Hearts & Minds: The Mail’s painful digital transition is a matter of pure survival

To the outsider, the scrapping of the MailOnline brand and its renaming as Daily Mail is hardly earth-shattering. But in newspaper land, the news represents another step in the shift from print to digital, one that is heavily laden with symbolism.

The Daily Mail is Britain’s biggest selling, most profitable newspaper. When newspapers began to grapple with online, management was initially resistant. They had a hugely successful product in the print paper and they could not see what digital would bring. They did not wish to see the former being eroded by the latter. Their model was to keep them apart, to use MailOnline to attract a different audience, by providing Daily Mail content for free but bolting on extra content, notably the ‘Sidebar of Shame’, a strip of stories devoted to celebrities and the latest embarrassments to befall them - the ‘wardrobe malfunction’ was a particular favourite.

The plan was that while the newspaper earned revenue from sales and advertising, MailOnline would rely entirely on advertising. In terms of market reach, online was an industry leader, attracting a global following. But while those numbers soared, advertisers were largely unconvinced. These were people who were not paying, many of whom were only interested in celebrity tittle-tattle.

Paper and online were run as two fiefdoms, leading to duplication of resources, a situation made worse by producing the Daily Mail six days a week, Monday to Saturday, and on the seventh the Mail on Sunday, with each print title also having their own editorial staff.

When the times in print were good, none of that especially mattered. But the Daily Mail has been losing readers and advertising, same as elsewhere. A paper that was famous for its resources has been making job cuts and the two newspapers have effectively merged. Online, they charged for some articles and to read the paper edition.

Now this is coming together. They’ve set a target of one million digital subscribers in the next three years. ‘One Daily Mail, One Million’ is the mantra. The Telegraph – a swifter digital adopter - set a similar target years ago and hit it, which shows how far behind the Mail is.

The shift reflects what is occurring right across the sector. Print sales continue to decline, as people choose to get their news from digital. Advertisers, who were once restricted in their choice of media, now have a wide selection, much of it more cost effective. If newspapers are to have a future it is by attracting digital subscribers. Even the Daily Mail has been unable to fight against the relentless tide.

Chris Blackhurst is one of the UK’s foremost business journalists. He was previously Editor of The Independent and City Editor of the Evening Standard.