Sunday Herald Down Under: from Glasgow to Sydney
The Glasgow-based Sunday Herald has expanded its circulation area to include Sydney, Australia.
An enterprising Scottish freelance journalist has cashed in on interest down under in the Rugby World Cup by arranging to have the Herald printed in Sydney.
The Newsquest title claims to be the only British paper publishing a Sunday edition in Australia on the same day as the UK version.
Because of the time difference, Herald readers in Sydney actually get to see the paper before it is pushed through letterboxes in Scotland.
Herald Australia correspondent Billy Adams is behind the project and only came up with the idea a month ago.
He said: “I suddenly realised that the two big Scotland games in Sydney – against France and Fiji – were on a Saturday, so it would be an excellent chance for a Scottish paper to produce in Sydney on the Sunday.
“Sydney was packed to the rafters with thousands of kilted Scotland fans at the weekend.
“I put the proposal to the Sunday Herald just over a month ago and they gave me the go ahead three weeks before the first game.”
Under the deal Adams struck, he has paid for the printing and distribution and Herald staff are wiring him over all the content. Any profit made on local advertising sales and the cover price is his to keep.
The Sydney edition carries a different masthead – Sunday Herald Down Under – and on the back the words “Tie Me Kangaroo Down” have been inscribed next to the title “Sport”.
Adams said: “As a journalist, I’ve got no experience of selling advertising and I thought circulation was something you talked to your doctor about. With only three weeks to do it all, it has been extremely interesting.
“It was a considerable cost, but I decided I had to get in a certain amount of advertising before I would go ahead.
“The advertisers have thought it’s fantastic, they get a chance to market their product or organisation to a captive audience. The response in terms of anecdotal evidence has been great.
“Walking down the street in Bondai, I saw two guys with the Sunday Herald under their arm, which was quite gratifying.”
Some 5,000 copies of the paper have been on sale for A$3 (£1.30) at newsagents in Sydney throughout this week. The same number are to be printed this Sunday following Scotland’s match with Fiji. If all the copies sell, it will result in an almost 10 per cent increase over the Herald’s usual sales.
By Dominic Ponsford
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
