報紙要生存就要變

Quebecor行政總裁也說報紙要生存就要變，跟隨消費者的行為模式變。

Quebecor overhaul
Globe and Mail

Quebecor Inc. is shaking up the slumping Sun newspaper chain as some of its flagship dailies are increasingly being squeezed by the growth of free commuter papers, including its own publication, 24 Hours.

The Montreal-based media giant is embarking on an ambitious digital strategy aimed at breathing new life into its television, newspaper and Web operations, starting in Toronto where the company's biggest newspaper has seen its reader and circulation numbers eroding.

Quebecor chief executive officer Pierre Karl Péladeau said the model for newspapers needs to change if publications want to attract younger readers.（full speech here）In a pair of moves Tuesday, the company announced plans to link its newspaper, Web and TV network in Toronto more closely than any other company has in Canada so far.

If successful, the strategy could be spread across the company's operations.

Quebecor also installed a new publisher at the helm of its largest newspaper, the Toronto Sun, which has seen its readership and circulation erode faster than its competitors in recent months.

The company plans to stream broadcasts from its Sun TV network in Toronto over the Internet, letting viewers contribute their own video footage to news programs, while also allowing them to see inside editorial meetings at Toronto Sun offices where news decisions are made.

"I think there is no other future for conventional media . . . than to migrate to this model," Mr. Péladeau said after the presentation. "Probably this was something that [media] convergence was all about a few years ago."

The change in tack comes less than a week after industry data showed weekday readership sinking at some of Quebecor's biggest daily newspapers.

Audience numbers have fallen in both Toronto and Montreal, where paid newspapers have contributed significantly in the past to Quebecor's profit.

Circulation in Toronto has also dropped faster than at its rivals, an industry study revealed last week.

"Certainly something needs to change that will make newspapers interesting for a younger generation," Mr. Péladeau said. "Doing commodity news like the way the newspapers were doing previously is certainly not a model of the future."

Mr. Péladeau said Quebecor will spend the next six months testing the digital revamp.

Analysts have suggested the company has found itself at a crossroads where the rapid growth of free daily commuter papers over the past year, including Quebecor's own 24 Hours, has hurt its paid publications.

Weekday readership at 24 Hours in Toronto has soared more than 13.5 per cent in the past year - more than any other daily publication in that market, according to Newspaper Audience Databank Inc.

But a considerable portion of that growth has come at the expense of The Toronto Sun, analysts suggest, because the publications are both chasing similar commuter audiences.

"They were the ones that were most at risk," said analyst Carl Bayard at Desjardins Securities in Montreal. "And I think what we're seeing now is bearing that out."

Weekday readership of the Toronto Sun fell more than 17 per cent in the past year, while weekday circulation dropped 4.7 per cent. The company saw a similar slide in Montreal, where readership at Quebecor's commuter paper 24 Heures also rose faster than the company's paid publications.

"They are trying to do things to reverse the momentum," Mr. Bayard said. "The readership and the circulation figures are very poor. And that is definitely a cause for worry."

Mr. Lee is a 17-year veteran of the company who recently served as corporate controller.

One industry analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the move may suggest an increased focus on the newspaper's costs, at a time when its profit has also fallen.

The Toronto Sun recently reversed a weekday price increase from 50 cents to 75 cents in an attempt to jump-start readership.

Mr. Péladeau said the company has not considered giving the paper away, but suggested some publications may eventually take that route.

"We're not there yet. And I'm saying yet because we don't know what the future will be all about," Mr. Péladeau said.

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Media sources merging
Consumers want greater access to information, Quebecor boss says.

TORONTO -- Recognizing the changing media landscape, Quebecor is converging its resources to create a new and exciting path to a successful future, its chief executive said yesterday.

Consumers of media want control over when and how they access information -- "it's empowerment," Pierre Karl Peladeau said in a keynote address to the Canadian Media Directors' Council.

Toronto's competitive media market is indicative of what is happening around the world, he said.

Consumers want access to new information and content quickly, Peladeau said, and like Quebecor, other media companies must be prepared to tackle that challenge.

"Our plan is to build on the experiences we have had so far in combining different media into successful ventures," he said, "and capitalize on the journalist skills and other strengths of Quebecor's media operations."

Quality journalism is still crucial, Peladeau said.

"I believe that great journalism -- with virtues such as independence, skepticism, tenacity in digging out a story, balance and checking for accuracy -- is now and will continue to be a valuable quality in media," he said, adding Quebecor employs more than 1,200 journalists.

"Success will be measured by being more closely connected to our consumer than ever before -- and listening intelligently to what they want," he said.

"Print continues to be a strong vehicle for advertisers," Peladeau said.

"Newspapers have enormous power to influence purchasing decisions."

Quebecor is going to be well-positioned to address those changes by converging its newspaper, TV and Internet resources, he said.

Quebecor is integrating its Toronto newspaper and television divisions for a new current affairs program on Sun TV and streaming live on canoe.ca, Peladeau said.

Among other initiatives, Quebecor will use input from "citizen journalists" with cellphone cameras and other digital technologies.

The program, to be called Canoe Live, will be launched in May, and will include reports from journalists at the Toronto Sun newsroom with interactive feedback from the street and other sources.

"We want to create a dialogue with viewers, readers and website visitors to evolve and improve the product," Peladeau said.