimedia resources.

• Downloads – Direct access to samples and other downloadable files.

• People – Contact information for resource experts and advisers.

• Links – A list of live links to sites and resources for this topic.

• Direct Link – The print component of IFRA Magazine serves as a directory to all the digital content available at www.iframagazine.com. At the top of most pages, under the blue www.iframagazine.com flag, editors provide a listing of expanded materials that are part of the coverage, along with a Direct Link number to quickly access the material. Enter any Direct Link here and click the arrow to access the article or resource.

» www.iframagazine.com

ePaper Features

January 2008

IFRA Magazine

How to read ePaper IFRA Magazine uses advanced Flash-based, on-screen ePaper technology that leverages the traditional page-turning reading experience for maximum impact, effectiveness and ease of use for our digital readers. The articles, photos, information graphics, advertisements and overall presentation are exactly the same as in the paper-delivered copies of the magazine. The ePaper version can either be read online with an active Internet connection, or be downloaded to most computers as a standalone application for offline use. ePaper subscribers are e-mailed a link each month immediately when new issues become available. Sample issues are accessible at www.iframagazine.com/epaper_sample.

The CONTENTS button displays a popup interactive table of contents. Click an article title to turn directly to that page.

Use the TOOLS menu to access special ePaper functions and to customise your reading experience.

• Thumbnails – Navigate through the issue visually by clicking on small page images.

• Bookmarks – Set or delete your own bookmarks to keep track of what interests you or just to mark your place.

• Notes – Add personal memos to particular articles or pages.

• Send – E-mail someone a link to this issue or a particular article. (This feature may be located in the button bar for some language versions of ePaper.)

• Effects – Control page-turning animations, sound effects, centre shadow and page zoom settings.

ZOOM, PAGE VIEW and magnifier buttons help control how pages are presented on screen. The default zoom setting makes the page the same size as it would be if you were reading it on paper. Switch to a 1-page view if you use a tablet PC or a portrait display.

Drag a digital magnifying glass around to look more closely at something without zooming the entire page.

Type a number in the page box to turn quickly to that page. Use the blue arrows to turn one page in either direction. Use the double arrows to turn to the front or back cover.

Full-text SEARCH will find any word or phrase. The scrolling results list displays all instances in context. Click on an entry to turn directly to that page.

Use the PRINT button to print pages.

The normal print menu or command in your browser will not print properly.

To read an ePaper issue offline, click SAVE to download a self-contained executable file that will work on any Windows, Macintosh or Linux computer.

Open the file while connected to the Internet to validate it the first time it is used. Downloaded copies will not update with any new content added later to the online ePaper issue.

Click HELP for comprehensive interactive instructions on all ePaper features.

Not only can the LINK feature e-mail a page to someone but it can also create a bookmark in your Internet browser or create a post in one of several social networking sites such as del.icio.us and Digg.

Quickly zoom in on the page just by clicking on it anywhere with the finger cursor, and zoom back to full-page view by clicking again.

Check this box to save your logon and password for automatic access the next time this issue is opened.

Your e-mail address is your logon ID. Your password is issued at the time of your subscription. If you lose or forget your password, e-mail subscriptions@ ifra.com.

Click on the page curl at the bottom right and left corners to turn the pages forward and backward. With the ePaper’s default page-flipping animation, the effect is realistically like thumbing through the issue in paper.

Immediately after a page opens, all the embedded hot links briefly flash red.

They will also turn red when your finger cursor is over them. Click a hot link to load that URL in your default Internet browser (if online) or to e-mail that address in your default e-mail program.

Hot links can take you directly from an article to the related resource material on the IFRA Magazine website.

IFRA Magazine’s ePaper can be accessed online with any web browser using the free Flash plug-in, and can be downloaded for offline reading on Windows, Macintosh and Linux computers. Digital rights management limits the number of different IP addresses and/or computers that can access any single subscription. There may also be limits on printing the issue and on the number of times a subscriber can e-mail guest access to someone else. DRM settings can be adjusted on request. ePaper subscriptions to IFRA Magazine are provided without charge to all current employees of companies that are members of IFRA or of one of its partners – NAA, PANPA and GIPP. Occasional issues of the magazine throughout the year are also made available to the general industry without a registration requirement. Paid annual subscriptions cost 79 EUR or 95 USD. E-mail subscriptions@ifra.com for more information.

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29 och 30 januari 2008 · Quality Globe Hotel, Stockholm

DagsVara 2008

Missa inte DagsVara 2008 – en av de största konferenserna för mediebranschen inom affär och teknik!

Sponsorer

På programmet > Mobila tjänster – innehåll och affär > Annonsering i flera medier > Samarbeten i mediebranschen > Bildflöden > Flerkanalspublicering – strategier och praktik Anmäl dig på

www.ifra.com/dagsvara Tidig anmälan fram till den 14 december!

