Why we are putting our cover price up by 10p

GATHERING reliable local news and views is time-consuming and expensive.

Like many UK news titles, this newspaper is also feeling the cost.

Which is why on Monday 8 May the price of your Guernsey Press will be going up by 10p a day.

It is not a decision we have taken lightly.

In fact, an eight-page special publication outlining the reasons behind the move is inserted into this newspaper and will be delivered later this month via the Guernsey Post to every household in the island.

The rise is more than we would wish, as now more than ever before we are dependent on circulation revenue.

Traditionally, local newspapers have relied on advertising to subsidise the cost of providing content – including news, sport, features, business and TV – the trusted stories, opinion, insight and in-depth reporting readers simply cannot find anywhere else.

Without such revenue, newspapers would cost considerably more.

This is because producing a daily newspaper six days a week, running a website, and employing trained, knowledgeable, locally-based editorial, commercial and IT staff is a very expensive business.

All newspapers face similar problems, although our Bailiwick is unique in many ways.

Advertising revenues have been falling and the effects on local retailers of internet shopping have been particularly serious.

Over a period of time, some local businesses that used to support the Guernsey Press have disappeared altogether. Competition for advertising revenues from social media is also having an effect.

We have also noticed a considerable fall in job advertising since last September, following Brexit and in the run-up to the US elections.

Both of these global factors have created uncertainty for businesses here, particularly in finance, and we have certainly experienced a drop-off in spend from that sector during this time.

As the community's newspaper for more than 200 years, the Guernsey Press has been working hard to respond to these latest challenges and to improve efficiencies.

We have had to take the very difficult decision to operate with fewer people and, by using technology advancements and working smarter, we have managed to avoid damaging the quality of the newspaper in the process.

Our choice now is either to make further cuts, which will harm the Guernsey Press product, or to increase its cover price.

We have chosen the latter route because we believe it will be preferable to readers rather than making damaging cuts.

The company regrets having to take this step but we wanted to explain our decision fully. We hope you will agree that the unmatched local coverage of our community that we provide is worth a little extra cost each day.