The print media rank last in the preferences of the public and this causes slight detachment from the multiple mass media sources. The place of newspapers was occupied by online news platforms and TV channels. This leads to the disappearance of the printed variant from the media market. The issue was developed by Stefan Voinea, director general of the Craiova-based company “Media Sud” (which includes: the paper “Gazeta de Sud”, Alege TV channel, Radio Sud station, and the websites gds.ro şi craiova.ro), within a masterclass held as part of the first Media Forum staged in Chisinau by the Press Council. The expert presented the experience of “Gazeta de Sud”, which manages to hold up and takes the leading position among the regional press, IPN reports.
Stefan Voinea said statistics show a drastic change in the behavior between online and print. A decreasing number of people prefer newspapers and the number of printed copies declined significantly. The editorships of newspapers do not have financial resources to maintain the publication. On the one hand, the revenues from subscription decrease as there are fewer subscribers and smaller issues. On the other hand, the revenues from publicity also fall as the advertising segment is again seized by the social media and TV channels.
As to the maintaining of “Gazeta de Sud”, the expert said that market research was done to see where the place of publicity is, what problems it faces and what should be done. Such studies should be made by professional sociologists who will present the real situation, not what the owner will say. There were staged focus group meetings with readers where these were asked about their expectations of the newspaper. All the proposals submitted by the readers were included in the editorial policy.
The expert said that the print publicity needs to be promoted online too, including on social networking sites, because studies show that these concentrate a large number of readers. To maintain the newspaper, there were offered prizes for higher numbers of copies disseminated through the mail and distributors. The paper’s editorship sponsored a series of activities of Romania’s Post Office such as contests and the annual party. Placing posters with the news of the day at kiosks was another promotion method.
Stefan Voinea noted that the organization of meetings with readers, in a shopping center for example, has a great impact and helps attract new readers. The editorship also asked a film director from Bucharest to make a video spot about the publication and the team and this was broadcast on the Internet and had a huge impact. The editorial staff also helped organize and conduct campaigns to raise funds for different public institutions, such as hospitals and schools. These also contributed significantly to promoting the newspaper.
The Media Forum was organized in partnership with the Association of Independent Press, the Independent Journalism Center, the Electronic Press Association and the Young Journalist’s Center. The event was financed by the Media Program of Soros Foundation Moldova and co-financed by the Council of Europe and East Europe Foundation.
