The Professionals
Commentary from yesterday’s Future of National Newspapers event at Merrill Lynch….
Newspapers are a beleaguered medium right now, but it would be hard for anyone who attended our National Newspapers event to come away other than impressed by two of its leading commercial figures, who took part in a 90-minute panel session, chaired by the BBC’s Torin Douglas.
Dominic Carter, commercial director at News International, told me afterwards that he thought Torin may have let questions around the Leveson inquiry go on for too long, but these did come from the audience (mostly around the News of the World closure and advertiser perceptions) and the longer they went the more he impressed. It was a far more polished performance than we have seen from many senior NI executives in recent weeks.
His firm assertion was that it was absolutely right to close the paper after the Milly Dowler hacking story broke. He did not challenge the accuracy of this story, as he might have been expected to (Raymond Snoddy later did). His assertion was challenged provocatively by Snoddy, who suggested he might say that but surely did not mean it with his commercial hat on, but – for a few moments at least – Carter’s commercial hat was not on and he stuck to his guns impressively, before pointing out (hat firmly back on) that the Sunday Sun was not doing too badly in its place.
In his opening comments he described the last 12 months as “interesting” – surely the biggest media understatement of the year. NI are not exactly loved across the industry, but I am sure there has been (and was yesterday) a lot of respect for his “got to get on with it” approach, which must have been challenged weekly in the face of one disastrous revelation after another.
It was a shame that Dominic was not a bit clearer about the 297,000 subscriber number that he revealed (print and digital, not just digital as some might well have taken away). Not exactly misleading… just not quite clear either!
The panel discussion was largely – as one would have expected – on commercial topics, but the extended Leveson theme probably did as much to enhance Carter’s reputation as any of the business chat.
At the other end of the table – in many senses – was Guy Zitter, MD of Mail Newspapers, who we had persuaded to sit on a panel again some time after a starring role at one of our Media Question Time events. Apart from a stray comment about phone-hacking, which seemed to seriously underplay the issue, Zitter was dry, amusing, occasionally bolshy (as we expected and hoped!) but as buttoned down on the key numbers as any MD you would come across.
He left the firm impression that the Mail‘s big numbers online – which are touted everywhere – were truly delivering significant and rapidly growing net profits – which is not reported everywhere. Next to Zitter, Mark Finney from The Guardian was, I am sure, taking a few notes as his newly globalised brand attempted to turn its hefty base of online readers into anything like the same revenues.
There seemed to be several audience questions from the Associated stable (planning or coincidence?!) but all raised interesting points and John Teal’s, from the front row, gave Zitter the important opportunity to confirm that he was “looking beautiful” too.
And how far have newspaper publishers come when Guy Zitter is confidently banging on about targeting via cookies – for several sentences too! Associated’s portfolio of growing global online (mostly classified) businesses has moved it into ground previously held by some of its competitor brands.
And for The Mail at least, its print circulation revenues still represent a hefty lump of annual cash-flow that can continue to fund these acquisitions. Reed Business (RBI) reported its latest figures last week, which showed its seismic shift over the last five years from print to online subscription revenues. The challenge now for most of the newspaper brands is to be able to do the same over time, although probably with a broader base of online businesses as Associated is demonstrating.
As a note of comfort to older readers alarmed by the Zitter / cookie spiel, we should point out good solid Mail values prevailed as its MD finished the session with a (very fair) broadside at the EU – and an assertion that the Chinese should “bugger off and leave our newsprint alone”!
Impressive performances from both, demonstrating that their media brands have plenty of life in them yet – on many fronts.