Do you still subscribe/buy the paper? - edited with question

[katy_kay]

US paper sales worse than suggested

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2009/nov/23/us-press-publishing-abcs

Poor newspaper circulations in the United States are even worse than the latest figures suggest because of changes to the way in which Audit Bureau of Circulations counts electronic subscribers.

 

Until this year, newspapers that sold print/digital subscriptions in a single package could only count them once. Under new rules from April onwards, individuals who got the bundled subscription deals could be counted twice.

The overall numbers were still awful: the circulation at the 379 daily newspapers reporting to the ABC was down 10.6%. Though it's hard to say what the decline would have been had the electronic versions not been counted it is clear the change made a big difference.

This revelation chimes with the views of James Shein, described as "an esteemed turnaround specialist" who is a professor of management and strategy, who believes the newspaper industry is entering the full-blown crisis stage.

Philip Stone reports that Shein told newspaper executives at an American Press Institute meeting: "The biggest hurdles to progress are the industry's senior leadership, including some of the people in this room. I am not sure you can take a look at your industry with fresh eyes."

Now that's telling 'em. But are they listening? Many companies still seem to think that slashing costs will save the day.

But another turnaround expert - Steve Miller, executive chairman at Delphi Corporation - took up that point by warning: "Cutting staff will reduce costs, but it won't happen fast enough, and will erode the product. You have to reinvent the business model."

Miller said downsizing should be part of a larger strategy and not just a cost-cutting goal. Then again, it's fair to ask what that "larger strategy" should be, given that a business model based on fast-vanishing advertising revenue is bust.

Sources: AP/paidContent/FollowTheMedia

If more papers switch to online only would you pay for online access or do you think they should continue to be free?

[MommyOnLI]

we have 7 day delivery for our paper.. we get it bc part of my DHs commute is underground so he cant get internet access

[Wyldbutterfly]

I do not read the liberal rag we have here in Buffalo new York.

More over I could never support a news paper that treat their employees like child laborers. My brother worked for the news for a good number of years. He would pick up his papers with his own vehicle, thousands of them and deliver them to the stores they were sold out of.

When he first started the money was good and worth the 7 days a week 365 days a years. Over the past year they have taken away everything. Meaning no vehicle maintenance, no gas mileage and such. All of that was absorbed and understood by most employees as the business is struggling.

When he first started, for every paper sold he recived 11 cents. The paper was then 50 cents weekly and 175 on Sundays. The Sunday paper went up first to 2 dollars and shortly after the weekly rag went to 75 cents a paper. The deliverers received none of the extra dollars being generated, and they were okay with that. However, the news wasn't, and soon he started to receive 9 cents a paper, even with the increase in price of the local rag.

Add to that the honor boxes. Meaning the local news boxes that he put his papers in. The loss ration on those were horrible. People used washers, chuck e cheese token and tokens from casinos. That is an automatic loss that the news does not cover. So say if my brother lost all of those papers to theft , washers and tokens, he had to pay for them anyway so he automatically loses profit.

Now add to that the news going to corporate billing and giving credits to it's carriers instead of paying them. My brother worked for a solid TWO Weeks WITHOUT reciving one penny. Instead he was handed due bills. One for 78 dollars and another for 100. Could you imagine working 7 nights a week and at the end of the week, being handed a bill, saying you owe the buffalo Snooze money for delivering their papers?

He finally told them to FU** off and rightfully so.

My hope now, is that all of the employees who have quit over this go to Labor Relations in New York State and sue the shit out of the Buffalo Snooze, for their actions have been criminal!

[RheaF]

I fall under the other category. My Hubby deliver's the Newspapers so we get ours for free. And there are still plenty people around here that get the newspaper delivered. He has... in the summer, over 500 customers. In the winter it dips to around 200. He delivers the the beach area. It is good money. He collects directly from about 60 people and the rest pay the newspaper directly. He buys the papers on credit and the money people pay in covers that, plus we always end up getting a check from them once a month for the difference. They have cut out the end of summer bonus but holiday tips make up for that. It does suck that he has to work 7 days a week, 365 days a year, regaurdless of the weather. But right now that is the only job that fits into hi schedual, and I cant find a job that would allow me to be home during the day and work nights. DH other job is pretty unpredictable. As soon as we get this debt paid down enough he is going to quit the paper.

[lovinmyboys...]

I get mine for the coupons, ads, and funnies. 

[stormcris]

I get the weekly newspaper here that costs $25.00 per year. I will by the daily newspaper (different paper) only for the yard sales otherwise I read my father in laws. Neither of these papers really publish the news, and one is controlled by political agendas and fails to report a lot of stuff. The weekly one reports the local stuff that the daily paper has been "asked" not to print. The daily paper is online but they do such a sorry job of updating to the web and maintaining the site that I would never pay for that access.