Belgian Newspaper Pioneers Novel Electronic Format

As traditional newspapers struggle to adapt to a new era of news consumption, the renowned Belgian daily 'Le Soir' has come up with a novel way to boost its readership.

Published

3 months ago

Categories

Technology

Topics

Journalism, Technology

Places

Belgium, Brussels

Transcript

SCRIPT: This may be one of Belgium's most established newspapers - but at just around 2 pm these journalists at Le Soir in Brussels are already putting the finishing touches to their articles. Not for tomorrow's edition or for the web - But a new format, especially designed for smartphones, tablets or computers which paying customers receive every day at 5pm. Other newspapers in Belgium already offer a similar format, but only in the format of a PDF. SOUNDBITE 1 - Philippe Laloux (man) Digital Media manager Le Soir (French, 25 sec): "This isn't about an evolution of the website or a new way of reading PDFs. It's a new product which frees you from the deluge of news, which allows you to take a step back, to re-prioritise the news and not in a chronological way. It allows you to go deeper with all the advantages of a digital version - the set up of the screens, multimedia enhancements and hyper-text links. The aim isn't to get rid of the paper version, it's to make way for the future." And this future is already well under way. In 2011, Le Soir saw its daily circulation of 75,000 copies drop five per cent while subscriptions for the online paper quadrupled. SOUNDBITE 2 - Didier Hamann (man) Editor in Chief of 'Le Soir' (French, 19 sec): "For many years we offered free, quality information to readers who were used to getting this information without paying for it. That's no longer possible - that model is finished. There's no doubt that the era of free, quality information is over." For one Euro, subscribers receive the news on their smartphones, tablets or computers at 5pm every evening and a PDF of the morning edition. It's more expensive than an online newspaper subscription, but cheaper than the traditional paper version. Le Soir had to adapt to accomodate the shifting demands of the market, and so too have the paper's staff. SOUNDBITE 3 - Bernard Padoan, President of the society of journalists of 'Le Soir' (French, 19 sec): "We're working with the same employees - no extra staff were hired for the launch of the digital version. They are journalists who until now worked on the paper and web versions, and who create articles with far more substance - the digital version at 5pm has far more value." Rossel, owners of Le Soir, continue to develop their business plan - the latest idea is to offer a free tablet and internet connection to customers who sign up to a two year subscription of Le Soir's daily newspaper or smartphone/tablet format. And so far so good - since the launch of the offer one month ago, 1500 new subscribers have signed up. /// ------------------------------------------- SHOTLIST: Brussels, 16 Jan 2013 and Nivelles, Belgium 23 Jan 2013. Source: AFPTV - VAR of Le Soir journalists in the office - VAR of the electronic edition of Le Soir on lap tops and computers SOUNDBITE 1 Philippe Laloux (man) Head of the electronic version of Le Soir - VAR of Le Soir journalists in the office - VAR of newspapers (like Le Soir) which belong to Rossel Group Le Soir newspapers being printed SOUNDBITE 2 Didier Hamann (man) Editor of 'Le Soir' - VAR of Didier in the office - VAR of newspapers (like Le Soir) which belong to Rossel Group Le Soir newspapers being printed - CU of Bernard Padoan, President of the society of journalists of 'Le Soir' typing on a computer - VAR of Le Soir journalists in the office - MS of a journalist reading the electronic 5pm version of Le Soir