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When Was The Last Time Your Held A Newspaper In Your Hands?



Across America, in cities like New Orleans, Syracuse and Harrisburg, newspapers are feeling the squeeze, and cutting back on daily print publishing. Others meanwhile, like the Buffalo News are preparing to phase in a fee when non-subscribers access their stories on the internet.  What's going on?  Buffalo's Early News and WBEN.com look at the growing trend

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 James Heaney, Former Buffalo News reporter, Founder, Investigativepost.com

The Buffalo News is rolling out its new fee plan telling readers and subscribers that if they want to read a paper online without a subscription, it will eventually cost you.

In an e-mail sent to subscribers, and in full page ads this weekend, The News told subscribers it has to respond to its reader's changing habits, habits that are going digital.

"The digital ad/print ad comparison for newspapers remains ominous," writes Rick Edmonds with The Poynter Institute, a Florida based journalism think-tank and training program.

Last week, just before The News's campaign, the Newspaper Association of America posted advertising statistics that show nationwide losses at newspapers at $798 million for the first half of the year, compared to the same period in 2011.

Digital media at newspapers nationwide earns $32 million, according to the Association, making for a 25 to 1 ratio of print  losses to digital gains.

If you're currently a non-subscriber to the Buffalo News a seven-day online subscription will cost $2.77, with a discount if you subscribe via credit card. The front page, all section fronts, classified advertising and 10 stories per month will remain free.

A Friday, Saturday and Sunday login  will also be available on a fee basis. 
 

“These changes to our business model will enable the News to continue providing the news, stories and information important to you for years to come – in whatever form you want it.” said News President Warren Colville, in a prepared statement.

  

Harrisburg's daily newspaper, The Patriot-News, said Tuesday it will scale back the publication of printed papers to Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays starting Jan. 2.

The announcement followed last month's disclosure that The Patriot-News and the Post-Standard of Syracuse are switching to a three-per-week publication schedule as their corporate owner shifts away from daily publication. Both papers are owned by Advance Publications Inc.

Patriot-News Editor Cate Barron said Tuesday that the 230 full-time employees will receive either job offers or severance notices by the first week in October.

The job offers will come from the new company - PA Media Group - that will result from the planned merger of The Patriot-News and its website, pennlive.com.

The new company will offer larger newspapers on the days it publishes, including seven days of comics and many existing sections and features, while focusing on an expansion of around-the-clock news coverage online.

Newspapers will continue to be home-delivered and will also be available on newsstands, officials said.

The Patriot-News won a Pulitzer Prize this year for its coverage of the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal.

Publisher John Kirkpatrick has said it is important for the newspaper to adapt to a changing world. He said the paper's Sunday circulation has fallen to 118,000 from 176,000 in 1992 and that unique visitors to its website increased 80 percent in the past year.

Kirkpatrick said jobs are likely to be reduced but the number of editorial content producers, such as reporters and photographers, is expected to remain about the same.

Four other Advance newspapers - The Times-Picayune of New Orleans and the three largest papers in Alabama - said in June that they were switching to three-times-a-week publication. Those changes were accompanied by hundreds of layoffs.

