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Delfi Meedia announced on Monday that from April 2024, Eesti Paevaleht (EPL) will be published in a new format: daily as a digital edition within the Delfi portal, and on Fridays as the weekend print edition LP, which publishes longer and more comprehensive articles.
The trademark of Eesti Paevaleht will remain part of Estonian journalism, listed media holding Ekspress Grupp, parent group of Delfi Meedia, said in a stock exchange announcement.
It said the change was due to a change in the habits and preferences of readers, which has led to a decrease in the number of subscribers of printed publications and an increase in the popularity of digital media.
Other publications of Delfi Meedia will not be affected by the change.
As a result of the proposed change, the number of employees of Delfi Meedia will slightly decrease in terms of the jobs involving the preparation of the daily print edition. A total of eight people will be laid off, five of whom had jobs of technical nature and three worked as journalists.
Urmo Soonvald, editor-in-chief of Delfi and Eesti Paevaleht, said that the Eesti Paevaleht brand will remain part of Estonian journalism despite the changes.
«It is a strong brand with a loyal readership, which has proven itself over the years as an independent and reliable producer of journalism. Under the EPL brand, the Delfi portal will publish the op-ed column, cultural topics and the weekend edition LP, which already accounted for about two-thirds of EPL's content. All the current news sections of EPL, such as Estonian and international news, Arileht and sports, will be published in the respective sections of Delfi,» Soonvald said.
Argo Virkebau, chairman of the management board of Eesti Paevaleht's publisher Delfi Meedia, described the move as being primarily forward-looking. The main reason for taking the step lies in the change in readers' habits and preferences.
«While in the last 20 years a large part of the changes in the Estonian press landscape have in one way or another been forced moves to find a better economic model, today's change stands out: Delfi Meedia is more economically sustainable than ever. We operate profitably, advertising sales are strong, and in December our digital subscription number exceeded 100,000. Never before has Estonian and Estonian-language press been stronger,» Virkebau said in a press release.
He noted that the numbers of subscribers to print publications in Estonia have been decreasing by 5-10 percent every year, while other costs associated with publishing, especially printing, raw materials and home delivery, have been growing by the same amount.
«At the same time, the popularity of digital media and trust in it have grown, offering readers faster, more convenient and more diverse information. In this situation, it is sensible and logical to move with the times and make the change. There are no plans to close other Delfi Meedia print products in 2024,» Virkebau said.
Soonvald added that the impact of the change on the work organization of Delfi Meedia's editorial offices is rather small, since Eesti Paevaleht and news portal Delfi have been working as a combined editorial office since 2012. As a result of the change, the number of Delfi Meedia employees will decrease somewhat in terms of the jobs that were involved in preparing the daily print edition.
Delfi Meedia's subscription center will contact all subscribers to the paper edition of Eesti Paevaleht either by phone or email to agree on further details. Delfi Meedia offers everyone the opportunity to remain a subscriber to the Eesti Paevaleht weekend print edition and to get a subscription to the digital content of Delfi and Eesti Paevaleht. It will also be possible to change one's subscription to Eesti Paevaleht to another Delfi Meedia publication, such as Eesti Ekspress or Maaleht. Subscribers who do not wish to switch their subscription to the digital product or another publication will get a refund.
In the wake of news that daily Eesti Paevaleht (EPL) will discontinue its print edition on weekdays from April, Postimees editor-in-chief Priit Hobemagi said that Postimees will continue to publish its print edition as long as there are readers who want it.
Delfi Meedia announced on Monday that from April 2024, EPL will be published in a new format: daily as a digital edition within the Delfi portal, and on Fridays as the weekend print edition LP, which publishes longer and more comprehensive articles.
Hobemagi said the news from the competitor was having not direct impact on Postimees' plans.
«Postimees is the oldest, most reliable and continually published daily newspaper in Estonia and still the largest of the quality newspapers,» the chief editor said. «Founded 166 years ago, Postimees has always been at the service of Estonian society and its readers. The aim of Postimees is to be a publication whose readers can be sure that all the important topics and news in Estonia and globally are brought to them every day.»
Hobemagi described Postimees as the «newspaper of record,» from the paper edition of which historians will learn about Estonia's past and search for information hundreds of years from now. Responsibility to history places high demands on Postimees, he said.
«In the header of Postimees is our motto -- we stand for the preservation of the Estonian nation, language and culture through the ages,» the chief editor said. «Estonians are a reader nation, and this has kept Postimees as a central newspaper for more than a century and a half. A print newspaper has many advantages over online media -- important news is on the first pages with larger headlines. From a print newspaper you can immediately see what the editorial board has considered most important that day. Therefore, we will firmly stay the course of continuing as a print newspaper,» he said.
For this reason, Postimees recently updated the typeface of its print edition, making it larger and easier to read, and conducted an in-depth survey of readers of the weekend edition -- all to better meet the expectations of readers.
Hobemagi stressed that the online edition is also very important, a priority, for Postimees, which doesn't mean that the importance and relevance of the printed paper is any less important.
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