Always on a Sunday

Abstract

Many newspaper analysts and media commentators have dismissed the national Sunday market as a disaster area beyond regeneration. Preston disagrees and points out that although circulations are falling in the Sunday market, the quality press is not faring badly: "In March 2008, quality Sunday sales were recorded as 2.04 per cent down on March 2007: better by far than mid-market and red-top Sundays (down 4.7 per cent and 3.81 per cent respectively) and better than quality dailies, down 2.51 per cent. It's not a dismaying result when you remember that Sundays are traditionally priced far higher than their Saturday in-house competitors." A brave proprietor wishing to launch a new newspaper should go for Sunday, perhaps with Saturday as an added extra, Preston argues. "Print perhaps only one set of magazines and add-ons to cover the weekend. And deal with the run of the week exactly how young readers in particular are tackling it: by logging on and surfing around the whole puzzle on paper for those with the time and inclination to think and brood... If you can marry the swiftness and cheapness on demand of the web with the relative permanency of print, then you have a total package."