Presstime on Food Sections

by Ann Lallande
Published: Presstime, December 2005

Newspapers throughout the country are feverishly working to engage readers in new ways, with online blogs, niche publications and community-generated content among the more recent efforts. But an increasing number of newspapers also are re-examining, and re-authoring, an age-old adage: The way to readers' hearts is through their stomachs.

"The food section," says Julie Kaufmann, food editor of the San Jose Mercury News, "feels like a virtual community."

According to the 2005 Editor & Publisher International Year Book, 58.4 percent of the nation's approximately 1,450 daily newspapers publish a stand-alone food section, typically once a week, and more than 50 million adults are regular readers of food sections, reports Mediamark Research Inc. in New York City.

Although every paper's section varies, elements of the best, say many food editors, include lively design; eye-catching and mouth-watering photography; a focus on the local food culture and sources; fixed articles and columns; and a variety of features that can appeal to readers of diverse food interests and cooking skills.

Food sections also are becoming increasingly interactive. Readers today are often invited to submit or solicit their favorite recipes, ask questions, or are sought out to serve on taste-testing panels and participate in cooking contests.

In May, Kaufmann began posting restaurant reviews online 10 days before they appeared in the newspaper. This gives food aficionados the opportunity to scope out the restaurants themselves, weigh in on the review through an online information board, and have their assessments included in the print edition.

Many of the demographics that characterize food section readers, explains Gary Meo, senior vice president of print and Internet sales at Scarborough Research Inc. in New York City, reflect general trends in newspaper readership, including the "maturity" of consumers. Readership of food sections also skews toward women, Scarborough reports, with female readers accounting for 58 percent of the audience.

But that's a good thing for advertisers, observes Jason E. Klein, president and chief executive officer of the Newspaper National Network LP in New York City, since women tend to make most families' buying decisions. Scarborough studies also reveal that food section readers are 20 percent more likely than the average consumer to treat themselves to a meal at an upscale restaurant, and 40 percent more likely to drink certain types of wine. Moreover, Klein adds, most readers are college graduates with an annual median income of $56,000.

With such high-end demographics, he reasons, food sections are "a great environment for advertisers."

Serving up Revenue Opportunities
As supermarkets battle to stave off the steady erosion of their market share, newspapers are feeling the pinch in declining ad revenues. Big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart, and high-end specialty food chains such as Whole Foods Market-neither of which tends to advertise much in newspapers-have poached a healthy percentage of supermarkets' business.

The Chicago Tribune has created a strong vertical category for advertisers through its food section, Good Eating (left), while the San Francisco Chronicle (below) and The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer have developed a unique bond with readers through their weekly food sections.

But newspapers' food sections are hardly going hungry for ad revenue. Supermarkets still advertise, as do many smaller specialty grocers, kitchen-supply retailers, restaurants, and wine and beer shops. Ad revenues in the Chicago Tribune's weekly Good Eating section enjoy "consistent growth year over year," reports Lynne Alves, manager of its food, drug and discount advertising division.

Jewel-Osco, the Midwest-based supermarketgiant, clearly thinks Tribune's Good Eating section drives sales in its stores. The company has staked out its position on the section's back page 52 weeks of the year, and sponsors the Tribune's online Good Eating section, running a banner ad across the top of the main page.

According to NAA's 2004 "Facts About Newspapers," single-copy readers said food and grocery ads served the highest value to them of any nonclassified advertising category, with 65 percent rating the ads' worth as "excellent" or "very good."

Alves says Jewel-Osco's presence in the food section is part of a larger marketing strategy at Tribune, which works to ensure that Good Eating advertisers represent some aspect of the food or food products industry. "There's huge value for both readers and advertisers in developing a good vertical category," Alves explains. "It's a way to demonstrate to key advertisers that we want to support their category."

The Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, both owned by Tribune Co. in Chicago, also have taken the initiative to attract small retailers and local shops.

Good Eating is zoned eight different ways, putting the cost of its ad space within reach of the neighborhood butcher or the local seafood market. For its part, the Times switched to readership-based pricing two years ago. The lower advertising rates have encouraged small businesses to buy space in the newspaper, says Paul Christianson, retail sales manager for grocery categories. As a result, ad volume in the food section is enjoying double-digit growth, he says.

An increasing number of advertisers outside the food category also want to be a part of newspapers' food sections. Phyllis Pfeiffer, senior vice president of advertising at the San Francisco Chronicle, says her paper's food section carries advertisements from home furnishings stores, fabric shops, cosmetic surgeons and adult education programs, in addition to the traditional kitchenware stores and grocers.

Christianson says the movie industry began buying into the Times' food section two years ago, and Doug Gardner, national advertising sales rep for the San Jose Mercury News, notes that pet food retailers are heavy advertisers in his paper's food section.

Such revenue potential has led some newspapers to invest in additional editorial talent. Although most stand-alone food sections tend to run between six pages and 12 pages, they usually are produced by one full-time staffer with lots of help from freelancers, features writers and wire copy.

The San Francisco Chronicle is an exception to this rule, with an incredible 19 full-time staffers devoted to the production of its Wednesday food section and Thursday wine section. The Los Angeles Times devotes 12 staffers to the task; Chicago Tribune, six; and the San Antonio Express-News, three.

Says Kathleen Purvis, editor of The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer's food section, "We have very loyal readers who call or e-mail us all the time because they feel like they know us."

In the pursuit of greater reader engagement, what more could a publisher, editor or advertiser ask for?

Lynne Alves,
Chicago Tribune,
2000 S. York Road,
Oak Brook, Ill. 60523,
lalves@tribune.com

Jason E. Klein,
Newspaper National Network LP,
20 W. 33rd St.,
New York, N.Y. 10001
(212) 856-6380,
jklein@nnnlp.com

Kathleen Purvis,
The Charlotte Observer,
600 S. Tryon St.
Charlotte, N.C. 28202,
(704) 358-5236,
kpurvis@charlotteobserver.com