Around Journalism | Oct 27, 2009 |
Maybe it’s in the Molson
Labatts and Molson are popular brands of beer in Canada.
So it’s natural to assume they’ll be popular in South Carolina.
Right?
That’s the type of argument made in a recent Canadian Journalism Project article by Kelly Toughill, an associate professor at the University of King’s College, Halifax. Toughill cites a speech by Canadian media analyst Ken Goldstein as offering potential proof that English-language newspaper circulation might eventually level off in Canada.
In his speech, Goldstein notes that the circulation of French-language newspapers in Canada have leveled off after a steep decline. Toughill writes that, “Goldstein suggests the same phenomenon might be seen in the rest of Canada soon.”
It’s part of the reason we should be hopeful about the future of general circulation newspapers, Toughill writes in her article, which carries the headline “Good news – yes, good news – for newspapers.”
Goldstein, however, is much more cautious that Toughill would lead you to believe. In discussing the markets for French- and English-language newspapers in Canada, he says:
Clearly, within Canada, the two markets are behaving differently, with the English- language market continuing to decline, while the French-language market has stayed essentially flat. There may be numerous explanations for this phenomenon, and my colleagues have cautioned me not to read too much into this, since the French-language market obviously has different characteristics.
But there is at least a hint in these data that, after a period of actual and relative decline, paid daily newspaper circulation might find a plateau – a level at which it might function for a reasonable period of time.
The two key questions, of course, are at what level that plateau might be found, and whether that level is sufficient to permit viable operation.
Obviously, Goldstein’s comments also remain true when it comes to the differences between the English-language newspaper markets in Canada and the United States. The interests and economic behavior of Canadians might allow general circulation newspapers to thrive in that country in the future while American newspapers continue their financial free-fall.
Still, Toughill’s article is worthy of note because it shows just how far some in the industry have to stretch to find good news for general circulation newspapers.
