The AJC announced today it’s jacking up its per-newspaper daily price from 50 to 75 cents. A bland, four-sentence announcement appeared on today’s front page:
- On Monday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will cost 75 cents for our readers purchasing a single copy newspaper published Monday through Saturday. This change marks the first increase in our single copy price since January 1993. However, this action has become necessary to continue providing our customers the highest level of service and to help offset the escalating distribution, fuel and newsprint costs. The Sunday single copy price of $2 remains unchanged.
Our prediction: This bold move with solve the newspaper’s circulation and revenue problems.
Posted by rptrcub on June 27, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Another leech added to the dying.
Posted by Fence Sitter on June 27, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Buying a newspaper makes little sense in the internet age. My neighbors were out of town for a week recently and invited me to their copy of the NYT. While there were many articles of interest, there were also many articles which did not interest me or which I simply did not have time to read. Had I been a subscriber, I would have paying for these “wasted” articles. Whereas reading the NYT online allows me only “consume” the items which interest me. (Plus, online the content is “free”.)
A similar problem exists for television news. Viewers, while not forced to pay for the news, are forced to passively sit and wait for stories of interest to appear. The viewer watching a newscast has no control over what news is presented or when, and can only hope news of interest is offered in a timely manner. This makes it the most passive method of news consumption competing in the marketplace. It also means the viewer/consumer must devote a tremendous amount of time to the news broadcast. Who has 30 minutes to 2 or 2.5 hours to devote to such a thing? The only competitive advantage t.v. news currently enjoys is in the coverage of truly (as opposed to manufactured) breaking news.
I don’t see much of a future for either newspapers or t.v. news in their current forms. My guess is they will someday only survive on the internet.
Posted by billrichards on June 29, 2008 at 12:41 pm
the only reason for me to buy the AJC out of a box in the morning instead of the NYT is now gone.