Used crises to boost the business

“I think the paper was the first free newspaper,” says publisher Páll Ketilsson about one of the country's most powerful and resilient media outlets. Víkurfréttir is one of the oldest local media outlets in the country, with its first issue published on August 14, 1980. In addition to the weekly paper, the company now runs two websites: the news site vf.is, founded in 1995, and the golf site www.kylfingur.is, which was launched in 2005. Today, about 10 people work in publishing, but the company employed its largest number of staff, around 20 people, during the boom years before the financial crash.

Versatility is important

“In smaller companies like this, it's so important that employees can do more than just one thing; a media person needs to be able to take photos and to write,” says Páll, adding that versatility is important in small businesses and especially in running small media outlets. It also makes the job much more enjoyable. “In the years before the crash, we were publishing in Hafnarfjörður, the Suðurnes region, and for the Golf Union. That's when we had 20 people working for us. We had four to five people just doing layout. And the reporters did layout too, everyone was a participant in this.”

Adaptability in crises

Since its inception, Víkurfréttir has been a leader in the publication of local newspapers in Iceland. It was a blow for the paper when the postal service decided in 2020 to stop distributing it, but Páll says it's important to show adaptability in crises. The global pandemic also required him to make changes to the paper's operations. “For a long time during the paper's publication history, we have used the services of the post office. But then in 2020, shortly before the new year, we received a notice that they were going to stop distributing for us as of May 1st of the next year. Then a global pandemic came on top of that. We made the decision to stop printing, and it gave me time to strengthen the digital edition and I didn't have to think about distribution. Then I felt pressure to get the paper back in print,” says Páll, who, after some thought last summer, announced in the office: “Right, we're starting to print again!”

Streamlining and better service

Páll says he prints less than before, as a larger group of people are used to accessing the paper online. He distributes the paper to petrol stations and shops and says that people who want the print version are good at picking it up. This is also more efficient because the paper truly only reaches those who want it. The resulting streamlining is a great advantage. “It's much cheaper for me to do this than to spend seven million a year on distribution with the Post Office.”