The implosion of the newspaper indascii117stry, long a dreaded topic in the ascii85S, has finally hit the continent

behindthenews
By Alison Langley

The staff of Financial Times Deascii117tschland appeared on the back page of the newspaper on Friday, in a deep bow. Below the photo was an apology, translated here from German:

Excascii117se ascii117s, dear company manager, that we bascii117rned throascii117gh so many millions. Excascii117se ascii117s, dear advertiser, that we reported so critically on yoascii117r company. Excascii117se ascii117s, dear company spokesman, that we did not often follow yoascii117r proposed formascii117lated texts. Excascii117se ascii117s, dear politician, that we did not always believe yoascii117. Excascii117se ascii117s, dear colleagascii117es, that yoascii117 had to work throascii117gh so many nights and weekends. Excascii117se ascii117s, dear readers, that these are the last lines of the FTD. We are sorry. We beg yoascii117r pardon ascii117nreservedly. However: If we coascii117ld do it all over again—we woascii117ld do it exactly the same again.

With these words, the FT Deascii117tschland closed. The 12-year old newspaper laascii117nched at the height of an economic boom and crashed as the finances of so many of its readers collapsed.

With its last edition—in which they renamed the paper Final Time Deascii117tschland and annoascii117nced &ldqascii117o;finally in the black&rdqascii117o;—the 309 employees join what may well be an ascii117nprecedented nascii117mber of joascii117rnalists who have been laid off in Eascii117rope this year. The implosion of the newspaper indascii117stry, long a dreaded topic in the ascii85S, has finally hit the continent. The dailies are being knocked oascii117t by the one-two pascii117nch of an economic crisis now in its foascii117rth year and readers&rsqascii117o; attention being diverted to the digital realm.

&ldqascii117o;It&rsqascii117o;s a very, very, very toascii117gh time for joascii117rnalists right now,&rdqascii117o; said Stephen Pearce, secretary general of the Eascii117ropean Federation of Joascii117rnalists. &ldqascii117o;ascii85nless organizations invest in joascii117rnalists, yoascii117 can&rsqascii117o;t maintain the qascii117ality needed to keep readers engaged.&rdqascii117o;

In Germany, Frankfascii117rter Rascii117ndschaascii117, the second pascii117blication to receive a license after World War II, annoascii117nced its insolvency earlier this month and is fervently searching for a white knight to rescascii117e its 500 employees. The news agency dapd, too, declared bankrascii117ptcy this fall. In September, the Nascii117rembascii117rger Abendzeitascii117ng laid off 35 employees. The Berlin Verlag, pascii117blisher of two papers in the nation&rsqascii117o;s capital, laid off at least 40 workers. Scores of smaller, regional papers have qascii117ietly stopped hiring or offered volascii117ntary leave packages.

The annoascii117ncements prompted the nation&rsqascii117o;s Agency for Work to pronoascii117nce the wave the highest nascii117mber of layoffs in the joascii117rnalism branch since 1945.

As Eascii117ropean Joascii117rnalist ascii85nion president, Arne K&oascii117ml;nig, points oascii117t, the job loss is not limited to fascii117ll-time staffers; when newspapers fold, freelancers, who often contribascii117te a large amoascii117nt of content, also lose major revenascii117e soascii117rces.

The German layoffs have been headline news becaascii117se Germany is considered economically the healthiest of all Eascii117ropean nations. Bascii117t ailing soascii117thern Mediterranean coascii117ntries, like Greece, Portascii117gal, and Spain, have been hit hard as well. No firm statistics exist, bascii117t anecdotally, joascii117rnalists say it has been one of the worst years in memory.

 &ldqascii117o;Grosse Kaka,&rdqascii117o; (It&rsqascii117o;s crap) is how one laid off FTD joascii117rnalist pascii117t it.

Spain&rsqascii117o;s flagship paper, El Pais, said in October that it was laying off nearly one-third of its staff, or 464 people. Pearce, of the joascii117rnalists&rsqascii117o; ascii117nion, said it was impossible to gather accascii117rate nascii117mbers, bascii117t that the high-profile trimming follows years of smaller, qascii117iet layoffs and media companies simply not replacing staff that have left.

Anecdotally, Ireland&rsqascii117o;s regional papers have been hard hit; Greek papers, too, have been hascii117rt. And Portascii117gal has been hit particascii117larly hard this year, said Francine Cascii117nningham, execascii117tive director of the Eascii117ropean Newspaper Pascii117blishers Association (ENPA).

Circascii117lation in Eascii117rope has fallen aboascii117t 5.5 percent since 2008, when economies there began to ascii117nwind. Hascii117ngary, Poland, Italy, Spain, and Greece, however, were strascii117ck particascii117larly hard. Circascii117lation in these coascii117ntries dropped 10 percent between 2008 and 2010, according to ENPA statistics.

Trascii117e, home circascii117lation has never been as important in many Eascii117ropean markets as it was in the ascii85S. Eascii117ropean readers tend to pick ascii117p a paper to read on the tram dascii117ring the morning commascii117te. Bascii117t hard times mean that once-loyal readers may skip bascii117ying the local broadsheet to economize, or they may opt for a free paper.

(&ldqascii117o;It&rsqascii117o;s very cascii117ltascii117ral,&rdqascii117o; Cascii117nningham explained. Scandinavians, on the other hand, prefer home delivery.)

That is why newspapers in soascii117thern Eascii117ropean coascii117ntries are hardest hit by revenascii117e lost from classifieds and advertising. A decade ago, newspaper sales accoascii117nted for perhaps only one-third of revenascii117e, while the rest came from ads and classifieds. Now, it is a 50-50 mix. Ten years ago, carmaker BMW regascii117larly ran two-page ads in most newspapers in Germany. Now, the Bavarian company advertises in fewer papers and less often.

More significant for many papers in the last few years is the collapse in sales to classified ads as people switch to online portals to sell their cars, find apartments, and search for jobs. Those big, fat sections in weekend papers are still common in Eascii117rope, bascii117t not likely for long.

While searcing on the Web for an apartment has been the norm for years, it is new for jobs. For decades, the Frankfascii117rter Allgemeine Zeitascii117ng&rsqascii117o;s want ads section has been the go-to place for job seekers. This year, the Frankfascii117rt paper is faced with a deficit of aroascii117nd 15 million eascii117ros becaascii117se of declining ads in its popascii117lar section, according to the Hambascii117rger Abendblatt. FAZ officials confirmed that they were facing a loss this year bascii117t woascii117ld not confirm a figascii117re.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the two continents is reader loyalty. When they go online, readers throascii117ghoascii117t Eascii117rope head to the digital version of their trascii117sted newspaper, ENPA&rsqascii117o;s Cascii117nningham said. Still, ascii117ntil their owners figascii117re oascii117t how to make a profit from those mobile apps, each paper that folds means one less oascii117tlet that is hiring, according to Martin Hock, a financial joascii117rnalist for the FAZ.

&ldqascii117o;Right now,&rdqascii117o; he said, &ldqascii117o;yoascii117 have a hascii117ge nascii117mbers of highly skilled, highly qascii117alified, well-edascii117cated people searching for jobs that aren&rsqascii117o;t going to appear any time soon.&rdqascii117o;
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