With Spanish edition, The New York Times looks for new brand faithfuls
The New York Times has launched a new edition for its Spanish speaking readers. The new site, titled The New York Times en Espa?ol and now up and running, will feature both English-language articles translated into and original reporting in Spanish.
As Nieman Lab reports, the Spanish-language site is yet another attempt by The New York Times to capture, cater to and build the newspaper’s profile with international audiences by creating tailored content. In 2012, it dipped its toes in the water with a Chinese-language website, despite facing state censorship. The international approach was further highlighted by CEO Mark Thompson, who last year argued that only audience-appropriate journalism would bring international success; the rest of the world could not be viewed as “just one big audience”.
The New York Times is not alone in seeking to build its international footprint. In the UK, The Guardian has grown from a UK-only publication to offering Australian and US editions, with chief executive David Pemsel describing international as one of the group’s “big strategic pillars”. The Times (of London) also recently announced a weekly app aimed at international subscribers.
The international drive can be traced back to the sea change in the media industry revenue model. As readerships and viewerships become increasingly fragmented, making money off readers and advertisers is becoming more and more difficult. Whilst many outlets have seen the potential of online subscriptions and advertising increase, newspaper sales continue to fall, as do print advertising revenues. Last year alone, UK newspapers lost out on print ad revenues equivalent to the combined total wage bills of The Times, Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph.
New, international audiences mean new money. The New York Times en Espa?ol will be free of charge for at least a year, Politico Media reports, after which the newspaper will seek to convert readers into digital subscribers.
But The New York Times won’t just be chasing quick-fix digital revenue. It is embarking on a Guardianesque strategy of building its international community of ‘brand faithfuls’ or, in Alan Rusbridger’s words, “[a] community of journalists, readers and friends of an institution”. If fickle readers’ news-hopping between outlets distorts revenues, media brand loyalty acts as at least some kind of an insurance policy.
This blog first appeared on mhpc.com
Image source: "The Sunny Side of the Street" by Gareth Williams is licensed under CC BY 2.0