According to The Globe And Mail, Montreal-based daily newspaper La Presse will soon become the world’s first major print daily newspaper to go 100% digital on weekdays, and will position itself as Quebec’s digital news and information leader, as announced by newspaper’s president and publisher Guy Crevier in a note on the official website. Furthermore, the publication is pushing its readers to the La Presse+ tablet edition, which was launched a couple of years back.
Mr. Crevier also said that the Saturday print edition of the newspaper will however be maintained. The paper, owned by a subsidiary of Power Corp. of Canada, now derives more than 60 per cent of its revenue from the tablet edition, which now draws higher ad rates than the print paper. The company has also exported its tablet platform to the Toronto Star, who has just launched its own digital edition based on La Presse’s technology.
The company acknowledged, however, that many of its readers still have an emotional connection to print newspapers. “Reading the Saturday La Presse on paper remains a potent, engaging ritual to which many people are profoundly attached, as well as a particularly effective tool for advertisers,” it said in a press release.
Back in 2013, La Presse had spent $40 million to launch its free iPad-only newspaper, powered by over 300 staff and Apple’s Newsstand.
