Saturday, July 08, 2006
SF Examiner loses editor after 7 months
For the third time in two years, Phil Anschutz's San Francisco Examiner is in transition between editors. Malcolm Kirk, who was named executive editor of the San Francisco Examiner in December, has left the free daily and is returning to Canada. CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc. announced today (July 7) that Kirk has been appointed publisher of the Calgary Herald. Kirk served as editor-in-chief of the Calgary newspaper from 2003 until 2006 and has experience at several of CanWest's other newspapers, including the Vancouver Province and the Montreal Gazette, the company said. In San Francisco, Kirk had replaced Vivienne Sosnowski, who was executive editor of the Examiner for 17 months before being transferred to the Washington, D.C., Examiner. No word from the Examiner on why Kirk left or who will replace him.
Examiner's dress code - no denim or minis
At the struggling Washington Examiner, one would think they'd have more important things to worry about than dress codes. The paper, after a big start, seems to be losing advertisers every week and it appears the paper has never developed a regular readership. But apparently, according to www.wonkette.com, management has issued a dress code after Executive Editor Viviene Sosnowski showed up in a torn denim mini-skirt and studded collar. Highlights:
• Dress hem lines cannot be higher than 3 inches above the knee.
• Any type of denim or material resembling denim is inappropriate.
• No khaki- or Docker-style pants.
• "Bras, sport bras, tank tops, etc. (must be fully covered by clothing)"
• "Clothing is not to be overly tight nor draw undue attention to ones [sic] self"
"Employees violating the code may be sent home, without pay, to change and may be subject to disciplinary actions up to and including termination. Employees are also reminded that it is your responsibility to keep your work area clean. Papers are not to be stockpiled, work information is to be put away daily, excessive trash must be removed. If you see papers on the floor in your area or common areas, take the minute necessary to pick it [sic] up and throw it away or straighten it up. Employees are not to eat meals at desks or in work areas. All locations have break rooms! Do not keep food at your desk or store food in your work area."
Let's hope the memo, with all of its grammatical errors, wasn't written by anyone in editorial.
• Dress hem lines cannot be higher than 3 inches above the knee.
• Any type of denim or material resembling denim is inappropriate.
• No khaki- or Docker-style pants.
• "Bras, sport bras, tank tops, etc. (must be fully covered by clothing)"
• "Clothing is not to be overly tight nor draw undue attention to ones [sic] self"
"Employees violating the code may be sent home, without pay, to change and may be subject to disciplinary actions up to and including termination. Employees are also reminded that it is your responsibility to keep your work area clean. Papers are not to be stockpiled, work information is to be put away daily, excessive trash must be removed. If you see papers on the floor in your area or common areas, take the minute necessary to pick it [sic] up and throw it away or straighten it up. Employees are not to eat meals at desks or in work areas. All locations have break rooms! Do not keep food at your desk or store food in your work area."
Let's hope the memo, with all of its grammatical errors, wasn't written by anyone in editorial.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
New free daily launches on Florida island
A newspaper war has erupted on Marco Island, a community of 15,858 south of Naples on Florida's west coast. The island has two weekly newspapers, the Sun Times and the Marco Eagle. On June 5, the Ft. Myers News-Press acquired the Sun Times. Possibly in response to that move, the other weekly, the E.W. Scripps-owned Marco Eagle has become a free daily and changed its name to the Marco Daily Eagle. Scripps also owns the nearby Naples Daily News, so it is likely that the free daily was a preemptive move to keep the Ft. Myers paper from launching a free daily on the island. The new daily's editor is Tom Rife, who was at the Naples paper for 31 years as sports editor and then became a high school teacher.
169 free dailies in 2005; 27.9 million circ
The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) reports that there were 169 free daily newspapers in 2005 with a combined circulation of 27.9 million daily. WAN said 18.6 million of that circulation was in Europe.
In Spain, free daily distribution represents a huge 51 percent of the market; in Portugal 33 percent; in Denmark 32 percent, and in Italy, 29 percent.
Free dailies represent 6 percent of the world's daily newspaper circulation of 464 million, according to WAN.
In Spain, free daily distribution represents a huge 51 percent of the market; in Portugal 33 percent; in Denmark 32 percent, and in Italy, 29 percent.
Free dailies represent 6 percent of the world's daily newspaper circulation of 464 million, according to WAN.
Paid chain feels heat from free papers
In Canada, the parent company of five paid tabloid dailies, Quebecor Inc., has announced that it will cut 120 editorial jobs in an effort to save $4.6 milllion (Canadian) due to competition from free dailies. "The company has lost readership amid the rise of free commuter papers in several cities, including a significant erosion at its flagship daily, the Toronto Sun," the Globe and Mail says in this story.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
What a PR machine Metro must have
Here's a link to one of the most inaccurate articles we've seen on the concept of free daily newspapers. The article in Media Life magazine makes the ludicrous claim that Metro brought the concept to the United States and caused a revolution.
