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Inish Times v Independent battle to the death

Posted Friday, February 12, 2010

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Battle

Originally the Inishowen Independent decided to come out on the Tuesday to trump the Inish Times which came out on a Wednesday.

Belatedly, to match that move The Inish Times decided this week to come out on a Tuesday to go head-to-head with the Independent.

The Independent decided to come out on a Monday night catching the shops that stay open late.

Week1

So, how has the first week gone?

The first thing to say is that the Tuesday Journal has had no problem at all and has sold most of its copies in most shops.

It used to sell as many as the Friday Journal but has been in decline with the competition of the two upstarts.

However, it doesn't appear to have been hit at all by the new moves.

Affected

In the smaller shops that don't sell so many copies there doesn't seem to have been that much of an affect, although, except for the Inish Times in one shop, neither have sold out so there will be returned copies.

However, it is the biggest shops that sell the most copies that have had the most problem in shifting them.

Large piles of both newspapers remain on the floor in the two biggest selling shops in Moville.

If anything, the bigger piles are of the Inish Times - but that could be because more are ordered - which is definitely the case on one shop.

Big Losers

What the newsagents, certainly at the bigger shops, are saying is that they themselves are the big losers and don't see the sense in both local nespapers coming out on the same day.

The sugggestions is that they could both survive if one came out later in the week on a Thursday.

Indeed, from their point of view they would like to see one out on a Monday, the Journal on a Tuesday, Wednesday a day of rest, Thursday should see the other one of the locals out and Friday should see the Journal out.

That would keep local people and shopkeepers all happy.

It would also increase overall the number of newspapers sold.

Time Spent

Earlier in the week I put the amount of time I spent reading each of the Tuesday newspapers.

I don't read the ads or local sport and only glance at the pictures (I've sometimes been told afterwards when there was a picture of me or my relatives in the paper when I didn't notice it myself).

So, it took me 8 minutes to read Friday Journal today.

There wasn't much local content in it which is problem that they are acutely aware of.

That goes with the 11 minutes for the Tuesday Journal, and for the Inny Inny and 9 minutes for the Inish Times.

It has to be said that I'm in different reading moods on different days.

Newspaper of the Week

I gave the front Page of the week to the Tuesday Journal - so that makes the Tuesday Journal the newapaper of the week.

So, who will win the battle in the long term?

The Journal will, of course, survive and it appears the least affected by the battle.

Indeed the Friday Journal now has a clear run.

Main Battle

The main battle is between the Inny Inny and the Inish Times.

Unless they change days it is likely, during these hard times and with the advertising slump, that only one will survive.

The smart betting locally is on the Inish Times as they have the group behind them and can afford to lose money for an extended period if they reckon that they will get a clear field eventually.

Worrying Note

However, a worrying note for them is that both shopkeepers and some locals are saying that the Independent, since the start of the year, has become the better newspaper in terms of Moville news.

Before the start of the year people used to say the Inish Times was the best of the local newspapers.

Also, because their very survival is at stake the Inny Inny people seem more 'up for it' touring local shops and asking the owners what they and their customers would want to see in the paper.

Slight Advantage

So, the first week has been bad for both but with a slight advantage to the Inny Inny in terms of the amount of Moville news and the number of copies left over.

However, newspaper readers are creatures of habit and many people bought both newspapers in the first week (and some all three).

As their purse strings get tighter they well start to choose which newspaper to buy on Tuesday - especially when they see it is more or less the same news in each as they have come out on the same day.

A slight edge to the Inny Inny this week but the main battles are ahead and we will see who has both the resources and the stamina for the battle.

However, it is battle that both local newsagents and local people see as pointless and self-defeating.