The Fed criticised the campaign to lure customers away from printed newspapers as “cynical, aggressive and a slap in the face for news retailers”.
In one of the group’s publications - the John O’Groat Journal - last week, the publisher encouraged readers to make the switch from the printed copy to a digital edition.
It said: “Do you buy a copy of the John O’Groat Journal every week? Make the switch to a digital subscription and access your local trusted news wherever you like and whenever you like.”
Responding, the Fed’s head of news Brian Murphy said: “Our members in Scotland are shocked and appalled at the aggressive tactics that Highland News and Media is adopting in its bid to steal their loyal customers away from their weekly printed copy to its online version.
“The way the publisher is marketing the digital subscription packages for its papers shows the total disregard it has for retailers who sell its printed products.
“This is a slap in the face for newsagents,” Mr Murphy added.
“Furthermore, we have been given no prior warning about this. The first we knew about it was seeing the heavy – and aggressive - promotion inside the newspaper.”
Mr Murphy added that the Fed was seeking an urgent meeting with senior executives at Highland News and Media so members could explain how encouraging regular readers to switch to online subscriptions would have a detrimental knock-on effect for shop owners and lead to a loss of trade.
He added: “It is a proven fact that newspapers are a key footfall driver, and research shows that people buying a paper will often buy something else at the same time.”
Keep up-to-date with publishing news: sign up here for InPubWeekly, our free weekly e-newsletter.
