- S T A T E M E N T -

JOBS PORTAL THREAT TO
LOCAL NEWSPAPER REVENUES IN SCOTLAND

Simon Fairclough, director of Scottish Newspaper Publishers Association (SNPA), the organisation representing Scotland's weekly press, comments: "While we could hardly embrace with open arms the establishment of a local authorities' recruitment portal, time will tell if it delivers the goods for councils. Scotland's weekly titles are highly effective within the communities they serve at promoting vacancies and, importantly, attracting candidates. They are inclusive, trusted and enjoy unparalleled reach. That's why recruitment advertising has remained such a major component in the local newspaper publishing business.

"We met with COSLA earlier in the year and had constructive discussions regarding the introduction of the portal. Despite the obvious threat to industry revenues, what was encouraging was that the strengths of local newspapers as an advertising medium were well understood. The portal appears to be as much about brand building for local government as about saving money.

"Our understanding is that each council will have to judge for itself how best to recruit the people it needs. We believe that, overall, the local newspaper will continue to be the most cost-effective platform and we hope that council budget holders will see best value in working in partnership with their local paper."

- ends -

Issued by Scottish Newspaper Publishers Association
For further information, please contact:
Simon Fairclough
t 0131 220 4353 m 07710 472731 e sfairclough@spef.org.uk

23 April 2008