Long before Metro arrived in the U.S. in 2000, free dailies were booming in Colorado. The first started in 1972 when the Colorado Daily, then a student newspaper at the University of Colorado, was kicked off of campus by the school's regents over the paper's views on the Vietnam War. It became a community newspaper, albeit a very left-wing community paper, serving Boulder, a very left-wing town.
The Colorado Daily -- a free tabloid distributed in stores, restaurants, workplaces and schools -- became a model that within a decade was being replicated in Aspen and Vail. By the 1980s, more free dailies popped up in Colorado -- in Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs and Glenwood Springs. A second started in Aspen. In the 1990s, more started in Telluride, Grand Junction and Denver.
In 1995, some free daily newspaper people from Colorado went to Northern California and started the Palo Alto Daily News.
The Palo Alto Daily News was profitable within 9 months and became a model for other free dailies. Unlike the Colorado Daily, the Palo Alto Daily had more of a centrist approach to the news. The Palo Alto paper also developed a stunningly broad advertising base, with a large number of small ads (quarter page or smaller) filling as many as 120 pages per day.
Within 10 years, the Palo Alto paper had spun off separate editions in Redwood City, San Mateo, Burlingame and Los Gatos.
Its growth apparently was a concern at the long-established San Jose Mercury News, 12 miles south of Palo Alto. The parent company of the Mercury News, Knight Ridder, purchased the Palo Alto paper in 2005. The price was not disclosed. But the sale occurred just months before the Knight Ridder chain came under attack by some of its shareholders, who demanded that the company's assets be sold to the highest bidder.
Getting back to this piece in MediaLife -- the author talks about how Metro is growing, but devotes just one sentence to the important issue of profitability. In New York, it's doubtful Metro is making any money, however another free daily not mentioned in the article, AM New York, is on the verge of profitability, according to hints dropped by parent company Tribune Co., and might even be in the black by now.
This story in MediaLife also incorrectly claims that Phil Anschutz, owner of the San Francisco Examiner, got the idea of going to a free tabloid from Metro.
First, Anschutz bought the Examiner a year after it was converted from a broadsheet to a free tabloid. Second, when the previous owners, the Fang Family, converted the paper to a free tab, they said they were doing it based on the success of the Palo Alto Daily News, which is about 30 miles south of San Francisco. They didn't mention Metro.
This MediaLife story isn't the only article to make that error. See the second part of this correction in the Washington Post.
The next time somebody writes about free dailies, they should do a better job researching the history and not accept the claims Metro's PR machine apparently is churning out.
Long before Metro arrived in the U.S. in 2000, free dailies were booming in Colorado. The first started in 1972 when the Colorado Daily, then a student newspaper at the University of Colorado, was kicked off of campus by the school's regents over the paper's views on the Vietnam War. It became a community newspaper, albeit a very left-wing community paper, serving Boulder, a very left-wing town.
The Colorado Daily -- a free tabloid distributed in stores, restaurants, workplaces and schools -- became a model that within a decade was being replicated in Aspen and Vail. By the 1980s, more free dailies popped up in Colorado -- in Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs and Glenwood Springs. A second started in Aspen. In the 1990s, more started in Telluride, Grand Junction and Denver.
In 1995, some free daily newspaper people from Colorado went to Northern California and started the Palo Alto Daily News.
The Palo Alto Daily News was profitable within 9 months and became a model for other free dailies. Unlike the Colorado Daily, the Palo Alto Daily had more of a centrist approach to the news. The Palo Alto paper also developed a stunningly broad advertising base, with a large number of small ads (quarter page or smaller) filling as many as 120 pages per day.
Within 10 years, the Palo Alto paper had spun off separate editions in Redwood City, San Mateo, Burlingame and Los Gatos.
Its growth apparently was a concern at the long-established San Jose Mercury News, 12 miles south of Palo Alto. The parent company of the Mercury News, Knight Ridder, purchased the Palo Alto paper in 2005. The price was not disclosed. But the sale occurred just months before the Knight Ridder chain came under attack by some of its shareholders, who demanded that the company's assets be sold to the highest bidder.
- (As of this writing (June 20), it is believed that the Palo Alto Daily will be sold on June 27 to the McClatchy Co., which has agreed to sell it to MediaNews (the parent of the Denver Post). The McClatchy-MediaNews transaction is being held up by the Department of Justice, which is conducting an antitrust review to see if MediaNews will have too many newspapers in Northern California if the transaction occurs.)
