Mixed opinion greeted the latest Rupert Murdoch launch. There was plenty of negative sentiment expressed in regards to issues including phone hacking, arrests and criminal charges. However, positive coverage indicates there are those who admire Murdoch’s resilience.
Volume of Coverage
Source: Echo Sonar, The Sun on Sunday: UK Online Analysis, 23 January to 23 February 2012
Research looking at online coverage of the The Sun on Sunday’s launch, shows that other newspapers had plenty to say on the subject. In particular, The Guardian mentioned the new paper 31 times in the last month and, for example, on 20 February a story said: “News International will face stiff resistance from rivals such as Sunday Mirror and People publisher Trinity Mirror and Daily Star Sunday owner Northern & Shell, which benefited from the closure of News of the World (NOTW) last July.”
Looking more favourably at the launch, Politics.co.uk on 20 February said: “Rupert Murdoch’s official announcement of the decision comes much earlier than anticipated and signals a determination from News International to get back on the front foot.”
Tonality of Coverage
Source: Echo Sonar, The Sun on Sunday: UK Online Analysis, 23 January to 23 February 2012
Key issues concerning the new paper’s launch included::
- Stories when Murdoch stated that the arrests of journalists and executives at The Sun would not impede the original April launch of The Sun on Sunday.
- A sudden increase of coverage in mid-February when Murdoch brought forward the launch date.
- Other titles making marketing efforts to keep their share of the market they have built since the closure of NOTW. Free magazines, gifts and price cuts were planned.
- The Sun announced that all advertising space had sold out for its first Sunday edition.
Simon Turton, owner of agency Opera PR, says that the launch may have created a stir, but it was hardly ground-breaking: “The launch of The Sun on Sunday was about as much of a surprise as the wet Bank Holiday weekend: That is, it was always going to be Murdoch's plan to launch this paper the moment he announced the closure of the NOTW.
“The NOTW was a news-breaking and agenda-setting paper and although I was not a reader, it did have its place. Let's hope this new Sunday paper isn't a shadow of its predecessor and can break news stories that other papers pick up on.”
Methodology
PRmoment asked Echo Sonar to analyse online media coverage of the launch of The Sun on Sunday. The research period was 23 January to 23 February 2012. Metrics included volume charts and tonality.
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