Today, a South Australian glossy magazine scraps its cover price, Radio Adelaide seeks a new home, decoding the democracy reform coverage, media types take on musicians for charity, and much more.
Glossy mag becomes a freebie
It’s a bold move but not without precedent – local glossy, the Adelaide Hills Magazine, has decided to become a freebie, and doubled its print run.
Beginning with the Spring 2015 edition, the quarterly’s publishers, Free Run Press, will scrap the $8.95 cover price and make the mag free to pick-up from certain retailers, local businesses and regional newsagencies.
It’s a gambit that’s worked overseas for some magazines and newspapers to rapidly increase circulation, and thereby make the publication a more attractive prospect for advertisers.
For the Hills magazine, the print run will be increased from 10,000 to 20,000, with an accompanying digital strategy.
In a statement to advertisers, Free Run says “this is a big picture decision that follows the success of our sister publications Barossa Living Magazine, Aspire Magazine, SA Kids Magazine and Parade Magazine”.
Free Run’s business-to-business wine magazine, WBM, will remain a paid publication.
The company says the free “self-selection model” has been successful with its other publications – in fact, they claim to have a 100 per cent pick-up rate.
Radio Adelaide looking for new home
There’s no place like home for community station Radio Adelaide, but they say a “tornado” is approaching.
The Wizard of Oz metaphor has come up because the University of Adelaide has sold the North Terrace building in which Radio Adelaide is located. The station, which began broadcasting as 5UV in 1972, will have to move by mid 2016.
In a post on its website, Radio Adelaide says it is reviewing how it operates and what kind of space it will need, before deciding on a new home.
“Radio Adelaide is a part of the University of Adelaide – a great place to be when you’re a radio station about ideas, issues and music. The University owns the building at 228 North Terrace – or did until recently. 228 was sold in June as part of the University’s strategy to free up cash to invest in their projects. That means that we need to be somewhere else by the middle of 2016.
“As part of the move, the University has decided to conduct a review of how we work and the space we need. This is happening over the next few months. Moving is also a good opportunity to take stock of what we do, and how we can do it better. Technology is constantly changing the radio world, and things we’re doing now were inconceivable ten years ago. So how can Radio Adelaide set up for the decades ahead?”
The station says it’s open to ideas about where it might move, but there are a few fundamentals.
“We’re a great option for buildings or precincts that want to bring people into an environment. More than a thousand people come through the doors each week; 50 – 200 every day, including weekends. Looking practically, we need 400 – 600 square metres, with flat public access and full accessibility, including proximity to public transport.”
Go here for more details.
Decode this
The Advertiser today ripped into Jay Weatherill for his democracy reform policy, announced last night and first reported by InDaily yesterday.
The ridicule included a rather amusing piece attempting to “decode” some of the more obscure language in the policy.
A booming editorial declared the state needed leadership not “babble” and asked how the policy could create jobs.
Funnily enough, an editorial just yesterday in the same journal praised a key aspect of the Weatherill democracy agenda – citizen’s juries, which the new policy promises to expand.
Just yesterday, the Tiser said the latest jury’s report – on dog and cat management – had made a useful contribution, and it didn’t seem to matter that the jury process, which previously looked at city life and bicycles, was disconnected from economics.
“This is not a tool for shaping economic policy but, at least in the case of cycling and pets, has produced worthwhile, reasoned recommendations,” the editorial said.
So what’s changed in two days?
We wouldn’t want to descend into outright cynicism but consider this fact: yesterday’s report on dogs and cats was a Tiser exclusive; the democracy reform policy was an InDaily scoop.
News Corp spins its own results
The column has asserted before that blatant self-interest and anti-competitiveness are the true hallmarks of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation – not political bias.
And it was on display today in all its glory.
Curiously, The Advertiser ran a report on the results written by The Australian’s media writer Darren Davidson.
This version of the report was glowing about the media empire’s results, failing to mention that the company made a US$149 million loss.
Clearly, other measures of success were more important – but a different standard was applied to News Corp’s major Australian competitor, Fairfax.
Right next to the self-congratulatory article about News Corp’s results was another headed: “Fairfax profit takes a 63 per cent dive”.
In other words, if you want straight reporting on News Corp’s performance, don’t read their newspapers. You could try this, instead.
Journos versus musos
The Reclink Community Cup is an institution in Melbourne, where the annual charity footy match between musicians and media types attracts big crowds and some big names.
This weekend the event comes to Adelaide for the first time, pitching a team representing the fourth estate – the Anchors – against a squad of musicians – the Rockatoos.
The teams don’t include the likes of musician Paul Kelly, who has suited up in Melbourne, but there will be a good cross-section of local talent on the field, with three community radio stations offering strong support (Radio Adelaide, Fresh and Three D).
The media team includes The Australian’s bureau chief Michael Owen, The Advertiser’s Michael McGuire, and hit107’s Amos Gill and Cat Lynch, to name a few.
The musicians include Adam and Ben Hooper from Goldstein, solo performer Max Savage, and Kylie Porter from all-girl rockabilly act The Villenettes.
The match will be held on Sunday at Coopers Stadium (Norwood Oval), with proceeds going to Reclink Australia, which uses sport and the arts to enhance the lives of some of Australia’s most disadvantaged people.
Gates open at midday.
Naughty corner
Nothing this week beats this bizarre column about sharks, originally published in the Daily Telegraph.
The column, which doesn’t appear to be satire, calls for the culling of sharks (a “protective species”).
After asserting “the ocean is our domain and sharks have no place destroying lives and livelihoods”, columnist Laura Banks reveals that the sharks have an evil end game in mind – the economic ruin of seaside towns.
“Tourism is slowing. The people are not coming. Surfers are not surfing. If this continues into summer, the seaside towns of Lennox Head and Evans Head, even Ballina, will be no more.
“We won’t have to worry about sharks because there will be no one living on the coast. The shark will have won.”
Top of the class
Crusty old media types have long scoffed at the idea that global juggernaut BuzzFeed can be considered a news website (and it isn’t included in Nielsen measurements of the top Australian news sites).
However, there are growing signs that traditional newspapers should be worried.
BuzzFeed appointed its first Australian political editor this week, with Mark Di Stefano joining the Canberra Press Gallery. And the bureau is already doing interesting work, including this piece on young MP Wyatt Roy.
Former Adelaide freelancer Mikey Nicholson has also joined the BuzzFeed news team as a staff writer.
Media Week is published on Fridays.
