The Independent print newspaper is "dead"

(Baonghean.vn) - On March 26, 2016, the final print issue of The Independent will be published - ending nearly 30 years of existence and development of one of the most famous daily newspapers in the UK. This decision by Russian owner Evgeny Lebedev is considered an inevitable consequence of the trend of digital media.

Before The Independent was shut down, the newspaper had a daily circulation of 56,000 copies (of which 16,000 were free or reduced in content). In 2011, The Independent’s print circulation reached nearly 170,000 copies per day. The dramatic “decline” in circulation was the main reason for Mr. Lebedev’s decision to shut down the print newspaper on February 12.

Newspapers "fall out of favor" in the media market

“The newspaper industry has changed and this change is driven by our readers. Their choices show that our future is digital,” Mr. Lebedev explained.

He also confirmed that the decision to close the print newspaper would not affect The Independent brand, instead the newspaper would focus on improving the quality of its content.

The Independent newspaper will cease publication from March 2016. Photo: AFP

The immediate effect of the decision is that around 100 journalists working at The Independent will be made redundant – more than half of the paper’s reporting staff – and 25 new positions will be created to upgrade the online site.

Indeed, the popularity of The Independent’s print and online editions is inversely proportional. The Independent’s online edition attracts 58 million monthly readers and is one of the most active online newspapers on social media. However, this has somewhat affected the quality of the newspaper – according to The Independent’s own reporters.

Accordingly, many articles on The Independent are chasing “blind” views. A poignant example is the article published on February 12 with the title: “10 unbelievable stories that show that pets are our best friends”.

However, online is not a financially viable solution, even if The Independent’s online reach extends beyond the UK. Online readers can read the paper for free, and online advertising revenue is unlikely to match that of print.

Revenue: a common problem that is difficult to solve

In fact, this is a common problem for the press around the world and it is not the first time that The Independent has encountered financial difficulties. In 2004, The Independent's circulation was reduced by only half. The solution they chose at that time was to convert the traditional newspaper format to a small newspaper format (the "tabloid" format - often used by market newspapers), which is more suitable for the habit of reading newspapers on public transport.

In 2010, when Mr Lebedev bought The Independent, he made a bold move by creating i – a stripped-down print paper from the original The Independent. The 50-centimetre daily offered readers access to serious information in a shorter format than the original.

Evgeny Lebedev - owner of The Independent and his "revolutionary" decisions for the second largest daily newspaper in the UK. Photo: Bloomberg

Creating a paper in the midst of a crisis in traditional journalism may seem an odd choice, but the i has been surprisingly successful, with a daily circulation of 260,000, surpassing that of the Guardian or the Financial Times (in the UK alone). The i’s net profit is £5.2m (around €6.4m) – a significant chunk of which goes into The Independent brand.

Yet on February 12, Lebedev decided to sell i for £24 million (€31 million) to Johnston Press, a British newspaper group. Without i, The Independent would certainly not be able to survive on the market.

The question is: Who will follow The Independent in its death march? Media experts predict that the Financial Times and the Guardian will soon share the same fate. The Guardian alone has drawn up plans to cut costs – including streamlining its staff – to make up for a €65m revenue shortfall last year.

Thuc Anh

(According to Le Monde)