The NFRN has slammed a promotional campaign from Scottish regional newspaper publisher Highland News and Media, to lure customers away from printed newspapers, as “cynical, aggressive and a slap in the face for news retailers”.
The publisher produces the Banffshire Journal, Caithness Courier, Forres Gazette, Inverness Courier, John O’Groat Journal, North Star, Northern Scot, Northern Times, Ross-shire Journal, Strathspey & Badenoch Herald, The Banffshire Advertiser, and The Huntly Express.
In response, the NFRN’s Head of News Brian Murphy, said: “Our members in Scotland are shocked and appalled at the aggressive tactics that Highland News and Media is adopting in its bid to steal their loyal customers away from their weekly printed copy to its online version.
“The way the publisher is marketing the digital subscription packages for its papers shows the total disregard it has for retailers who sell its printed products.”
Murphy added: “This is a slap in the face for newsagents. We have been given no prior warning about this. The first we knew about it was seeing the heavy – and aggressive – promotion inside the newspaper.”
The NFRN is seeking an urgent meeting with senior executives at Highland News and Media so members could explain how encouraging regular readers to switch to online subscriptions would have a detrimental knock-on effect for shop owners and lead to a loss of trade.
He added: “It is a proven fact that newspapers are a key footfall driver, and research shows that people buying a paper will often buy something else at the same time.”