Getting back to this piece in MediaLife -- the author talks about how Metro is growing, but devotes just one sentence to the important issue of profitability. In New York, it's doubtful Metro is making any money, however another free daily not mentioned in the article, AM New York, is on the verge of profitability, according to hints dropped by parent company Tribune Co., and might even be in the black by now.
This story in MediaLife also incorrectly claims that Phil Anschutz, owner of the San Francisco Examiner, got the idea of going to a free tabloid from Metro.
First, Anschutz bought the Examiner a year after it was converted from a broadsheet to a free tabloid. Second, when the previous owners, the Fang Family, converted the paper to a free tab, they said they were doing it based on the success of the Palo Alto Daily News, which is about 30 miles south of San Francisco. They didn't mention Metro.
This MediaLife story isn't the only article to make that error. See the second part of this correction in the Washington Post.
The next time somebody writes about free dailies, they should do a better job researching the history and not accept the claims Metro's PR machine apparently is churning out.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
NY Times to use Metro for classifieds
The New York Times, which wants to reach younger consumers who may not read traditional newspapers, has reached a deal to have Metro International carry some of its classifieds in its free daily New York edition. The deal covers classifieds for employment, real estate, automotive and merchandise. The two companies will share revenues, but financial details were not disclosed. The two publications have a combined readership on weekdays of 2.2 million in the New York area, the Times said.
The Times points out that the difference in readership between the two publications appears to be more in terms of reading habits than demographics. The average age of readers of Metro New York is 36 and their household income is $87,000. The Times average age was 43.7 with a household income of $88,500.
The Times points out that the difference in readership between the two publications appears to be more in terms of reading habits than demographics. The average age of readers of Metro New York is 36 and their household income is $87,000. The Times average age was 43.7 with a household income of $88,500.
Friday, June 02, 2006
Nashville free daily hires new publisher
Nashville's free daily, The City Paper, announced Friday (June 2) that it has hired the publisher of that town's alt-weekly as its publisher. Albie Del Favero, 52, who has been with the Nashville Scene for 17 years, starts Monday at The City Paper. Interim Publisher Jim Ezzell -- CFO of Thompson Machinery Commerce Corp., one of The City Paper's shareholders -- led the free daily for the last 23 months while owners hunted for a new publisher. The City Paper was founded Nov. 1, 2000 by local businessman Brian Brown, who stepped down as publisher on March 2, 2004. A replacement, Tom Larimer, lasted about six months. Then Ezzell stepped in as interim publisher.
“Free circulation daily newspapers and their Web sites are the future of print journalism and the daily newspaper industry,” Del Favero said. “The City Paper has been ahead of the curve since it was founded, but now is in the right place at the right time to become one of the next major success stories in American newspapers.”
Said Clint Brewer, The City Paper's executive editor: “Albie’s track record speaks for itself. He understands the importance of quality journalism to a community, and I look forward to working with him to make The City Paper Nashville’s true daily newspaper.”
• Wikipedia entry on The City Paper
• The City Paper's Web site
“Free circulation daily newspapers and their Web sites are the future of print journalism and the daily newspaper industry,” Del Favero said. “The City Paper has been ahead of the curve since it was founded, but now is in the right place at the right time to become one of the next major success stories in American newspapers.”
Said Clint Brewer, The City Paper's executive editor: “Albie’s track record speaks for itself. He understands the importance of quality journalism to a community, and I look forward to working with him to make The City Paper Nashville’s true daily newspaper.”
• Wikipedia entry on The City Paper
• The City Paper's Web site
Weekly in British Columbia to open free daily
The 99-year-old weekly newspaper in the British Columbia ski resort of Smithers, The Interior News, is opening a free daily newspaper on Monday (June 5), to be called The Northern Daily. "The Northern Daily distribution will be targeted, saturating the business district and made available at coffee shops, restaurants, major food outlets and other high traffic areas," said a story appearing in the Interior News. While the weekly Interior News contains only locally-generated copy, the new Northern Daily will use both local copy and stories from Reuters.
Free dailies can be found in all of the large Colorado ski resort towns. In the case of Vail, the weekly paper was unable to compete with the daily that started in 1984. Last year the weekly Vail Trail was sold to the owners of the Vail Daily, Swift Newspapers. In Aspen, a free daily began there in 1979, and for a while it began cut into the business of the successful Aspen Times weekly. In 1989, an employee from the Aspen Daily News, Dave Price, jumped to the Aspen Times and created a daily newspaper. For many years, The Aspen Times had both a weekly and daily edition, and the daily edition grew larger than the incumbent Aspen Daily News. In Steamboat Springs, Colo., the owner of the weekly, seeing what had happened in Aspen and Vail, started his own daily.
