Exchange & Mart had a very small print circulation with barely 20,000 and falling, but its closure in print and move to online only publication is a story that is set to be repeated over and over this year. Quite how much is anyone's guess.With its position as a classified title the closure of Exchange & Mart in print is perhaps less of a surprise than many similar closures. The decline of the classified ad market that hit specialist titles like Exchange & Mart, as well as regional and national newspapers alike. It has spared no one and is only going to get worse. Eighty jobs are under threat at the auto classified title which adds to the hundreds already lost and under threat in the regional press within the last few months at titles like the Northern Echo where staff are considering strike action as they are elsewhere at titles like the Yorkshire Post.
The problem with some of these closures and cuts is that some like Exchange & Mart appear to be the only option. There is very little future in the print classified market. Regional newspapers generally, however, appear in some places to be put to the sword, which is probably why one independent local newspaper group, the Wigan Courier, has called online advertising a “digital fad” that will pass and there is “still no substitute” for a colourful local newspaper ad. More likely it is just a cheeky grab for publicity.
Managing director Mark Ashley told Press Gazette: “The Courier is bucking the current trend for regional newspapers, which has seen a year of contraction, circulation losses, job cuts and cutbacks.“We believe that readers and advertisers want a mass distribution, colourful, effective newspaper that focuses on all the good things about our local Wigan community, and that the current obsession with internet advertising and Facebook will gradually go the way of all the digital fads over the last few years."
That said the signs of change in magazine and newspaper publishing are evident in all markets. We've all seen it. At the end of last year Ziff Davis Media closed the print edition of its once flagship title, PCMag, after 26 years and will publish the magazine online only.That followed on a larger scale the news that the Christian Science Monitor was to close down and going online only and CosmoGirl while the Sporting News and US News & World Report cut their print frequency and put more focus on the web.In the B2B sector, there are a number of examples, but close to hand at Haymarket, which owns Brand Republic, Marketing Direct and Promotions & Incentives have gone online only. They will not be the last in the B2B sector either, which has also been hit hard by the decline of the ad market.And the truth as we have already witnessed is that online is no safe haven. The truth that has revealed itself is that the expected hand in hand growth of revenues and traffic has not happened. Traffic for many sites big and small has soared, but the revenue is not growing at anything like the same rate.The web posted annual growth of 29.5% in 2007 and 20% in 2008 digital ad spend in 2009 is expected just 2.1%, according to Enders Analysis forecasts.This is why this week you have had ITV writing down the value of Friends Reunited, concluding that the site is worth less than the £175m it bought it for.ITV like a lot of media companies look unlikely to hit online revenue targets the projections for which were based on much higher growth rates than we are now living with.
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First of all the demise of Woolworths and now Exchange & Mart. It's all too much to bear!
Don't worry Neil, unlike poor Woolies the Exchange and Mart brand lives on. The truly incredible print era of Exchange and Mart may be coming to an end and while this in itself is sad news, it's very much the start of an exciting new era for us. The business as a whole can now concentrate all efforts on developing the web product to ensure it continues to meet the needs of buyers and sellers of motors and other articles, a role which the magazine fulfilled for many generations.
Gordon Macmillan
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