For 2023, The Globe and Mail is forecasting a C$30 million (€ 22 million approximately) increase in its overall revenue compared to pre-COVID days – C$30 million better than it was two years ago for print and digital. 

G&M Publisher and CEO Phillip Crawley joined WAN-IFRA”s recent Asian Media Leaders eSummit to share how the company has managed this robust business.

With the highest number of print and digital readers in all of Canada, its audience is second only to the freely available Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), which receives considerable government funding.

“We believe in investing in quality journalism,” said Crawley. “We added journalists and resources to our newsroom even during the COVID-19 pandemic that wiped out whole categories of advertising revenue, some of which have not yet come back. So, while others cut back on print, we decided it was a good time to invest. It does make a difference. Readers notice. As do advertisers.” 
Transitioning from print to digital
Back in 1989, when Crawley became publisher at The Globe and Mail, 70 percent of the company’s revenue came from advertising, display and classifieds – typical of the revenue mix in the industry at the time. 

“We sold content far too cheaply, and we continued to make that mistake when the transition to digital happened,” he said. “We gave it for free for years.” 

Cut to 2022, the company is busy writing its budget for 2023, with a projected 62 percent of revenue coming from…