As The Independent's sales fall to a new low, will anyone take it on?

The Independent is a calling card across the world, the paper's former owner, Tony O'Reilly, once told me. It was one of the major reasons he fought so hard to acquire the Indy and why he was prepared to lose so much money afterwards as its publisher.He understood that it was the title that gave the paper much of its global cachet. It also accounted, at least in part, for its initial sales success in Britain.Even if the paper's claim to independence was somewhat suspect - independence from what? - it cannot be denied that it championed liberal journalism. And O'Reilly, who disagreed with some of the output, did not interfere editorially.Gradually, however, its losses forced him to institute a continual round of cutbacks. Along the way, there were editorial innovations overseen by editor Simon Kelner, such as the format switch from broadsheet to compact, the poster-style front pages and the adoption of the "viewspaper" editorial approach.O'Reilly's single most devastating decision was to misread the onset of the digital revolution, which led to a disastrous delay in creating a worthwhile website. Meanwhile, despite occasional moments when it defied the industry's overall downward circulation trend, sales fell away. By the time O'Reilly's cash-strapped company, Independent News & Media, sold the Independent to Alexander Lebedev in March 2010, the paper was selling 184,000 (which included 53,000 bulks).Rightly, Lebedev and his team could see that hopes of reversing that... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #wrote yesterday

Other news stories related to: "As The Independent's sales fall to a new low, will anyone take it on?"

Sales rise at Profile

Profile has announced a sales hike of 23% for the year to end March 2012, with an operating... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sales rise

SEAL Book, New Rowling Could Signal A Strong Fall

Over the past decade sales patterns have changed, with fall, or “holiday,” sales picking up later and later—often in the last two weeks of the season. But things could be different this year. With the closing of Borders, many stores saw a significant uptick last November, and for some, like San... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Hachette UK and Commonwealth sees 8% sales drop in first half

Hachette UK is looking to exceptionally strong autumn publishing after recording an 8% sales drop... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hachette uk

Young-adult books by Fiona Paul, Eric Greitens and others this fall

YA promises diversity with historical fiction, paranormal romance, murder mysteries and thrillers.YA promises diversity with historical fiction, paranormal romance, murder mysteries and thrillers. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #murder mysteries #paranormal romance #historical fiction #eric greitens #young-adult books

New stock focus boosts HMV book sales

HMV has seen a 16% rise in book sales year on year after refocusing its core offer back onto... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

B&N Will Rise or Fall with Content

While Barnes & Noble has created lots of buzz and headlines with its Nook e-reading devices, its future profitability lies in the sale of content. That was the message CEO William Lynch delivered to analysts last week in a conference call discussing first-quarter results. Improved gross... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #e-reading devices #barnes noble #device sales #increased sales #lynch noted

W H Smith reports high street book sales increase

W H Smith has announced that it expects full-year results to be at the top end of market... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #top end

Erotica boom affects genre sales

The recent boom in sales of erotic fiction is "cannibalising" the rest of the UK book market, trade magazine The Bookseller says. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2012-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #trade magazine #erotic fiction #recent boom

E-book sales surge in first quarter, says B&N

US retailer Barnes & Noble has reported a 46% rise in digital content sales for its fiscal... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Book sales slump during Olympics

Printed book sales in the UK slumped 7% (£1.8m) to £24.5m week on week in the second... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Fifty Shades boosts US sales

The US book business is starting to reap the benefit of strong sales of the Fifty Shades of Grey... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fifty shades #book business #strong sales

London's Olympic sales dip continues

London booksellers say trade has continued slow as the predicted Olympic boost fails to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Canongate halts sale of Lehrer book

Canongate has stopped the distribution and sale of Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jonah lehrer #creativity works

German sales drop in 2012, outlook 'mixed'

The adverse economic environment and consumers who are cutting down on their spending are finally... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Bertrams appoints international sales director

Bertrams has appointed an international sales director to support the book wholesaler’s... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book wholesaler

Apple iPad sales up 84% in third quarter

Unit sales of the iPad rose 84% year-on-year in the third quarter ending 30th June 2012, to a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Unpredictable summer positive for book sales

Retailers say the summer’s mixed weather is giving book sales a lift, with Nielsen BookScan... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nielsen bookscan #book sales

Industry Sales Pegged At $27.2 Billion

Total book sales fell 2.5% in 2011, to $27.2 billion, according to the latest figures released by BookStats. Revenue was down in three of the four major segments measured by BookStats—k–12, higher education, and professional/scholarly—and up slightly in trade. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #higher education