What's new in newspapers? Reconnecting with readers

Abstract

Declining circulations and a lack of reader interest in newspaper content are not news to the newspaper industry, but the underlying causes of these problems appear to remain somewhat of a mystery to many in the business. Few Australian newspapers have been willing or able to devote the resources needed to comprehensively address these important issues. The international newspaper group APN News & Media, which employs more than 400 hundred journalists in Australia and New Zealand, has instituted a wide-ranging program among its editorial and marketing employees called Readers First. The program is a result of management recognition that circulation and reader disengagement are at a critical point in the company's 14 Australian regional daily newspapers and its nine New Zealand titles. This paper provides an overview of APN's Readers First program, which focuses on renewing content and changing journalistic culture.