Newscasts - Falling newspaper sales signal the end of Italy's kiosks

Caltagirone Editore SpA

14/03/2024 07:19

Click the following link to watch video: https://share.newscasts.refinitiv.com/link?entryId=1_2us7la8o&referenceId=tag:reuters.com,2024:newsml_RW780113032024RP1_930&pageId=Newscasts
Source: 'Reuters - Business videos'

Description: Italians used to flock to their local news kiosks to pick up
their daily read, or just pass the time of day, but falling newspaper
readerships and sales are forcing many to close for the last time. Olivia
Zollino reports.
Short Link: https://refini.tv/4ad5Upa

Video Transcript:

Fabiano Pompe's family has been opening up their news kiosk close to Rome's
imposing St. John Lateran Basilica since 1948. It used to be a thriving
business and a neighborhood hub, but a prolonged slump in newspaper sales has
forced it and many others to pull down the shutters for the last time.

You can make sacrifices up to a certain point, but if you're earning little or
even losing money, it is better to close and do something else even if it
hurts inside. Every night I dream about my kiosk because it is in my heart.

Industry body Snag estimates that two thirds of Italy's news kiosks have
closed down over the past two decades, leaving only around 12,000 in business.
The Italian Chamber of Commerce has 2,700 went in the last four years alone.
Plunging newspaper sales, which represented the bulk of kiosk revenues, are
chiefly to blame. In 2004, around 9.54 million newspapers were sold each day
in kiosks, according to data from ADS. By January 2024, it was just 950,000.
Stefano Di Persio's kiosk is next to the offices of Rome's largest newspaper,
Il Messaggero. He used to sell hundreds of papers each day, now he shifts less
than 50.

Print media and publishing is almost over. Earnings are the same as they were
30 years ago. But with prices that have quadrupled, everything costs more, but
you still earn the same. Copy sales have dropped dramatically. And in my
opinion, and this is an optimistic prediction, in 20 years, there will be no
more newspapers. My father's generation is over, and maybe the next one is
over. Who reads newspapers anymore?

Vending machines and tourism helps keep some kiosks afloat. The government is
offering incentives worth over $2,000 but owners say it's not enough to save
them