Free dailies can be found in all of the large Colorado ski resort towns. In the case of Vail, the weekly paper was unable to compete with the daily that started in 1984. Last year the weekly Vail Trail was sold to the owners of the Vail Daily, Swift Newspapers. In Aspen, a free daily began there in 1979, and for a while it began cut into the business of the successful Aspen Times weekly. In 1989, an employee from the Aspen Daily News, Dave Price, jumped to the Aspen Times and created a daily newspaper. For many years, The Aspen Times had both a weekly and daily edition, and the daily edition grew larger than the incumbent Aspen Daily News. In Steamboat Springs, Colo., the owner of the weekly, seeing what had happened in Aspen and Vail, started his own daily.
Danish daily goes tab as 2 free dailies open
Denmark's Berlingske Tidende newspaper, one of Europe's oldest dailies, is switching from broadsheet to tabloid in August as two new free dailies are about to open, according to the AP. Icelandic conglomerate 365 Media Scandinavia plans to start distributing a free newspaper, Nyhedsavisen, to readers' homes in Copenhagen and other major Danish cities later this year, and one of Denmark's leading media corporations, JP/Politikens Hus, has also said it would start delivering a free newspaper to homes this year. Denmark already has two free newspapers — MetroXpress and Urban — both of which are tabs.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
PBS' 'NewsHour' looks at D.C. free dailies
"NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" on Monday (May 29) repeated its story that it first aired last year on the battle between Washington, D.C.'s two free papers, the Washington Post-owned Express and billionaire Phil Anschutz's Washington Examiner. An update might have been in order. Correspondent Terence Smith discusses the Examiner's business model -- throwing papers on the driverways of high-income residents, then convincing national advertisers to buy space based on who reads the paper. An update would have said that vast numbers of homeowners targeted by the Examiner have complained loudly about unwanted newspapers piling up on their property. That's caused the Examiner to pull back its home delivery. Therefore the company hasn't had much success with national advertisers. And it doesn't seem to know how to attract smaller advertisers. A year after it has started, the Washington Examiner is losing money. For that matter, two years after Anschutz bought the SF Examiner, it is losing money as well. (And it's circulation plan broke down the same way.)
Yes, Anschutz is a billionaire. But even billionaires get tired of throwing money down a hole. How long will it be until he pulls the plug on the Examiners?
Yes, Anschutz is a billionaire. But even billionaires get tired of throwing money down a hole. How long will it be until he pulls the plug on the Examiners?
Monday, May 29, 2006
Free daily starts in Manchester, New Hampshire
The slogan of New Hampshire is "Live Free or Die." Now Manchester, N.H., has a daily that's free. The Manchester Daily Express began May 22 and will publish five days a week. Owned by the same local company that has a free arts and entertainment weekly, the paper's goal is to sell affordable advertising to small mom-and-pop businesses who can't afford the rates of the city's main paper, the Manchester Union Leader, or the community's radio and TV stations. (Where have we heard that before? Palo Alto?)
Daily Express Publisher Jody Reese, 32, said, "There is no Manchester daily paper right now ... There's a statewide paper that has an office in Manchester, but there's no one doing city politics or doing a good job covering business. We have three major high schools in the city, and they get very cursory coverage right now." Reese used to work at the Union Leader.
Talk about dropping a gauntlet. Union Leader Publisher Joe McQuaid called Reese's accusation "nonsense" and said his paper's coverage was "second to none, and it will continue to be so." Asked by the Concord Monitor to be more specific, and McQuaid said, "My words will have to speak for themselves. I'm not about to explain to the Concord Monitor exactly what we intend to do."
The Daily Express calls itself a free 20-minute read but aims to be hard-hitting.
The Daily Express will run opinion columns, but Reese said the Daily Express would not stake out a particular political stance.
The Daily Express will have an initial press run of 3,000 and a staff of two reporters and an editor.
• Concord Monitor: Manchester's second daily paper debuts
• E&P: Free Daily To Appear in Manchester, N.H., on Monday
• AP: New Hampshire woke up to a new daily newspaper Monday.
• Manchester Daily Express Web site
Daily Express Publisher Jody Reese, 32, said, "There is no Manchester daily paper right now ... There's a statewide paper that has an office in Manchester, but there's no one doing city politics or doing a good job covering business. We have three major high schools in the city, and they get very cursory coverage right now." Reese used to work at the Union Leader.
Talk about dropping a gauntlet. Union Leader Publisher Joe McQuaid called Reese's accusation "nonsense" and said his paper's coverage was "second to none, and it will continue to be so." Asked by the Concord Monitor to be more specific, and McQuaid said, "My words will have to speak for themselves. I'm not about to explain to the Concord Monitor exactly what we intend to do."
The Daily Express calls itself a free 20-minute read but aims to be hard-hitting.
The Daily Express will run opinion columns, but Reese said the Daily Express would not stake out a particular political stance.
The Daily Express will have an initial press run of 3,000 and a staff of two reporters and an editor.
