Sub contracting newspapers

Almost all newspapers sub contract out the work for writing newspapers. Instead of the newspaper having to produce a section for entertainment, they can hire a subcontractor who works for many newspapers.

The sub contractor writes for many publications say an entertainment section. Because they have more specialization and probably budget, they can probably to be fair, do a better job. Then they make a few local changes and at a fraction of the cost of an original production the newspaper has an entertainment section. If the subcontractor uses contractors in India or the Philippines it can be cheaper still. Click here for some details of what they do.

The Sydney Morning Herald, the Sun-Herald, The Age and The Sunday Age will soon greatly expand out their sub-editing. That may cost hundreds of reporters’ jobs.

Much our newspapers today are not a local product, soon even less of it will be. It will make the newspaper cheaper and possibly a better quality but this will probably make the local newspaper less attractive to the consumer who are looking at a local perspective, reduce the point of difference between the newspapers, and make the newspaper less competitive to the internet.

Note the same is happening in magazines but its effect is probably much less here.