Readers are Clicking, leaving some titles Sinking.

“The Scotsman and The Herald are in real trouble. It’s a dreadful mess; pain is being felt harder in the regionals than in the nationals," said Neil McIntosh in an Interview and presentation at the University of Westminster yesterday. The Online Editor of the Guardian Online predicted the demise of the Scottish newspapers on the basis that they are “unappealing to local readers”. Some titles have worked hard to expand improve and expand their online editions over the past years which has proved essential since more and more readers are turning to the web to consume their daily news. Those titles which have failed to do so, the ones failing to be relevant enough for their local audiences, will face difficulty in an ever unstable media market.

The success story of the Guardian Online has coincided with the fall in circulation of print newspapers. The number of users of the web site hit it’s highest since it’s launch with an amazing 25 million clicks per day, according to ABCe (Audit Beareau of Circulation, electronic) figures released last week. Neil McIntosh has worked with the publication for nine years and is sadly leaving for the newer pastures of the online edition of The Wall Street Journal Europe. The strength of the online edition of the Guardian is that it appeals to a newer generation of reader, much like a lot of successful news websites, (for example, the BBC, The Times). The edit your own content, pick and choose nature of online news consumption is overtaking the sales of traditional papers at an alarming rate. America’s news titles are feeling the same effects.

Emily Bell, who has worked for the Guardian for eighteen years and set up the GuardianMedia.co.uk introduces an interesting discussion on the ways that web traffic, and the importance of high numbers of users can affect the content and editorial decisions of news web content. The Guardian has obviously got this aspect right with award winning content and unbeatable user figures. With such a switch from traditional forms of media to digital use, titles need to keep up with the demand from their readers or they'll be unable to keep afloat amongst the competition. This will be a great shame to lose more traditional papers, and even more disappointing for their readers who haven't left them.