• Concord Monitor: Manchester's second daily paper debuts
• E&P: Free Daily To Appear in Manchester, N.H., on Monday
• AP: New Hampshire woke up to a new daily newspaper Monday.
• Manchester Daily Express Web site
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Metro launches free daily in Mexico City
Metro International, burned by its other launches in North America, is hoping for better luck in Mexico City where it has started Publimetro with an initial circulation of 130,000. Metro has a 35 percent stake in the operation. Another 35 percent is held by a group of investors from the securities firm Grupo Bursatil Mexicano S.A. de C.V. and 30 percent is owned by Antonio Torrado, whose family owns franchise license in Mexico for brands including Burger King, Domino's Pizza and Starbucks.
E&P writes, "Metro President and CEO Pelle Tornberg said Publimetro launches as the biggest paper in Mexico City, a claim that is likely true but impossible to confirm, given the secrecy with which Mexico City newspapers guard their true circulation. Publimetro is the first free daily in a city with more than a dozen active dailies priced anywhere from 10 cents to $1.50 on weekdays."
E&P writes, "Metro President and CEO Pelle Tornberg said Publimetro launches as the biggest paper in Mexico City, a claim that is likely true but impossible to confirm, given the secrecy with which Mexico City newspapers guard their true circulation. Publimetro is the first free daily in a city with more than a dozen active dailies priced anywhere from 10 cents to $1.50 on weekdays."
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Third free daily possible in London
The agency that oversees London's Underground is asking publishers if they would like to print a free daily newspaper that would be distributed in the subway system and at 10 train stations, according to the London Gazette. The agency, Network Rail, would be the publisher's partner and take part of the profits and invest them back into the transit system. Network Rail is looking to complete the tender process by the end of June. London already has two free daily newspapers: Metro and business title City Am.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Singleton's lucky he never tried a free youth paper
With the news of the death of "Dose," a free daily aimed at the youth market in Canada, MediaNews chairman Dean Singleton should feel pleased that he never went ahead with plans for a youth-oriented free daily in Berkeley that would have been called "The Daily Flash." Plans for the Daily Flash were detailed in this article on the news criticism site "Grade The News." The Daily Flash sounded remarkably like Dose, which shut down this month after a year in operation. Another free daily grabbing for the youth market, the Chicago Sun-Times's "Red Streak" folded late last year.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Canada's free daily 'Dose' shuts down
CanWest has shut down its sassy youth-oriented national free daily, Dose, after a year of publication. The Toronto Star writes: "Launched in April 2005, Dose was a free newspaper that took careful aim at the 18-to-34 demographic. Distributed weekdays in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa, Dose served up eye-catching front pages, one of which has a Best Cover nomination at the upcoming National Magazine Awards. Some of Dose's Toronto team had already started work yesterday when they learned they were out of a job. Others never made it into the office."
A Toronto financial analyst quoted by the National Post said, "[Dose] was burning a lot more money than they thought, because of [competition for readers and advertisers from] all the free dailies ... And there was no [strategic] need for it because CanWest has a joint venture in Metro," a free general interest daily distributed in Vancouver and Ottawa.
In Canada, several rivals compete in the free daily market. "Metro" papers are published under a three-way venture between CanWest Global, Torstar Corp. and Metro International SA. The commuter daily "24 Hours" is produced by Quebecor's Sun Media.
• Canada National Post: Closing Dose is good news for CanWest
• Toronto Star's take on Dose's demise -- it will be a loss to the art and design community
• Ottawa Business Journal: Dose of reality: CanWest kills free daily commuter paper
• Straight.com discusses Metro's role in Dose's demise
A Toronto financial analyst quoted by the National Post said, "[Dose] was burning a lot more money than they thought, because of [competition for readers and advertisers from] all the free dailies ... And there was no [strategic] need for it because CanWest has a joint venture in Metro," a free general interest daily distributed in Vancouver and Ottawa.
In Canada, several rivals compete in the free daily market. "Metro" papers are published under a three-way venture between CanWest Global, Torstar Corp. and Metro International SA. The commuter daily "24 Hours" is produced by Quebecor's Sun Media.
• Canada National Post: Closing Dose is good news for CanWest
• Toronto Star's take on Dose's demise -- it will be a loss to the art and design community
• Ottawa Business Journal: Dose of reality: CanWest kills free daily commuter paper
• Straight.com discusses Metro's role in Dose's demise
Thursday, May 04, 2006
San Francisco Daily launches
As Knight Ridder, McClatchy, MediaNews Group and Hearst are busy shuffling around newspapers in the Bay Area, a new independent free daily has started. The former publishers of the Palo Alto (Calif.) Daily News, Dave Price and Jim Pavelich, today (May 3) launched the "San Francisco Daily." The paper is published Monday through Friday and circulates in the San Francisco neighborhoods of the Marina, Chestnut, Cow Hollow, North Beach and Fillmore. A wider circulation footprint is planned within weeks, according to Price.
