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In recent times there has been a lot of criticism against the Standard Newspapers newfound personality. It is obvious that some Kenyans are very uncomfortable with the new sensational approach.
Yet the numbers from the newspaper's accounting department tell a different story. After years of losses, the Standard group is now in the black and is consistently churning out profits. Circulation has also now started creeping upwards after years of stagnation.
So why is it that so many Kenyans seem to be upset?
Actually the problem is that these disgruntled Kenyans want the Standard to be another Nation, which is the mistake managers at the newspapers have been making for a long time. There can only be one Nation. Basic marketing tells you that you need to develop your own character and curve out your own niche in the market so that you are distinctly different competitors more so where a newspaper is concerned.
Kenyans are not aware that in the UK the highest circulating daily is not the highly respected Times or even the Observer, but is in fact the tabloid The Sun which was the first daily newspaper in the country to feature a topless page 3 girl. Today the page 3 girl is usually completely naked.
For media magnate Rupert Murdoch, this tabloid newspaper along with the even more notorious Sunday newspaper, The News Of The World have been the biggest and most consistent and valuable cash cows. They usually sell millions of copies while the times do only a few hundred thousand.
It seems that the East African Standard has editorially taken that direction in recent times, although this has been done rather hesitantly a clear sign that there are still some old hats in positions of power and influence at the newspaper.
My own experiments in the Kenyan print media have proved to me that there is a huge untapped and mostly ignored market for a sensational mass-market publication. More so in recent times when major changes have transformed the Daily Nation, more and more into an elitist daily. Even the Standard would be better off launching another title since it is still difficult for it to shake off its' up market colonial past, being the oldest newspaper in the country. The Standard was born in 1903.
It is interesting how none of the daily newspapers have ever considered launching a mass market daily or weekly. Even when the gutter press in Kenya still thrives on big headlines, typos, misty photographs and stories lifted from the daily press.
The situation is very different in neighboring Tanzania where at least two of the major daily publishers have an afternoon newspaper targeted at the mass market for which they sell more copies than the morning titles. The afternoon newspaper, Alahsiri from the Reginald Mengi group leads the pack. Mengi's entrepreneurial rags to riches story reads like a fairy tale that is a little hard to believe. The business was started as a small family enterprise assembling ballpoint pens in the living room. Today it is one of the largest privately held group of companies in East Africa.
Interestingly in Kenya we even have some gutter press publishers desperately trying to imitate the Daily Nation, not realizing that their readers are with them precisely because they do not resemble the now elitist daily.
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Std is right in trying to charter its own path. Granted DN is a leader but that position is not the challenge, reatining it is. All the brickbats at the Std ala tabloid is symptomatic of hhuman nature to resist change and for the Kenyan case not barking your horse.
ReplyDeleteYou right on Sun except the comparison may be misplced since the UK readership is composed of those with disaposable income and with system running smoothly people can indulge in national gossiping.
Since the demise of WR, Kenyans seriously lack a newsmagazine. People weekly filled this void temporarily before Matiba's economic ego bursted and the result is therre for all to see.
We are yet to develop a describable reading culture. Besides screaming headlines that we hardly readpast the first bold paragraph (for cheap politicking) we don't read for information, honestly. But hey, who wants info on an empty tummy and pocket?
I refuse to buy your opinions messrs Taabu and Chris (And please Chris dont start crying saying i am abusive, I'm not, but that doesnt make me a 'yes' man.
ReplyDeleteYou may hail the 'standard's' profits as much as you please. I honestly dont have information to refute those claims though i but doubt they have hit an all time high. The truth of the matter is that for a business which has beeen in existence for more than a hundred years, credibility is as critical as the profits. The moment the non partisan population looses faith in it, it is such a blow to that business regardless of how many 'propaganda hungry' recruits it gets.
Mr. Taabu you seem to sugggest (though i am not sure)we are not happy with the standard for not 'backing our horses'. Dont you think that is a weird assumption considering credible newspaper business is not about 'riding horses? Why is nobody apart from Chris (Who obviously does it for ansolutely selfish and narrow interests)fighting The nation yet we are all in agreement it doesnt favour any 'horse'?
Let us grow a culture of frankness and honesty gentlemen. I agree it would beat every logic to have another 'Nation' but that doesnt mean established media houses should reduce themselves to gutter publications. I still insist there is a gap that needs to be filled and that is what we hoped the standard would continue to fill. Well, they chose the path they chose and let's see how far it takes them.
Chris
ReplyDeleteYes the sun has the largest circulation, but your assertions that the page 3 girl is completely naked is totally wrong. The girls are only topless. As Taabu said its all about disposable income and that is why the paper has done well, and of course the male weakness.
As for the Standard, they should be worried as the new Kiss paper will definitely eat up their market share. Reasons; simple, they are all going for sensationalism hence there target market is the same. You may say smart move for Kiss, but I think otherwise. Here's the reason why. Market share for newspapers all over the world have dwindled over the years. In fact, newspapers started recording poor sales immediately after Television news turned to 24hr broadcasts. This meant that it was more easy to go with breaking news. Newspapers were forced to re-strategize to remain relevant as their papers went on sale next day, or in the evening.
With the advent of the Internet and Free Papers (like Metro in UK) this market was further eroded. Why would someone spend money when they can get a free copy? Today the papers have been forced to be dynamic to remain relevant as they no longer have the hegemony they used to enjoy. As much as I don't see their extinction, I would think twice before I get into the Newspaper business. The moment Internet becomes accessible (good bandwidth speed) and affordable then papers would have to change with the tide.
I hear the Kiss paper will be an evening paper, well that may be a smart move. But it is Standard that will cry and not Nation. (They have not been able to hack it for a century, I don't think they will now. Finally, If you do a content analysis of the stories and themes carried by the Standard, you will realize how subjective and shortsighted they are. I'm looking forward to see their game plan after elections are over.