No Mail for Telegraph
18/06/04 11:56 Media
issues
You may have heard already that the Daily Mail and
General Trust is not going to pursue ownership of the
Telegraph.
I have mixed feelings. On the one hand it would have been a good match - the most right-wing broadsheet and the most right-wing tabloid under the same roof. On the other hand should right-wing writing be pigeonholed like that? Certainly I find the Evening Standard and Mail have some commonality in attitude and stance, and it would be a pity to drag another paper into the same stable - as someone who disagrees with much of what they say it's too easy for me to think 'oh, that's what they would print' if they're in the same company.
There are other reasons it would have been a bad idea, though, quite apart from the financials that will have destroyed the deal. The Independent has gone exclusively 'compact'. The Times is giving out vouchers, free/subsidised books and no doubt other inducements to buy the compact rather than the broadsheet edition. The Guardian will no doubt make some sort of move at some stage but it's not saying what. So, supposing you're the owner of the tabloid-format, right-wing Daily Mail. Is there any good business reason to buy into what's currently a right-wing broadsheet but will almost certainly come under pressure to become a right-wing tabloid and compete with your core product? I think not.
I have no idea who's likely to get the Telegraph in the end, but I can imagine a lot of relief around Derry Street that it's not going to be the Mail.
I have mixed feelings. On the one hand it would have been a good match - the most right-wing broadsheet and the most right-wing tabloid under the same roof. On the other hand should right-wing writing be pigeonholed like that? Certainly I find the Evening Standard and Mail have some commonality in attitude and stance, and it would be a pity to drag another paper into the same stable - as someone who disagrees with much of what they say it's too easy for me to think 'oh, that's what they would print' if they're in the same company.
There are other reasons it would have been a bad idea, though, quite apart from the financials that will have destroyed the deal. The Independent has gone exclusively 'compact'. The Times is giving out vouchers, free/subsidised books and no doubt other inducements to buy the compact rather than the broadsheet edition. The Guardian will no doubt make some sort of move at some stage but it's not saying what. So, supposing you're the owner of the tabloid-format, right-wing Daily Mail. Is there any good business reason to buy into what's currently a right-wing broadsheet but will almost certainly come under pressure to become a right-wing tabloid and compete with your core product? I think not.
I have no idea who's likely to get the Telegraph in the end, but I can imagine a lot of relief around Derry Street that it's not going to be the Mail.
|