"Our focus is on local news and what's happening in our neighborhoods, but we also want to include enough news from the rest of the world to make SF Daily a one-stop shop for people who want to be up-to-date," Price said. "We don't have a political agenda or a cause. Our purpose it to provide useful, unbiased information."
The first issue, which was delivered this morning by Price, Pavelich, and their eight employees to area residents and businesses, was eight pages. The publishers plan to keep it to that size until they build up an advertising base.
They began the profitable and frequently copied Palo Alto Daily News the same way -- with a humble eight-page edition. Many scoffed when they started the Palo Alto paper in the mid-1990s, saying a free daily would never survive. One well known newspaper industry analyst, John Morton, said he doubted the Palo Alto Daily News would last six months. Competitors derided the Palo Alto Daily News as well.
Over the years, as the paper grew, copy-cats began springing up both in the Bay Area and across the country. In 1995, there were fewer than 10 free dailies in the United States. By 2000, there were 40. Today, there are more than 60 in the U.S. and 150 worldwide.
Price and Pavelich sold the Palo Alto Daily News and four sister papers to Knight Ridder in 2005. Rumor had it that they were going to develop free papers for Knight Ridder in other markets. But Knight Ridder stopped all expansion plans in the fall of 2005 when shareholders demanded the break-up of the company. Price and Pavelich remained with Knight Ridder through December 2005.
• Editor & Publisher
• Wikipedia entry for SF Daily
• SF Daily web site
• Peninsula Press Club story about SF Daily
• AP story (Note that the name of the paper and the name of Amando Mendoza are wrong.)
• Bay City News Service report on new newspaper
"Our focus is on local news and what's happening in our neighborhoods, but we also want to include enough news from the rest of the world to make SF Daily a one-stop shop for people who want to be up-to-date," Price said. "We don't have a political agenda or a cause. Our purpose it to provide useful, unbiased information."
The first issue, which was delivered this morning by Price, Pavelich, and their eight employees to area residents and businesses, was eight pages. The publishers plan to keep it to that size until they build up an advertising base.
They began the profitable and frequently copied Palo Alto Daily News the same way -- with a humble eight-page edition. Many scoffed when they started the Palo Alto paper in the mid-1990s, saying a free daily would never survive. One well known newspaper industry analyst, John Morton, said he doubted the Palo Alto Daily News would last six months. Competitors derided the Palo Alto Daily News as well.
Over the years, as the paper grew, copy-cats began springing up both in the Bay Area and across the country. In 1995, there were fewer than 10 free dailies in the United States. By 2000, there were 40. Today, there are more than 60 in the U.S. and 150 worldwide.
Price and Pavelich sold the Palo Alto Daily News and four sister papers to Knight Ridder in 2005. Rumor had it that they were going to develop free papers for Knight Ridder in other markets. But Knight Ridder stopped all expansion plans in the fall of 2005 when shareholders demanded the break-up of the company. Price and Pavelich remained with Knight Ridder through December 2005.
• Editor & Publisher
• Wikipedia entry for SF Daily
• SF Daily web site
• Peninsula Press Club story about SF Daily
• AP story (Note that the name of the paper and the name of Amando Mendoza are wrong.)
• Bay City News Service report on new newspaper
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
What do new free dailes mean for paid papers?
The Wall Street Journal did a story today (April 5) questioning whether free newspapers will replace paid papers. Unfortunately for the free newspaper industry, the example the WSJ uses is Phil Anschutz's Baltimore Examiner. The problem is that the Examiner chain has never made money. Anschutz has been running the San Francisco Examiner for two years now and it has had no impact on the Bay Area. The number of ads is roughly the same as it was two years ago (minus the adult ads he removed presumably because of his Christian beliefs). And while he was puffing up the page count a year ago, now the San Francisco Examiner has settled down to between 40 and 52 pages a day. If the Wall Street Journal wanted an example of a successful free daily, perhaps it should have used the Vail (Colo.) Daily, Aspen (Colo.) Times or the Palo Alto (Calif.) Daily News -- all profitable for several years and each an institution in its own community.
One significant error in this story by the WSJ's Joseph T. Hallinan is "The Examiner is the brainchild of billionaire Philip Anschutz ..." Our recollection is different. On Feb. 24, 2003, the Examiner switched from a paid broadsheet to a free daily under the ownership of Ted Fang, who openly admitted he was copying the format of the Palo Alto Daily News. Initially, the front page even had four stories (two wire, two local) and a strip of ads at the bottom -- just like the Palo Alto paper. A year later, on Feb. 19, 2004, Anschutz bought the Examiner from the Fang family for a reported $20 million. Since then, he's done two re-designs of the paper, but stuck with the free tabloid format. The only thing it appears Anschutz really added to the mix was a right-wing editorial page, probably not the smartest move in San Francisco.
