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El Tiempo’s David Matoses: ‘Printed newspapers have a very powerful brand value’

2022-12-19. In continuation with our latest series of interviews with printers and publishers, we talk to David Matoses, CEO at Colombia-based El Tiempo, who tells us about the challenges in distribution, growth potential of newspapers, recruiting young talents and more.

by Aultrin Vijay aultrin.vijay@wan-ifra.org | March 19, 2023

WAN-IFRA: Can you tell our readers about your title and how long you’ve been in the industry?
David Matoses: My professional career in the publishing world began in 1995 at a publishing house in Barcelona – Editorial Planeta. In 2006, I became the manager of a publishing house in Colombia and in 2008 I started working at El Tiempo newspaper. In total, I have been working in this industry for 27 years.
How has your company tackled the paper challenges?
Paper continues to be a fundamental element in terms of depth and analysis of news, in contrast to the immediacy and speed of digital. For a newspaper, this role is not new, as it was with the advent of radio and television. However, in an era of digitisation, this role has become rather accentuated. Therefore, we must work on improving the quality of the information to add meaningful value to our readers. We are even thinking of changing the design and format to help us improve the perception of quality that a paper must have. There are at least two generations that will continue to enjoy deep reading on a paper, and we must cater to them with quality.
What are your main challenges in distribution?
Distribution is one of the main challenges in terms of cost and time. A large part of our readers want to enjoy their breakfast with our newspaper. Considering the vast geography of the country, this forces us to have several printing and distribution centres. This can only be achieved with deeper alliances, where competition disappe...

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