Thirteen years ago this month the very first Project Syndicate appeared in the pages of Den, thus marking the beginning of a fruitful and longstanding cooperation. Indeed, since then some 2,019 articles followed, delivering to the readers of Den insightful analysis and commentary from the world’s foremost thought leaders.
Over those years, the rate of change in the media world has been nothing short of exhilarating. The digital explosion and the recent economic upheavals led to dwindling circulations and profit erosion for most newspapers. As publishers attempt to navigate through the industry-wide disruption, they continue to carry a global mission of great importance. Newspapers still reach 17 percent more people than the Internet, and developing markets – where print is seen as a truly premium and aspirational product – are poised for aggressive growth this decade. “Circulation is like the sun. It continues to rise in the East and decline in the West,” said Christoph Riess, CEO of WAN-IFRA at a recent conference for the world’s editors. In countries where the Internet penetration rate is still in single digits, print is an incredibly powerful medium. In India, for instance, the number of paid-for daily titles is now at 2,700, up by 44 percent since 2005. The industry revenues will meanwhile grow by 9 percent over the next four years.
For publishers in established markets, meanwhile, the challenge is in repositioning print to better jive with their ever expanding range of digital products and distribution channels. The role of premium content in this is invaluable. In many ways, the digital explosion, and the ensuing information and content abundance, have played into the hands of newspapers by making their quality stand out from the rest of the ecosystem. When information is constantly on tap, its supply never-ending, the sort of premium, curated content proposition that newspapers offer is increasingly valuable. Indeed, newspapers act as quality filters in a news landscape that can so easily become overwhelming.
Taking a closer look at the evolution of newspapers’ DNA, we see the focus shifting towards more reflective content: opinion pieces and commentaries. An increasing number of publishers are leveraging premium content as a way of distinguishing themselves from the competition, online and offline. There is also a purely practical need for this development – as content breaks down into even smaller units (consider Twitter and live blogging) of an increasingly greater number and variety, there is a clear need for deeper analysis and broader context.
Looking ahead, as newspapers face a fresh set of challenges across all mediums, Project Syndicate is going on this journey with its partners around the globe. By broadening its cooperation platform to extend into area of partnerships in the digital and traditional channels, together we are much better equipped to enter the new media age. Now is our chance to innovate and try out new approaches – this is a truly exciting time.
The Day’s FACT FILE
The Day became Ukraine’s first periodical and the only quality Ukrainian newspaper to launch cooperation with Project Syndicate as far back as in 1997. Now Project Syndicate’s international association of quality media unites almost 500 daily newspapers in 150 countries with a total circulation of over 56 million copies. It currently offers 41 monthly series and one weekly series of columns on topics ranging from economics to international affairs to science and philosophy. Thus this organization reaches out to readers all over the world to help them understand the issues and choices shaping their lives.
