Our MD Scott Wood has revealed the “ambition” driving our strategy to maximise the opportunities of digital local news in a wide-ranging new interview.
Speaking to Press Gazette, Scott discussed the ways the company is seeking to grow its online reach while making the most from its print publications.
He said: “We still want to be relevant to the people of Tavistock or Brecon or Abergavenny, but we know that they want to consume their news in a different way than what they might have consumed three, five, seven years ago.”
Scott reaffirmed the company’s ambition for success despite the challenges faced by publishers.
He said: “Every year brings another challenge, cost control. But we’ve still got lots of ambition. Part of that is why we’re investing in this subscriptions strategy, because we want to still be here. We want to provide a business that is sustainable and serves the community.”
Paid models
Our digital teams are looking at ways in which readers can pay for accessing additional information, Scott explained.
He said: “We’re right at the start of this, but we want to build a subscription model. That’s where we want to go, and whether that be paywalls, metered paywalls, paid-for newsletters – we’re exploring all those options.
“I don’t have the view that it’s going to be one silver bullet that is our opportunity, and it might vary by market, but we want to create a bundle.
“So a bundle for a local consumer that says, okay, I subscribe to the Tavistock Times, and for that, I’m going to be getting a daily newsletter, some additional content, access to video content that I might not have previously seen, access to specialists writing about topics that really may be of interest, MPs, all those sorts of things. So that’s what we hope to build.
“But we know it’s a long journey. It won’t happen overnight, but we know that the way the world has shifted, we need to get into that space and provide what our audience really wants.”
Local presence
While other publishers have closed high street premises to reduce costs and move to centralised operations, Tindle has recently opened updated prominent refurbished offices as part of its strategy of maintaining strong local links.
Scott said: “It’s about local community engagement, and the best way for us to do that local community engagement is to be very visible.
“Which is not always easy, because it’s an expensive cost to run the buildings, so I’m not critical of those who can’t or don’t choose to do that, but for what we’re trying to do, the best way for us to get close to our local community, is by being on the high street.”
Scott also spoke to interviewer Charlotte Tobitt about our offer to work with local content creators and his optimism about the future of local news.
“I truly, strongly believe that people do care about local, it’s really important to them,” he said.
“And they may want to consume their local content in a different way, moving away from print for online, but actually people are still very much interested in what goes on locally.”
Read the full interview here: Online subs and town centre shopfronts: Tindle plan to safeguard local news