» www.iframagazine.com

IFRA Bulletin

January 2008

IFRA Magazine

Calendar of IFRA events

> Events Throughout the year, there are several opportunities to attend an IFRA event in your region.

For more details, contact: Heide Orlich, director of events E-mail: orlich@ifra.com Telephone: +49.6151.733-733

2008 January 13-19 . . . . . .

IFRA Study Tour: Multimedia Newsrooms in Europe (English) Europe

January 20-24 . . . . . .

> Membership

Leaders 2007 (Module III) (IFRA / WAN / SIMI programme / English) Copenhagen, Denmark

IFRA offers its members and the industry an array of services and networking possibilities.

For more details, contact: Mechthild Schimpf, director of membership E-mail: schimpf@ifra.com Telephone: +49.6151.733-750

January 29-30 . . . . . .

DagsVara 2008 (IFRA Sweden / Swedish) Stockholm, Sweden

February 10-16 . . . . . .

IFRA Study Tour: Newspaper Ventures in India (English) India

February 27-28 . . . . . .

> Research

Printing Cost Calulations model (IFRA training, English) Darmstadt

IFRA conducts research projects for all aspects of the business. For current research projects, visit IFRA’s website (www.ifra.com), then go to “research.”

For more details, contact: Manfred Werfel, director of research E-mail: werfel@ifra.com Telephone: +49.6151.733-763

February 28-29 . . . . . .

7th International Newsroom Summit (IFRA conference / English*, Spanish*) Madrid, Spain Multiblog: iframagazine.com/newsroom_08

April 2-3 . . . . . . . . . . .

Publish Asia 2008 (IFRA conference / English) Macau, China Multiblog: iframagazine.com/publishasia_08

April 6-12 . . . . . . . . . .

> Expo

IFRA Study Tour: Possibilities and Growth in the U.S.A. (English) U.S.A.

IFRA Expo has long been considered THE annual international exhibition for the newspaper industry.

For more information, contact: Michael Heipel, director of exhibitions E-mail: heipel@ifra.com Telephone: +49.6151.733-781

April 24-25 . . . . . . . . .

News in Printing 2008 (IFRA conference / English, other languages optional) Copenhagen, Denmark

May 15-16 . . . . . . . . .

Managing Distribution (IFRA / dnv conference / English*, German*) Munich, Germany

May 20 . . . . . . . . . . . .

Digital Trend Day (IFRA / INMA conference / English) Amsterdam, The Netherlands Multiblog: iframagazine.com/digitaltrend_08

> Advisory Services IFRA offers an array of advisory services:

June 18-19 . . . . . . . . .

IFRA Italia 2008 (IFRA / FIEG / ASIG / English*, Italian*) Sirmione, Italy

> IFRA Newsplex Dietmar Schantin, director of Newsplex E-mail: schantin@ifra.com Telephone: +49.6151.733-760

June 23-26 . . . . . . . . .

> iMedia

September 17-18 . . . .

IFRA Forum at PublishingExpo Moscow 2008 (IFRA / GIPP / English*, Russian*) Moscow, Russia Multiblog: iframagazine.com/expo_russia

IFRA India 2008 (IFRA conference / English) Mumbai, India Multiblog: iframagazine.com/ifraindia_08

> Melanie Walker E-mail: melanie.walker@imediaadvisory.com Telephone: +353 (0) 1.284.9619 > In Europe, contact Jim Chisholm E-mail: Jim.chisholm@imediaadvisory.com > In Asia/Pacific, Allan Marshall E-mail: Allan.marshall@imediaadvisory.com

October 9-10 . . . . . . .

Business Models for Newspaper Publishers (IFRA conference / English*, Italian*) Rome, Italy

October 27-30 . . . . . .

IFRA Expo – The annual event of the newspaper industry (IFRA exhibition and conferences) Amsterdam, The Netherlands Multiblog: iframagazine.com/ifraexpo_08

> Training IFRA offers a wide range of practical training services across the entire publishing process, from journalism skills to print and online production to pre-press.

For more information, contact: Bettina Werner, training manager werner@ifra.com

November 20-21 . . . .

Beyond the Printed Word (IFRA conference / English*, German*, French*, Spanish*), Budapest, Hungary Multiblog: iframagazine.com/beyond_08

* For all conferences marked, simultaneous translation is provided. For further information please contact: IFRA Events Department, Washingtonplatz, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany, Tel. +49.6151.733-6, e-mail: events@ifra.com

44

28 – 29 February 2008, Madrid

7th International Newsroom Summit

Topics will include:

For further information please contact IFRA · Washingtonplatz 1 · 64287 Darmstadt · Germany Phone +49.6151.733-6 · Fax +49.6151.733-832 E-mail events@ifra.com

www.ifra.com/events

> > > >

Strategies for convergence Case studies of successful newsrooms Understand your audience Tools for convergence

Do not miss this opportunity to learn about how your newsroom can succeed in the digital age!