One significant error in this story by the WSJ's Joseph T. Hallinan is "The Examiner is the brainchild of billionaire Philip Anschutz ..." Our recollection is different. On Feb. 24, 2003, the Examiner switched from a paid broadsheet to a free daily under the ownership of Ted Fang, who openly admitted he was copying the format of the Palo Alto Daily News. Initially, the front page even had four stories (two wire, two local) and a strip of ads at the bottom -- just like the Palo Alto paper. A year later, on Feb. 19, 2004, Anschutz bought the Examiner from the Fang family for a reported $20 million. Since then, he's done two re-designs of the paper, but stuck with the free tabloid format. The only thing it appears Anschutz really added to the mix was a right-wing editorial page, probably not the smartest move in San Francisco.
Friday, March 31, 2006
More free papers in Spain
Spain has become the most prolific place for free daily newspapers, with three of the nation's four major dailies being given away. Is there room now for a free evening newspaper? Editor's Weblog asked the editors of Spain's major papers that question. What do you think they said?
Switch to tab doesn't work for WSJ
Reuters is reporting that the Wall Street Journal's switch from a broadsheet to a tabloid format forits Asian and European editions has not been well received by readers. Dow Jones & Co. plans to "retool" the papers, but wasn't more specific than that. Chief executive Richard Zannino said some readers feel "there is less of a paper than before." He had hoped that readers would see that there have been no content changes and that it is only a matter of becoming accustomed to the new size.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Palo Alto Daily's editor quits -- or is fired
Anyone who is watching the growth of the free daily industry is probably tuned into the switch in management at the Palo Alto Daily News. The PADN is probably the most successful free daily newspaper in the United States. Under previous owners Dave Price and Jim Pavelich, the paper was growing, profitable, winning awards, busting out new editions and taking chances. Since they sold the paper to Knight Ridder in 2005, and new management took over in January 2006, things appear to have changed.
Take this week's departure of longtime columnist and editor Diana Diamond. According to the Palo Alto Weekly, the Daily's new publisher, Shareef Dajani, says "We both agreed to go our own way." Turns out, he fired her -- at least that's what she told the Palo Alto Weekly. Dajani hasn't rebutted the charge.
The way Diamond tells it, one day Dajani told her he had a number of problems with her work and a couple of days later, he lowered the boom without giving her a chance to correct what ever alleged problems existed. And then he immediately had a replacement -- an editor he used to work with at the paper in Alameda, Calif.
Diamond says the PADN is suffering under Knight Ridder -- the Monday issue of the San Mateo Daily News was eliminated to save money, deadlines were moved forward to San Jose Mercury and Contra Costa Times evening deadlines, and hiring freeze has reduced the paper's newsroom capabilities.
Take this week's departure of longtime columnist and editor Diana Diamond. According to the Palo Alto Weekly, the Daily's new publisher, Shareef Dajani, says "We both agreed to go our own way." Turns out, he fired her -- at least that's what she told the Palo Alto Weekly. Dajani hasn't rebutted the charge.
The way Diamond tells it, one day Dajani told her he had a number of problems with her work and a couple of days later, he lowered the boom without giving her a chance to correct what ever alleged problems existed. And then he immediately had a replacement -- an editor he used to work with at the paper in Alameda, Calif.
Diamond says the PADN is suffering under Knight Ridder -- the Monday issue of the San Mateo Daily News was eliminated to save money, deadlines were moved forward to San Jose Mercury and Contra Costa Times evening deadlines, and hiring freeze has reduced the paper's newsroom capabilities.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Free daily starts in Santa Barbara, Calif.
The newspaper business in Santa Barbara has seen some tumultuous changes in the past six years. In 2000, Wendy McCaw, who became a billionaire when she divorced husband and cell phone pioneer Jeff McCaw, bought her hometown newspaper, the 45,000-circulation Santa Barbara News-Press from the New York Times. As soon as the ink was dry on the sale papers, McCaw was using the News-Press as a vehicle to attack the California Coastal Commission because it wouldn't let her block access to 500 feet of beachfront by her home. (This Forbes article suggests she's a strange woman.) Key staffers bolted from the paper, some going to the crosstown weekly. There was talk of starting another daily in Santa Barbara to compete against what the News-Press had become, but nobody did it.
Until now.
