In the face of declining print subscriptions and optimistic praise for digital publications such as The Daily, Montreal daily La Pressehas announced it intends to move to an online-only format within three to five years. It will be the first major daily newspaper to carry out such a transition.
As part of its multi-million-dollar “iPad plan,” La Presse is pushing its subscribers to switch to digital, even offering, fittingly, a free iPad to those who sign up long-term. However, the print edition will not disappear entirely. La Presse has a contract with its printer, Transcontinental, up to 2018.
According to various reports one thing is for sure: the transition will result in layoffs. Obviously, the paper’s production and distribution departments will be affected, but it’s unclear what kind of impact the move will have on editorial staff.
What about the long-term outlook, though? La Presse plans to make money from online subscriptions and pay walls, as other papers hope to do. But, when success online is more and more about aggregation and repackaging news, will the paper’s contributors get lost in the shuffle?
