It’s a positive surprise to read that the UK’s The Independent, which ceased print publication March 26, now has more subscribers to its The Independent Daily Edition app than it did to the printed newspaper. The app launched as a “virtual” alternative to the paper on Feb. 8.
The Independent now has twice as many subscribers to the app as paid subscribers to the paper.
Surprising, but not unheard of. Something similar has happened in Canada to the French-language La Presse+, which ceased to print an edition daily (only print on weekends), and it publishes a tablet edition. The weekly readership of La Presse+ has increased by almost 30%: nearly 140,000 new readers are using the app each week.
Perhaps we are looking at future models for publishing, where a digital brand is created with strong marketing so that when it comes time to migrate the print edition to digital, the foundation has been established. I see such models at work in Scandinavia, where several dailies are doing so, starting with strong e-paper editions.
