Dear Editor, I was very sad, but perhaps not too surprised to read of the decisions facing the Birmingham Post in order to survive in the world today.
I have been a reader for many years and although I recognize your description of the average Post reader and their reaction to change, I have embraced and thoroughly enjoyed the changes made to the paper last year, whilst also mourning the loss of the Saturday edition.
The picture as you know is far from unique. In a much different environment, I have also been an avid Sports Argus reader for as long as I can remember, and for the last few years of its existence I found myself purchasing a copy with no one else in the shop to talk to about the match they had been to that afternoon (if indeed their team was not playing Sunday afternoon or Monday evening), and inevitably I was the only person in the pub that evening with a copy that everyone wanted to borrow.
When the Argus went out of existence I switched to the Express & Star ‘pink’, another superb sports paper that has recently announced it will not be printed this season.
These observations do not solve the problems facing the Birmingham Post, I suppose as you say in your article they only highlight the different ways in which we now receive our ‘diet’ of news.
Personally I am a ‘paper’ man. If I am in London I purchase the Evening Standard and although not as localised as say the Birmingham Mail or the Express & Star, I find it a worthwhile read and good value for money. Although an evening paper and aimed at a completely different audience to the Birmingham Post readership, I presume that as an organization you have analysed how these other ‘regional’ papers exist? I guess you have and I suppose they are under the same pressure, particularly from the number of free papers I see being distributed in the capital.
Circulation – I pick my copy up from a Tesco in Halesowen and I have to say if I arrive there at 7.15am there is usually only a couple of copies left, if I arrive at 8.00am there are none.
Sponsorship - How badly do the major professional organizations in Birmingham i.e. Property, Solicitors, Accountants, Consultancy Firms, etc want the Post to continue – would they be willing to provide some form of sponsorship to off-set manufacturing and staff costs? Or would this approach compromise the freedom of speech required by the press?
Could Lord Digby Jones be approached as a flag bearer for the above sponsorship, explaining to the above organisations how important the Post is to the region and how vital it is to keep jobs in all sectors.
If all else fails and you are faced with the options in your article, I think I would agree that a weekly edition is the best solution. The ‘success’ of the paper has to be based upon Birmingham and the surrounding region, to weaken the brand as you say is not an option.
I’m sorry I cannot be more innovative and helpful in my comments. I wish you every success with the decisions you and your colleagues are about to make, I’m sure they will be in the best interests of the readership given the constraints you are working under.
Mick Kenna,
Birmingham.
