Belfast Telegraph Family Notices - delayed publication online to sell more papers

marksimpson

Following a family bereavement it has come to my notice that the Belfast Telegraph is using deaths to increase sales.

If you pay for a Family Notice to be published it appears in the next print edition. It does not appear online until the day after it has been in the paper.

I asked them if they had a deliberate policy of delaying online publication to sell more papers.

They replied:

"there are a number of factors which influence our decision to delay the publication of our death notices online - newspaper sales in one but not the only factor".

I've asked what the other factors might be but they haven't replied.

dmxdave

Yep they even stopped them completely for a while, before they came up with the delay!

crusty_toenail

No way! I dont buy the paper anymore because they also own propertnews and have a vested interest in house prices going up and their property ramping led to many young pepole buying and are now in negative equity and miserable.

BigAl94

I noticed that a whle ago, can't blame them I suppose, they need to try anything to boost poor sales figures if the paper is going to survive much longer.

It really is an awful rag now with very poor quality journalism. I wouldn't buy it even for the deaths, if it's someone really important, I'll know about it anyway - otherwise a day later is no big issue.

ballyblack

We should have a dedicated website for bereavement notices in NI. and not depend on the 'Tele'

They have such a site in the South but not many from here use it?

http://www.rip.ie/recent_dn.asp


INFO FROM SITE:


To publish a death notice on RIP.ie, simply ask your funeral director to do so. All funeral directors in Ireland have secure access to this service directly online.

This is a free service to bereaved families and aside from announcing the funeral arrangements, it is also possible to add a photo of the deceased, open a condolence book and a book of tributes.

All notices placed on RIP.ie are archived on the site and can be quickly found by searching surname, town, county or date range.



(The project is funded by Louth LEADER through the Irish Government under the National Development Plan 2000-2006 and part-financed by the European Union. )


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BigAl94

ballyblack wrote: »

We should have a dedicated website for bereavement notices in NI.

They have such a site in the South but not many from here use it?

http://www.rip.ie/recent_dn.asp


INFO FROM SITE:


To publish a death notice on RIP.ie, simply ask your funeral director to do so. All funeral directors in Ireland have secure access to this service directly online.

This is a free service to bereaved families and aside from announcing the funeral arrangements, it is also possible to add a photo of the deceased, open a condolence book and a book of tributes.

All notices placed on RIP.ie are archived on the site and can be quickly found by searching surname, town, county or date range.



(The project is funded by Louth LEADER through the Irish Government under the National Development Plan 2000-2006 and part-financed by the European Union. )


.

That's a great idea.

JulieElizabeth

I too wouldn't give the 70p for the poor quality paper that it now is. I actually missed a friend's father's funeral because of such a delay. Serves me right for being so MSE.

pc10

http://www.passedaway.com/

You can read some death notices here and it also has this feature:

Worried about missing a friend's funeral? Don't be!

Our Email Alerts system means that if you register a name with us, we will send you a message if it appears on our website.

Could be useful but its a bit :eek: at the same time!

dmxdave

ballyblack wrote: »

We should have a dedicated website for bereavement notices in NI. and not depend on the 'Tele'

They have such a site in the South but not many from here use it?

To publish a death notice on RIP.ie, simply ask your funeral director to do so. All funeral directors in Ireland have secure access to this service directly online.

This is a free service to bereaved families and aside from announcing the funeral arrangements, it is also possible to add a photo of the deceased, open a condolence book and a book of tributes.

.

Nice wee touch

Sympathy cards

- We handwrite & mail your card within 24hrs of receiving your order.
- We use real stamps.
- There is no mention of RIP.ie on your card.
- Cost from €4.90 (incl. postage)

thePhilster69

Having worked at a newspaper before, and specifically online, I know that BMD (Births, Marriages, Deaths) Notices are pretty big business for the regionals, often being the main reason people actually the newspaper in the first place. We're too used to getting everything for free these days, and knowing some of the guys who work at the BelTel, the relaunch of the site a few years ago cost them a huge amount of money, and that has to be recouped somehow. Online advertising doesn't cover a lot of the costs and charging for the content has proven to be a very difficult business model to maintain.

Whilst I can totally understand your frustration at such a terrible time for your family, the hard truth is that, newspapers are in this to make money. And they're losing money online. Until the balance shifts, newspapers will continue to use this tactic to help preserve rapidly dwindling sales.

NASA_2

thePhilster69 wrote: »

Having worked at a newspaper before, and specifically online, I know that BMD (Births, Marriages, Deaths) Notices are pretty big business for the regionals, often being the main reason people actually the newspaper in the first place. We're too used to getting everything for free these days, and knowing some of the guys who work at the BelTel, the relaunch of the site a few years ago cost them a huge amount of money, and that has to be recouped somehow. Online advertising doesn't cover a lot of the costs and charging for the content has proven to be a very difficult business model to maintain.

Whilst I can totally understand your frustration at such a terrible time for your family, the hard truth is that, newspapers are in this to make money. And they're losing money online. Until the balance shifts, newspapers will continue to use this tactic to help preserve rapidly dwindling sales.

I think it is fair enough for the Belfast Telegraph to do this as well.

I've stopped buying papers but if I wanted to read my chosen rag online I would get nothing without paying.