Filed Under :  
Topics : Business_Finance, Entertainment_Culture
Social : , 
Locations : Alabama, Harrisburg, New Orleans, New York, Syracuse
People : Cate Barron, John Kirkpatrick
09/12/2012 7:15AM
When Was The Last Time Your Held A Newspaper In Your Hands?
Please enter your comments below.
09/12/2012 7:34AM
How Shameful!
What about the poor people! The paper wants to make a profit, what about no profit, where did that go! Doesn't warren buffet, have enough money!?! He can spread the wealth, give the paper and internet away for free, whats the problem( he should also give away a free dinner for each paper also)How are the poor eple going to read all the lock step one sided hate filled chritainfobe, left wing lies if the paper charges for it! shameful, simply shameful!
09/12/2012 9:08AM
Times are changing...
Seriously... $2.77 is not a lot of money! And if you already get the paper, you don't have to pay for the online subscription. From what I read, not only do you get access to online but you also get the mobile apps included too! It's not like it's breaking the bank with this cost! It could always be worse.
09/12/2012 9:53AM
You're shameful, Shameful!
OK, point by point: 1.)"What about the poor people!" Even with its new pricing model, The News is still a lot cheaper than outlets like cable TV, sattelite radio or national news outlets like the NY Times or Washington Post. Sure, radio is free, but you get a lot more news in the newspaper than you do over the air. 2.)"The paper wants to make a profit, what about no profit, where did that go!" No profit? It's a business, not a charity. I can't think of any business that works for no profit, so...I don't know what you're talking about. 3.)"Doesn't warren buffet, have enough money!?!" This isn't about Warren Buffet. This is about helping the newspaper adapting to a changing media environment. You know, the business that employs hundreds of Western New Yorkers? 4.)"He can spread the wealth, give the paper and internet away for free, whats the problem( he should also give away a free dinner for each paper also)" SPREAD THE WEALTH? GIVE AWAY FOR FREE? What are you, a communist? You want a bunch of crazy left-wing handouts? This is America, not the Soviet Union. CAPITALISTS SELL STUFF FOR MONEY. Come on, I thought you listened to WBEN. 4.) "How are the poor eple going to read all the lock step one sided hate filled chritainfobe, left wing lies if the paper charges for it!" I challenge you to name a single "left-wing lie" in the newspaper. Just one. And if it's so awful, what do you care anyway? Great argument.
09/12/2012 9:54AM
Dave
You are going to see subscriptions drop dramatically. There is NO WAY I am going to pay $2.77 per week to read an inferior product online.
09/12/2012 10:35AM
The medium or the message?
I can only speak for myself, but the issue for me isn't whether I prefer paper or electronic and which one I'm willing to pay for; it's the quality of the product. I don't subscribe to the Buffalo News paper edition because it's not even suitable material to line my guinea pigs' cages with; why would I want to pay for the electronic edition if I don't even want to subscribe to the paper edition? If the publishers put out a really good quality product, I'd be willing to pay for either version.
09/12/2012 2:55PM
Buffalo Snooze
The Buffalo News is and remains irrelevant, a real rag.....bring back the Courier Express.........
09/12/2012 2:59PM
your paper sucks
75 cents for your paper REALLY
09/12/2012 3:01PM
poor people comments
They should be filling out a job application instead
09/12/2012 5:09PM
The new business model
I see nothing wrong with The News charging for online access after years of giving it away for free online. $2.77 is a bargain for the paper when many other cities charge a lot more and give you a lot less. I am glad to see the paper adapting so it can continue to be a going concern in the future. As far as it affecting the poor, that is hogwash. $2.77 a week is a cup of coffee at Tim Horton's. Many that claim to be less fortunate seem to be dressed a bit better than I am and make sure they have their beer and cigarettes (2which cost over 10.00 a pack) Get over the fact that you will have to pay to get the news. How were you accessing the news when it was free? How are you affording your internet connection?I am happy to see The News is looking to exist into the future when other decent size cities soon will have no daily paper.
09/12/2012 8:15PM
Good Luck Buffalo News, You'll Need It!
They tried this experiment with some newspaper in the NYC area charging a subscription based online paper. They had so few subscribers that they went back to the free online paper. Reason being, there are so many other news sources ie. WBEN that offer it for free. I'll give it a year they will try this stunt and they will fail miserably.
09/13/2012 5:18AM
carol
I look forward to my newspaper every day. even though I go on the internet daily I can't go without my newspaper.
09/19/2012 5:56PM
Paper needs to make a profit
The paper needs to make a profit or it will disappear like the beloved "Courier-Express". It lost money for years and Cowles Media put it up for barely a month and couldn't sell.
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