Two of Australia’s oldest papers to go digital as circulation declines

The publisher of two of Australia's oldest newspapers has decided to stop publication of the titles on weekdays, underlining the continuing woes of the print media in the developed world.

APN, one of Australasia's largest operators of regional newspapers, magazines, commercial print, radio broadcasting and outdoor advertising, has decided to stop publishing on weekdays the 123-year-old Daily News, and the 104-year-old Coffs Coast Advocate, in the face of declining circulation and as part of a cost-cutting move.

The print edition of the Daily News will be published only on weekends, and the cover price will be slashed from $1.3 to 50 cents. The paper will offer readers online updates through its website on weekdays.

The Coffs Coast Advocate will also be published only on Wednesdays and Saturdays and will be distributed free to readers.

APN has also decided to shut down two of its free-sheets, the Gold Coast Mail and Robina Mail. Both these titles had circulation of around 25,000 each, but the publisher has decided to shut them down. The cost-cutting moves will result in 35 job losses.

''In each of these markets, although the audience for paid daily newspapers has been declining there remains very strong demand from both advertisers and the community for the twice weekly newspapers that we are retaining,'' said Warren Bright, CEO, APN Australian Regional Media. ''We also have strong digital audiences in each market so it makes sense to combine a constantly updated digital news service with this modified print offering.''