German papers work on their image
German newspapers launched a joint campaign to improve the image of newspapers in Europe’s biggest newspaper market. The campaign started in December 2006 and will go on until March of this year. The campaign is supported by print ads (a curious example of promoting newspapers on the left), TV commercials and a special website. More than 180 newspaper support the campaign. In Germany 74% of the population over 14 read a daily paper on a ‘regular basis’ according to the German Publishers Organization BDZV, revenues have been stable or even growing slightly, but circulation is declining. The publishers’ organization reports a joint circulation of 27 million but according to the last World Press Trends (2005) only 2.1 million daily copies were sold on an average day. In 2000 the joint circulation was 25.5 million, meaning that based on these data circulation went down with 16% in five years.
Sources: Persoenlich, BDZV