Register online for the earlybird rate until 1 February 2008!

» www.iframagazine.com

IFRA Bulletin

> IFRA Magazine is published monthly in English, French, German, Russian and Spanish, and quarterly in Chinese.

Chief Executive Officer: Reiner Mittelbach Director of Publications: Kerry J. Northrup Editor in Chief: Dean Roper Deputy Editor (French): Valérie Arnould Deputy Editor (Spanish): Mari Pascual Senior Editors: Charlotte Janischewski (German) and Brian Veseling (English) Correspondents: Cecilia Campbell, Jim Chisholm, Juan Antonio Giner, Caryl Holland, Constantine Kamaras, Steve Shipside, Christian Pradel (graphics), Francesc Jubany (translation) Translation Services Manager: Birgit Becker Translation Editors: Cecilia Barbier, Sylvie Bier, Paul Callaghan, Solange Domisse, María Gómez, Regina Hansen, Delphine Theophanides, Petra Warmuth Administrative Coordinator: Iris von der Marwitz Print Publishing Manager: Stephan Leiß Digital Publishing Manager: Anton Jolkovski Sales: Bettina Damnig, Nicole Stummer, Christoph Schmid E-mail news: editor@ifra.com Telephone: +49.6151.7336 Art Director: Gordon Steiger Copyright 2008 IFRA, Washingtonplatz 1, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany All rights reserved. Republication or duplication of any article, picture or graphic contained in the print issue or of any material posted on www.iframagazine.com is prohibited without permission. Contact Dean Roper (roper@ifra.com).

No responsibility can be assumed for unsolicited manuscripts. Signed contributions do not necessarily express the opinion of the editor.

For reprints contact Bettina Damnig (damnig@ifra.com) Printed in Germany by Druckerei Lokay.

Technology support for IFRA Magazine is provided by and compensation paid to: Adobe, and NewPress.

IFRA Magazine

January 2008

> Advertisements in IFRA Magazine – January 2008 Agfa Graphics NV

Lincoln GmbH

17

AirLoc Schrepfer AG

13

5

Pressmart Media Limited

48

Baldwin Technology Company

19

TKS Tokyo Kikai Seisakusho Ltd.

33

EMSYS Paper Tracing

11

Tolerans AB

20

Ferag AG

25

WIFAG Maschinenfabrik AG

27

Goss International IDAB WAMAC International AB

9

Woodwing

2

21

> Subscription-Service Telephone: +49.6151.733-791; Fax: +49.6151.733-800; E-mail: subscriptions@ifra.com Subscription fees (11 issues yearly)

Packaging and processing

Paper

Annual subscription

Germany

Europe

Airmail

Members

No charge for subscriptions allocated with membership.

Additional copies EUR 71 + packaging and processing.

Non-members

EUR 71 plus packaging and processing Annual subscription

EUR 30 plus VAT where

EUR 65 applicable

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ePaper

Annual subscription

Members

No charge

Non-members

EUR 79 (plus VAT where applicable)

> Advertising IFRA Magazine offers a variety of ad possibilities and exposure to an international audience.

Bettina Damnig Advertising and Circulation Manager: Telephone: +49.6151.733-783 E-mail: damnig@ifra.com

Nicole Stummer Advertising Executive: Telephone: +49.6151.733-785 E-mail: stummer@ifra.com

E-mail: ads@ifra.com; Fax: +49.6151.733-782 Advertising rates and general terms and conditions published in Media Information 2008 are applicable.

Please check for details on www.iframagazine.com.

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IFRA Magazine

February 2008

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> The mechanics of search IFRA updates its readers on search services and search technology development of importance to news publishers, with an eye on exactly how a local newspaper can tap into this burgeoning area of user interaction, and what to watch out for in the new alliances with the big search engines.

10 – 16 February 2008

Newspaper ventures in India Success stories from the tiger’s continent

Focussing on

For further information please contact:

> Multimedia journalism >Mobile initiatives >Attracting young readers >Opportunities in interactivity

Christianne Schmidt Business Development Manager (Events) IFRA · Washingtonplatz 1 · 64287 Darmstadt · Germany Phone +49.6151.733-6 · Fax +49.6151.733-832 E-mail studytours@ifra.com

Keep up with the rapid change in the newspaper publishing industry and visit India’s largest and most dynamic newspaper companies in

Programme details and registration at:

> Delhi, > Kanpur, > Mumbai, > Cochin and > Chennai.

www.ifra.com/studytours