At a time when the paper newspaper seems doomed to extinction in the coming years, Francis Morel, boss of Les Echos and chairman of the national press unions, believes that the alliance of print and digital is vital to the survival of the newspaper… But how can we ensure that the paper format survives technological and societal advances?

At a time when newspaper companies are trying to outdo each other in their ingenuity to maintain growth in sales of print newspapers (while improving this seems a utopian goal at the moment), Alain Weil, head of SFR Media, the group that manages Libération, BFMTV, RMC and L’Express, among others, has reopened the debate by declaring:

If, in the future, we can broadcast information of the same quality as print while hiding it, it will be no worse for the press companies.

Keen to add another layer to an already highly sensitive subject, he adds that the paper newspaper is doomed in any case:

60% of paper newspapers are returned to companies without being sold, and none of them are currently experiencing growth.

Francis Morel believes that the alchemy of digital and print is essential.

Speaking on France Inter on 13 June, Francis Morel took a less alarmist view of the issue, pointing out, using Aujourd’hui en France as an example, that without the paper format, he would be unable to keep his newspaper going. Aujourd’hui en France has a daily circulation of 128,000, with average sales of 118,000.

He adds:

The two have to coexist. If you don’t own a website as a newspaper company, you miss out on a significant audience because the digital format brings in a different audience, but the print format remains the newspaper’s brand.

The timeless pleasure of the paper format

Francis Morel continues in the same vein, rightly pointing out that the print format is still the strongest link between the reader and the newspaper company:

Enjoying breakfast while reading the newspaper is still a pleasure that would never be equalled if it were replaced by reading on a tablet.

Solutions to be implemented

According to Francis Morel, there are two solutions that need to be put in place in order to ensure the long-term future of paper-based communication: the first concerns the management of national sales outlets, and the second concerns the management of press companies’ editorial workloads.

Closing a press outlet is a major problem! The decline in sales is largely attributable to closures. Conversely, every time a sales outlet is refurbished or opened, the impact on sales is felt directly.

Finally, with regard to the management of editorial costs, Francis Morel recommends that press companies spread costs more evenly across all media.

Even today, many communicators base 100% of their editorial costs on the paper format… This is a costly mistake!

It remains to be seen whether media companies will heed this advice, only time will tell…

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