Brazilian newspapers in the 1st semester: print drops 7.7%, digital has a shy increase

The 15 newspapers selected by Poder360 registered a drop in printed circulation in the 1st semester. Together, they reached 433,999 copies – 7.7% less than in December 2021.

In 2015, seven years ago, there were 1,335,373. The data are from IVC (Instituto Verificador de Comunicação).

Super Notícia is the most prominent publication in absolute numbers – it closed the first semester with an average of 70,570 copies. But it presented a drop of 8.5% compared to December 2021.

The worst retraction was from Folha de S.Paulo, from 66,188 to 55,881 (-15.6%).

Among the 15 newspapers selected by Poder360, IVC does not audit the digital version of O Povo, Meia Hora, and Diário do Pará. For this reason, the three newspapers only appear in the printed circulation infographic (above).

For Luciana Moherdaui, journalist and researcher of the Oscar Sala Chair at IEA-USP (Institute of Advanced Studies of the University of São Paulo), the decline is justified by the model used by printed newspapers.

“It is outdated even when published on the web in the same format, with hierarchy, layout, and column. There is no longer a publication interval or deadline, and the design has become obsolete in the face of the current possibilities. The logic is ‘it happened, it’s on the air’,” he says.

Rodrigo Ratier, a journalism professor at USP (University of São Paulo), says that Super Notícia’s leadership “does not go through a virtuous path regarding local journalism because the newspaper’s focus is sports and police coverage”.

In the professor’s view, the positive result is due “more to the popular price (R$2 – US$0.39) and the editorial profile typical of tabloids”. Although it tops the list, the Minas Gerais publication follows the downward trend of the other newspapers.

DIGITAL: ADVANCES 4.4%.

Digital circulation, which had been climbing since 2018, showed a shy increase of 4.4% in the 1st half. Together, the 15 publications reached 1,132,324 paid online subscriptions.

Globo tops the list, with 302,622. It is followed by Folha, which has been competing for the lead in recent years -it has 296,546. Both newspapers had equal drops of 1.1%.

The worst retraction was from Extra (-71.8%), from Rio de Janeiro. The newspaper from Minas Gerais, O Tempo, was the one that stood out in the period – it increased 105.6% from December 2021 to June 2022.

In Moherdaui’s evaluation, online journalism has advanced little because “it continues to simulate the traditional newspaper” and “because it is not part of the business model of the big techs” – “although some communication companies receive financial incentives from these companies.

Ratier credits the “news avoidance” phenomenon combined with the “standard digital media behavior” of not paying for content.

In publications with a paywall, “we see, in most countries, a ‘winner takes all’ scenario. That is, few subscribers tend to favor only one subscription, which hinders a scenario in which all (or more) players benefit from the migration to digital,” says the professor.

DIGITAL + PRINT: +0.8%

Together, digital and print circulation reached 1,528,796. In the aggregate ranking, O Globo, Folha and Estadão form the top 3.

O Tempo (+69.5%) from Minas Gerais and Zero Hora (+16%) from Rio Grande do Sul had the most significant increases.

BUSINESS MODEL

The traditional media industry in Brazil is still without a definitive solution for its business model.

The drop in print circulation was expected. It is inexorable. In the case of the digital version, the numbers remain modest to ensure a cruising speed from a financial point of view.

Moherdaui cites the New York Times, which designed a strategy contemplating microtargeting [directing content to people based on detailed information – such as what they buy, watch or respond to].

In Brazil, he affirms that O Globo follows a similar tactic. “It is not about reaching all readers at once, but thinking of segmented packages,” he says.

Ratier says that the diversification of revenue sources “is already a reality and is not solving the problem. For him, the way out would be taxation of social media platforms combined with some kind of “state subsidy.”

He says communication should be seen as a “human right that needs resources to be produced.”

With information from Poder360