A former staffer at the Palo Alto Daily News, 23-year-old Jeramy Gordon, moved to Santa Barbara and launched the Daily Sound. Gordon said he got the idea to start a free paper from his former bosses and mentors Dave Price and Jim Pavelich. Price and Pavelich founded the Daily News Group, a chain of six free dailies in the Bay Area, which were sold to Knight Ridder in 2005. Gordon worked at the Daily News for four years, his last year as managing editor. “Free dailies are the wave of the future,” Gordon said. “As more and more people get tired of buying those big awkward broadsheet newspapers, they’ll see just how valuable our product is.”
• Peninsula Press Club write up
• Daily Sound's press release about its launch
• Santa Barbara's weekly manages to give a whole paragraph to the town's new newspaper
Until now.
A former staffer at the Palo Alto Daily News, 23-year-old Jeramy Gordon, moved to Santa Barbara and launched the Daily Sound. Gordon said he got the idea to start a free paper from his former bosses and mentors Dave Price and Jim Pavelich. Price and Pavelich founded the Daily News Group, a chain of six free dailies in the Bay Area, which were sold to Knight Ridder in 2005. Gordon worked at the Daily News for four years, his last year as managing editor. “Free dailies are the wave of the future,” Gordon said. “As more and more people get tired of buying those big awkward broadsheet newspapers, they’ll see just how valuable our product is.”
• Peninsula Press Club write up
• Daily Sound's press release about its launch
• Santa Barbara's weekly manages to give a whole paragraph to the town's new newspaper
Monday, March 13, 2006
Alison Draper named publisher of Quick
The Dallas Observer's publisher, Alison Quick, is jumping ship for Quick, the free daily being published by the Dallas Morning News. Draper began her career at the Dallas Observer in classified sales and later served in several positions, including retail account executive, sales director, advertising director and associate publisher, before becoming publisher in 2001. While she was publisher, Draper was also sales and marketing director of Village Voice Media.
"Alison has a proven track record of delivering results for advertisers who want to connect with younger readers," said Jim Moroney, publisher and CEO of The Dallas Morning News and its affiliate publications, including Quick. "Quick has been successful in delivering this younger audience since we launched it three years ago, and we are confident that she can build on that momentum going forward."
Draper emphasized that the content direction of Quick will not change under her leadership.
"Quick is a publication I strongly believe in, and I have been impressed with its steady growth," said Draper. "The best part is that its content formula is already working well, and I am eager to join with the talented staff of Quick to build on its accomplishments."
"Alison has a proven track record of delivering results for advertisers who want to connect with younger readers," said Jim Moroney, publisher and CEO of The Dallas Morning News and its affiliate publications, including Quick. "Quick has been successful in delivering this younger audience since we launched it three years ago, and we are confident that she can build on that momentum going forward."
Draper emphasized that the content direction of Quick will not change under her leadership.
"Quick is a publication I strongly believe in, and I have been impressed with its steady growth," said Draper. "The best part is that its content formula is already working well, and I am eager to join with the talented staff of Quick to build on its accomplishments."
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Tampa Bay Times goes from weekly to daily
The paid St. Petersburg Times says it is expanding its free weekly, tbt*, to a daily starting March 6. The paper launched in September 2004 as a vehicle to connect advertisers to younger readers, those in the 18-34 demo.
"Since the debut of Tampa Bay Times, readers and advertisers have been enthusiastic with their praise," said Paul Tash, Times chairman, chief executive and editor. "We're ready now to make it available every weekday."
The Times' plans provoked a federal lawsuit from its competitor, the Tampa Tribune, which complained that the name infringes on its trademark for the Tampa Times, an afternoon newspaper that ceased publication in 1982.
The new publication will publish each weekday morning, Monday through Friday, with distribution at hundreds of pickup locations around the Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater region.
Tampa Bay Times will include concise versions of the day's local and national news, with an emphasis on sports, consumer features and entertainment.
Monday through Thursday, the paper will be a 40-page tabloid with circulation of about 40,000 copies.
The Friday edition will be bigger in distribution and pages, with a special entertainment pullout section. Friday's edition will be available all weekend, bringing circulation to more than 60,000.
"Since the debut of Tampa Bay Times, readers and advertisers have been enthusiastic with their praise," said Paul Tash, Times chairman, chief executive and editor. "We're ready now to make it available every weekday."
The Times' plans provoked a federal lawsuit from its competitor, the Tampa Tribune, which complained that the name infringes on its trademark for the Tampa Times, an afternoon newspaper that ceased publication in 1982.
The new publication will publish each weekday morning, Monday through Friday, with distribution at hundreds of pickup locations around the Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater region.
Tampa Bay Times will include concise versions of the day's local and national news, with an emphasis on sports, consumer features and entertainment.
Monday through Thursday, the paper will be a 40-page tabloid with circulation of about 40,000 copies.
The Friday edition will be bigger in distribution and pages, with a special entertainment pullout section. Friday's edition will be available all weekend, bringing circulation to more than 60,000.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)