Johncom joins new media revolution

Along with the launch of the newspaper, three websites went live today, namely www.thetimes.co.za; http://blogs.thetimes.co.za; and http://podcasts.thetimes.co.za.

The Times will be delivered to the homes of 120 000 Sunday Times subscribers each day from Monday to Friday. This immediately positions The Times among top morning newspapers based on circulation. The newspaper also aims to reach a new technologically-literate audience through its interactive journalism approach.

News will be told visually with originality and backed up with a rich and interactive multimedia offering that can be followed online. The Times newspaper will guide readers to an online site where they will be able to see photo galleries, video clips, podcasts, blogs and participate in public comments online. This site will include syndicated video clips and other online content from leading international newspapers, including The New York Times.

“The way people respond to news is changing. There is a growing demand for interactivity – a desire to comment on, vote on or criticise the news,” says The Times editor, Ray Hartley.

Focus on today's events

“The newspaper will navigate its busy readers through their day, ensuring that they know about key events that impact on them in a clear and simple way. This has resulted in a change in culture of how news is told – looking ahead to today's events rather than focussing what happened yesterday,” he adds.

Research conducted among Sunday Times readers indicates that the majority of readers do not currently read a daily newspaper but would like to receive one. Hartley does not believe that The Times circulation will dramatically displace other newspapers in the market, but rather grow the newspaper market.

“Not only do we have the numbers in terms of circulation, we know we are reaching the same audience every day,” adds Hartley.

“We know who our readers are right down to their address and consumer choices. This opens opportunities for more interactive advertising and the chance to build much deeper relationships with readers.

This multimedia platform has allowed The Times to offer powerful and cost-effective advertising packages, which allow advertisers to try new media and test one-on-one communication opportunities alongside traditional advertising.

Growing online adspend

“In the UK and in the USA, broadband rollout has significantly impacted on newspaper consumption. In 2006 for the first time, online adspend exceeded that of print. While South Africa is lagging in broadband rollout, the group will strategically use The Times to tap into growing online adspend,” points out Hartley.

Hartley has worked at the Sunday Times as a political journalist, political editor, Cape Town bureau chief, national news editor and most recently as deputy editor of the Sunday Times and its online editor.

Among journalists and columnists hired at The Times are some of South Africa's top bloggers. These ‘blogamists', who will write daily opinions in blog format, include Jonathan Cherry of Cherryflava; Paul Jacobson –lawyer and digital media expert; Tertia Albertyn – winner of the 2007 SA Web Blog Awards and blogger on subjects ranging from fertility to motherhood, and David Bullard – known for his Sunday Times Column “Out to lunch”.