Farewell to a Fleet Street rivalry - until the next time

The Mirror and The Sun are no longer rivals, Trinity Mirror's chairman says. The long years of fighting have not persuaded readers to switch papers. But, asks David Lister, is there a new strategy to replace the old battleground?

One of the great cornerstones of national-newspaper life has been kicked over. Last week Philip Graf, the chairman of Trinity Mirror, used the launch of the group's financial results to announce that the rivalry between The Mirror and The Sun was officially finished.

It is worth looking at what has brought Mr Graf to end such a diverting tradition. Pictures of the Sun editor David Yelland in The Mirror with the headline "We've beamed up the alien" brought light relief to the rest of the press, even if they must have been baffling to Mirror readers.

Mr Graf believes that The Mirror has been wasting its energy chasing Sun readers. He has been much taken with private research which shows that of the total 21 million red-top readers, only 0.6 million are long-term switchers between papers.

I understand that in addition to the research, a number of consultants have been advising on the vagaries of the national-newspaper market. Consultants and research together are said to have cost Trinity Mirror around £8m.

Last week Mr Graf said: "Relatively few readers switch from one newspaper to another. We need to communicate more clearly with existing readers and move people who buy the paper once or twice a week to three or four times a week...

"For instance, after all these years of trying, The Times has failed to dislodge readers from the Telegraph. Getting people to buy your newspaper more often is a better idea than trying to nick other peoples' readers. There is a different set of values between Sun and Mirror readers. We are in the same part of the market, but not fighting over the same readers."

That's not all strictly true. The Times' circulation rises, driven by its price cuts, have coincided with the Telegraph losing circulation. Similarly, while The Sun's growth did involve recruiting a substantial number of readers who were more or less new to newspapers, it would be incredible to think that The Sun's rise over three decades and The Mirror's loss, more than halving in circulation, were totally unrelated.

But Mr Graf is concerned with the situation that pertains now. And his research makes it clear that The Mirror's energy needs to be expended on its own readers. The Mirror's editor, Piers Morgan,who has been claiming for some time, and with some justification, that since 11 September his paper has been rebranding itself in the tabloid market, had no difficulty endorsing the company line. He said: "The problem is persuading existing readers to buy the paper more often.

"Also, we are developing a strong brand of our own, quite radical and campaigning. I suppose we are a Daily Mail with a heart and slightly more compassion."

But his resolve didn't last long. He told me that last Thursday night. On Friday morning The Mirror carried a story about "spivvery at The Sun", with allegations of staff blagging upgraded Concorde flights.

Morgan admits he will find it hard to desist from the knockabout attacks. "I would hate to lose David Yelland as a figure of fun from the paper," he says. "I think the readers like to give him a good whack."

Mr Graf may have other ideas. Detaching The Mirror from an old-fashioned Mirror/Sun rivalry is likely to mean finding other targets for humour. If The Sun isn't your rival, why make jokes about its editor, any more than the editor of the Daily Star or Horse & Hound?

At The Sun, David Yelland is sceptical about the motives for The Mirror's change of direction. It is not a sudden realisation about the number of switchers in the market, he says. It is an admission of defeat after a 33-year-long battle.

"The Mirror will never beat us and they have realised that," he says. "It's now sensible for The Mirror to get on with its business. We both have successful businesses."

It is how The Mirror business develops that has relevance for all national papers. Every paper wants its casual readers to buy the product more often. Mr Graf wasn't saying how often his casual readers parted with their cash, but insiders say that a sizeable crop of readers buy the paper two days a week and no more.

If it's the casual readers that are the target, and not the readers of a former rival, then what should be the strategy? Price cuts and exclusives are perhaps no longer the answer. Serialisations running over several days may be.

Perhaps Mr Graf is about to change the way newspapers are marketed. But he has yet to show his hand on how he will do it. Meanwhile, RIP a much-enjoyed rivalry... until the circulation figures drop that little bit too far.