Technology is key to future growth, says Reach
Jim Mullen (Reach plc chief executive)
Reach plc, which owns more than 110 regional newsbrands, 80 online brands and nine national titles, shed around 300 journalism roles following a restructuring programme during last year’s coronavirus pandemic. But today, with an editorial workforce of 2,500, it now employs more staff than it did before the pandemic.
Amongst proposed expansion plans, the group, which publishes titles across the Midlands, is set to launch a new online title – MyShropshire – and, in the near future, will build a new channel for Herefordshire into an existing Reach site.
Referring to investment in agenda-setting journalism and engaging content, Reach plc chief executive Jim Mullen (pictured) in announcing the company’s half-yearly results, said: “Amid our push to expand and deepen engagement, we remain the UK’s largest national and regional commercial publisher, the only publisher with a digital reach of over 40 million unique visitors a month and the fifth largest digital property in the UK.
“We consistently attract the leading monthly audience for sport and continue to attract more 18-24s than any other commercial digital publisher. Put simply, despite the ongoing narrative of news being in decline, the fact is that our content has never been read by more people at a national and local level.”
He went on: “Key to our audience growth are the technology platforms and we continue to work with Google and Facebook on their respective news initiatives for which we now receive regular monthly fees. We continue to work with the wider industry on resolving the wider payment for content issues across all platforms, with the aim of establishing a sustainable eco-system for readers, publishers and platforms.”
Mullen said: “Reach remains the largest partner of the BBC’s Local Democracy Reporter Scheme which aims to ensure key events like council and court proceedings receive ongoing coverage. 75 of the 165 reporters in the scheme are allocated to Reach and we invest in training and infrastructure for these roles to promote local news and to nurture some of the brightest journalistic talent in the UK.
“Our editorial teams now deliver over 300 newsletters which remain a key driver of our Customer Value Strategy and provide our readers with tailored content on everything from baking to football to stories of inspirational women. These newsletters not only support our Customer Value Strategy and drive traffic, but also cement that all-important daily relationship between reader and title which fuels everything we do.
“Any reporter can suggest a theme for a newsletter and we are launching a number of ‘obsession’ titles to capitalise on events such as popular TV series’ or sporting and cultural events. Latest examples include newsletters on crypto-currencies, one themed on House of Dragons, (the sequel to Game of Thrones), as well as a cooking-themed newsletter and one on the Olympics.”
Referring to “working from home” in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, Mullen said: “At a time when many companies are grappling with what the return to the office looks like, we are also leading the way with our hybrid “Home and Hub” working plan. This plan followed extensive consultation with colleagues about the future of work at Reach. Building on their input we will be able to offer colleagues more flexibility across 15 workspaces, as restrictions allow and when buildings are refurbished.
“This has begun to bear fruit in our recruitment efforts as we are able to consider a more diverse pool of applicants, with far fewer needing to commute into regional hubs. Increasingly our local journalists can be based in their local community rather than commute into a regional centre. Importantly we have kept the link with regional offices however so that around a third of colleagues will be office based, a third will be mostly home based with regular office attendance and a third working from home.
“With the Customer Value Strategy continuing to gather momentum we are increasing investment in our journalists, content and technology. We currently have fourteen investment projects live within the business and across 2020 and 2021 have committed an additional £20 million of investment in these areas. The additional data and insight we are gathering through our registered customer base is helping us build on what is already strong growth in digital advertising with the future prospects for the Group better than for many years.”
Mullen added: “Our digital revenue is now roughly 37% bigger than print advertising and continues to grow strongly, while print circulation continues to demonstrate resilience and post-lockdown recovery. The business is well-placed to deliver on its strategy with future benefits to customer engagement and loyalty from enhanced data and personalisation as well as the ongoing expansion in the geographic coverage of our local digital news sites.
“We continue to build an inclusive and entrepreneurial culture at Reach and the passion and commitment of our people and the award-winning journalism that is core of our purpose provide us with strong foundations for long-term sustainable growth.”
Covering the 26 weeks up to 27 June 2021, Reach’s half-year results showed group revenue increased by £11.5 million to £302.3 million. Digital revenue increased by 42.7 per cent to £68.8 million, while print revenue decreased by 5.2 per cent to £12.5 million.
