It’s been an uninspired and depressing couple of weeks for traditional media in the UAE, with both magazines and newspapers floundering in the midst of declining adspend and the rising influence of digital.
It won’t come as much of a surprise to many to hear that Emirates Business 24/7 will cease publication next month, leaving the newspaper with only what it describes as “a comprehensive and interactive electronic newspaper”. In other words, it’s ditching print in favour of the web.
The paper is also ditching its business focus, shifting instead to more generalised local news. Ahmad Abdullah Al Shaikh, managing director and director-general of DMI, the paper’s parent company, said: “The electronic copy of Emirates 24/7 will be a source of news wherev
Iain, I wonder if your title will make the same leap? I don’t actually see the EmBiz 24/7 as being bad news as much as following global trends.
I’m not sure of the UK situation, but the two media/advertising industry rags in Oz, AdNews and B&T both have falling circulation and the excellent website/blog Mumbrella (run by one of those titles ex-editor) has traffic soaring. The content is instant and up to date (not a wek or two old) and the best thing is the comments after each article. It invokes true dialogue – exactly what static media doesn’t.
@alwaysozmatt
Who knows… the question is whether publishers can make money via the web. Emirates Business 24/7 has obviously gone online because it’s not making money in print, despite the fact that the vast majority of regional adspend is still in traditional media.
As for Mumbrella, it didn’t take ads for the first six months of its existence and had to build traffic to a certain level before companies became interested in advertising. Whether it’s making money, I don’t know. Even UK sites with huge traffic, such as The Guardian, struggle to break even. Good for the consumer, but not for the publisher. The same will apply here.
I don’t think there’s any point jumping head first into online like Emirates Biz has if the revenues aren’t there. That’s why I think the key remains multi-platform for now, until a new, workable and viable business model emerges.