Newsstands in Apulia may also sell food products (by law)

Newspapers plus food plus various goods. The task of the newsagent, the newsagent, has changed in Apulia: no longer will the newsagent open the newsstand, the temple of information in which he sells the daily newspaper every day while the purchaser says his lay prayer in the morning, but he will also serve food, drinks and non-food products. These will be sold either by the newsagent who owns the exclusive outlet or by the automatic devices for serving food and beverages to the public located in the newsstand.

The 'revolution' in Puglia's newsstands - henceforth to be called bazaars or, more elegantly, multi-service kiosks ? - has been decided by the regional law "Measures in support of the press and newsstands" unanimously approved by the council, promulgated on 30 May by the governor, Michele Emiliano, and soon to be published in the Official Bulletin.

The newsagent, however, remains a newsagent: along with the role of dispensing food and drink to the public - he is in fact obliged to maintain the original 'trade', i.e. he has 'the obligation to sell newspapers, daily newspapers and periodicals, ensuring equal treatment in the sale of publications'.

The spirit of the law is therefore in line with the objective of diversifying by expanding services: newsagents already sell public transport tickets, children's games, and could then be responsible for collecting parcels, issuing certificates, etc., generating additional revenues compared to the limited revenues from newspapers and magazines. The objective is clear: by expanding the range of goods and services that can be provided by newsagents, the aim is to throw them a sort of lifeline as the terminal link in a chain, the publishing industry, that has been suffering a structural crisis for years.

 In the last 4 years - according to a Unioncamere-InfoCamere survey on business register data released at the end of 2023 - nearly 2,700 newsstands across the country have in fact disappeared, including 2,327 sole traders. A dry loss of more than 16% (-18.6% considering sole proprietorships alone), with even double-digit rates of change in many provinces, starting from Isernia, which has seen more than a third of its local units close, Trieste, which records -31.1%, and Ancona, which exceeds -30%. In Puglia, as at 30 September 2023, 719 outlets were registered, of which 639 related to sole traders, with an overall decrease of 109 outlets, or 13.2%.