Scott Swanson
Observant readers may have noticed the new cover price on the front page of today’s issue: $1.50.
Not really a lot of money in today’s world, but a pretty significant jump from the dollar you would have paid for copy off the rack a week ago.
Here’s why, and what it means to you, besides a dent in your wallet. And it probably isn’t coming as a shock, with all the news we keep hearing about newspapers “circling the drain.”
We’re not circling the drain, but we are making some necessary changes to keep your local newspaper on healthy footing.
Throughout the lifetimes of any of us alive today, the primary means of financing newspaper operations has been advertising – the large retail store ads, the inserts inside your paper, the display ads you see on the news pages and legal and classified announcements. The price of subscriptions has basically just covered the cost of getting the newspaper to readers.
For many years, really since the first newspaper ad (for real estate, incidentally) appeared in the early 1700s, it’s worked pretty well.
Yes, competition for advertising arose from other media in the past century. But newspaper owners made a good living for a lot of years and they could afford to print a multitude of pages and give robust coverage to local community affairs. More on that in a moment.
When the Internet became available to general computer users through the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s, it revolutionized the world of communications like nothing previous, providing a way to disseminate information and interact with other people locally or on the other side of the world.
It wasn’t long before Craiglist appeared, offering free classified advertising. Then Google began building its database of businesses, offering free or low-cost listings to businesses, with helpful links (for a price) to connect potential customers. Meanwhile, social media sites began appearing – Six Degrees, Friendster, LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, etc., and before long, they started carrying advertising too.
I know I’m probably not telling you anything you don’t know already. But it helps to review the progression.
Nearly all of those media have taken their toll on newspapers which, admittedly, did not respond quickly to the challenge posed by the newcomers. A lot of newspapers put up free websites, which readers immediately took advantage of – why not? They hoped to fund them with advertising dollars, but by this time there was so much competition coming from Google and social media that many were forced to establish paywalls.
The New Era, actually, was one of the first in the state to put up a paywall because we decided that if we wanted to produce a quality newspaper for our readers, we needed an economic model that would sustain that.
News costs money.
Though, for most reporters I know, this really is “not just a job, it’s a calling,” as one journalist put it, they still have to pay the bills. It takes time and money to cover your community – meetings, festivals, sports events, breaking news, etc.
We’re grateful, and our readers should be as well, that many local businesses consider it worthwhile to advertise in and support their local newspaper. Without them, one of two things would happen: We would have to severely curtail our operations or shut down entirely, or we find another source of revenue.
In the first days of newspapers, before the arrival of advertising, readers had to pay really big bucks for their news. In the early 1700s, weekly newspapers tended to run what would be about $200 to $250 per year in today’s world, though some were cheaper – depending, apparently, on what the cost was for delivery. After advertising became more voluminous, subscription rates dropped.
The bottom line currently is that, with the competition for advertising dollars, newspapers have to find other revenue.
We have. We create and publish programs for local events and agencies. We sell increasing amounts of web advertising, and we try to find creative ways to make it easy for local businesses to advertise to individuals they don’t have on their Facebook friends lists. We do some printing and other services.
The other day I shelled out $2.50 for a basic cup of coffee at a kiosk. I could have had a fancier flavor for four or five dollars.
Compared to the price of a coffee, or a hamburger at the local fast food joint, or a cable subscription, newspapers are underpriced. We’re used to that because they’ve always been heavily supported by advertising.
I think the price of all newspapers is going to have to rise, given the reasons I’ve described. That’s why we’re raising ours.
I might add that we’re keeping the annual subscription rate, shown below, where it is for now. That provides a cheaper alternative for those who need it and subscriptions help us in a lot of ways.
If you’re genuinely interested in staying on top of what’s happening in your community – without a lot of self-serving spin, this is where you’ll still find it. And the price is still less than you’d pay for a cup of coffee.
One more thing: The advertisers you see in the newspaper each week literally help bring it to you. Let them know you appreciate it. You’re helping us and you’re helping them by doing so.
They’re the real reason it doesn’t cost $250 a year for The New Era.