Newspaper publishing down 22%

Martin Breheney, Senior Analyst, NIMMS

22% drop overall in newspaper articles published in Northern Ireland following Covid-19 restrictions introduced March 23rd

A testing time across the business spectrum and routine life. But one industry experiencing daunting challenges is the production of printed press newspapers. While many national publications have the ability to shift focus to publishing content via their online platforms. The more intimate regional publications with budget and resource restrictions may consider this a trickier prospect. Of the regional publications still printing and circulating copies, fewer pages indicates less scope for advertising. A significant percent of income for regional publications thought-out Northern Ireland. We cannot underestimate the importance of regional news and the role it plays for those who don’t have access to technology or the skills to navigate the online world. The government must ensure the right funding models are in place or Covid-19 could decimate the print media industry indefinitely.

The postponement and cancellations of so many sporting and cultural events have delivered an evident impact on all publications. Fuelling the reduction further has been publications who have either paused or ceased services. We sincerely hope when lockdown restrictions are reduced more substantially, the industry can return to some level of normality. The reintroduction of society should provide publications with much needed news stories

Regional publications see 39% reduction

Overall print media through-out Northern Ireland experienced a reduction of 22% in articles from January, February, March 2020. In comparison to April and May 2020 when the lockdown restrictions began biting. Daily national print articles have experienced a drop of 12%. The modest reduction among our analysis. As expected, daily regional newspaper articles reflect a drop of 39% overall. 27,886 articles published in January 2020 fell to 15,261 in May 2020. The one upshot was the slight increase overall from April to May – a mere increase of 1.4% but possibly an indication that the latest easing of lockdown restrictions is allowing the industry to develop its capacity once more.