Statistical, Ecosystems and Competitiveness Analysis of the Media and Content Industries: The Newspaper Publishing Industry

The Newspaper Publishing Industry 
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6. Conclusions 
In this final chapter we will summarize the main findings of this study and draw some 
conclusion with regard to the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the 
European newspaper publishing sector.
6.1 
Strength and weaknesses of current European market 
The traditional print newspaper publishing sector in the EU is confronted with serious 
problems, as illustrated by declining employment, value added and circulation figures. These 
problems can not be explained by the economic crisis which troubles European countries 
alone. Some of the problems are the result of more structural developments such as the 
decline in readership, especially among younger generations, and the shift from print news 
consumption to online news consumption.
The European print newspaper publishing sector is still a substantial sector, both in size as 
well as in social and political impact, especially when compared to the US. Nevertheless, in 
most European countries the newspaper publishing industry witnesses a decline in readership, 
circulation and revenues. However, there are major differences within the EU between 
Member States in the level of decline. The UK and Germany on the one hand, witnessed a 
decline in circulation between 2005 and 2009 of 15.9 and 8.3% respectively, France and 
Spain on the other hand saw a much more moderate decline. In Austria and some Eastern 
European countries circulation figures still show some (marginal) growth.
The newspaper publishing market is characterized by a small number of very large newspaper 
publishers and a large number of small and medium sized publishers. Many of the large 
companies have over the years grown into international multimedia companies with 
magazines, radio and television channels and online services as part of their portfolios. This 
means that they no longer only rely on print publishing and therefore have good chances to 
compensate losses in this business with gains in other segments of the MCI. The Sanoma case 
study for instance shows how this company has bought several successful online news 
services as well as market places and sites with classified advertising and was thus able to 
compensate its annual profits for the loss of advertising revenues in its newspapers (see 
Appendix B). However, while the company as a whole benefitted from these acquisitions, the 
news publishing division within the company has shrunk.
In a report published by the FCC, (Waldman, 2011) presents a rather bleak analysis of the 
situation the US news media currently find themselves in. Newspapers but also local radio 
and television channels have had to lay off large numbers of their editorial staff, in many 
cases as much as 40-50%. This has resulted in less reporting on local beats such as town halls, 
hospitals, schools, courts etc. It has also led to less in-depth reporting and more reliance on 
official press releases from institutions and governments instead of on independent reporting. 
All this leads to a weakening of the press’s watch dog function. Though local TV news 
reporting has increased in volume, it has not filled the gaps in independent and investigative 
reporting that newspapers have left. A PEW study on local reporting in the Baltimore area 
recorded a profusion of outlets, but 95% of the public affairs reporting originated in the 
traditional media, especially in the press (PEW , 2010). This example shows that the press 
still has a very important agenda setting function and implies that when the newspapers’ 
ability to cover important issues, this function is not easily replaced by other media, simply 
because of a lack of investment and professional staff.
The US newspaper sector seems to witness more serious decline than the European newspaper 
sector. This difference between the US and European countries is partly due to the fact that 

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