Not much room for newcomers in Kaunas newspaper market

KAUNAS - Under pressure from advertisers, Kaunas' largest and oldest daily newspaper, Kauno Diena (Kaunas' Day), has switched to full-color format. "Printing and transportation costs have increased but images such as cars, landscapes and our weather map are far more appealing," said Algimantas Ziukas, the paper's circulation manager. He was unable to say whether the new format has resulted in larger revenues as the switch-over only occurred in December and new numbers were unavailable.

Kauno Diena formerly used the local Ausra printing press but now has an agreement with Vilnius' Respublika press. The paper is printed in Vilnius then driven to Kaunas in the early hours.

"We were behind the times as a two-color paper. We had to make this change as we are, after all, the second largest daily in all of Lithuania," said Stasys Jokubaitis, political editor at Kauno Diena for the past 20 years.

Kauno Diena has a daily circulation of 50,000 copies (slightly larger on Saturdays) making it the second most widely read paper in the country after Vinius' Lietuvos Rytas. It was started in pre-World War II independent Lithuania as Lietuvos Aidas (Lithuania's Echo) and has also known two incarnations under the Soviets as Tarybu Lietuva (The Council's Lithuania) and Kauno Tiesa (Kaunas' Truth). It was privatized in the early 1990s. All employees were given equal shares in the paper but they collectively decided to sell out to a Norwegian company, ORKLA, in 1998. This has permitted them to stick to journalism and allow professionals to take care of management issues.

Today 90 percent of its readers are subscribers while the remainder buy their copies at newsstands. About 20 percent of its readers live outside of Kaunas –usually people who have moved away but want to keep on top of news in their home town.

Kauno Diena is a politically independent newspaper.

"We cherish our independence and have an unwritten rule here that employees leave their political affiliations at home. We feel that this allows us greater freedom in addressing political issues," said Jokubaitis.

Kauno Diena's only competitor is the much smaller Laikinoji Sostine (Provisional Capital). The name refers to the city's history as the provisional capital of Lithuania between last century's two world wars as Vilnius was occupied by Poland during that period. Laikinoji Sostine is only four years old and is owned by Lietuvos Rytas, this allows it to make use of its parent company's presses.

"When they first appeared we were a little fearful. We thought we would be facing head-to-head competition with them but this hasn't happened," said Kauno Diena's Ziukas.

Laikinoji Sostine has a daily circulation of 6,000 (8,000 on Saturdays) and targets a different audience.

"We are a young paper and we have a young readership. About two-thirds are in their twenties. Most of our journalists are under thirty. Kauno Diena has an older readership. People in this city are very conservative and traditional and don't like change, so it's difficult to compete with them," said assistant editor Laimutis Genys. This is reflected in the content of the paper. There are more articles about pop culture and music, much more space is devoted to sports than in Kauno Diena. As well, photographs are larger and more numerous. Laikinoji Sostine sponsors many local pop concerts in order to promote itself. The paper is two-color during the week and full-color on Saturdays.

Also, there are no taboos at Laikinoji Sostine.

"We hit much harder from a political viewpoint. We are agressive and not afraid to damage someone's reputation if they desrve it. We helped put a local building inspector, E. Papreckis, behind bars for accepting bribes," said Genys. Another popular feature is the 'Your Problem is Our Problem' column that encourages readers to write in about bureaucratic hassles. The paper then helps them resolve them.

"We want direct contact with our readers. That's what we want to be reputed for. The recent drop in disposable income has hurt newspapers across the country. This is how we plan to grow," said Genys.