Monday, October 26, 2009

Not just bad weather here

From Yahoo News:
Figures released Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations show that average daily [newspaper] circulation dropped 10.6 percent in the April-September period from the same six-month span in 2008. That was greater than the 7.1 percent decline in the October 2008-March 2009 period and the 4.6 percent drop in the April-September period of 2008.

Read all here.
I saw Alfalfa there at the Vicad claiming a 50-50 advertising-to-editorial ratio. Perhaps he is innumerate, like so many editors, or perhaps he doesn't understand that full-page ads placed in the Vicad by the Vicad aren't actually revenue-producing pages.

4 comments:

Pilot said...

Oh, God....black hair and a cowlick! My sides hurt!

River said...

AP reports that at the Chronk, circ is way down but circ revenue is way up, because home delivery went from $4.75/week to $7.75/week in a year. I think that's a 63% hike, but I'm an innumerate editor who majored in journalism because they told me there would be no math.

Seems like deadwood editions are destined to become just status brands, only for the moneybags. Most newspaper employees won't even be able to afford their own product. I know there's absolutely no way I'd ever pay $400/year for a print newspaper sub. That's a car payment.

And from E&P's coverage:
"At the Las Vegas Review-Journal, executive are crediting their 6.56% increase ... to a simple change in ABC rules that allow the paper's electronic edition to be counted in total circulation." The electronic edition is a replica of the print paper on the Web site; access requires a sub: $4.95/week for both print and digital, or $2.50/week for digital only. They claim 20,000 people are paying for that electronic edition.

But if I'm reading the news online, why would I want it to be formatted like a printed paper? If I'm online, I want to take advantage of the bells and whistles the medium has to offer. I understand why it makes sense for a paper to offer a replica edition online, but I don't understand why any readers would want it.

Edith Ann said...

I see what River is saying. That is a lot of cash for a newspaper! Circulation has to be way down. When they stopped delivery to Victoria and the surrounding area, that had to be a fairly big dent. As it is, we can go to Tipton's station on 59N to buy the Sunday editon. What did SugarMagnolia say she paid for a mail subscription--$55/month? Too rich for my blood.

Sugar Magnolia said...

Yep, EdithAnn, indeed I do. They've got a sucker and they know it. Still, when I can peruse Leon Hale and Ken Hoffman at my leisure, being delivered directly to my mailbox, and keep up with the antics of Bucky and Satchel ("Get Fuzzy") and Red and Rover, it is so worth it to me. I can keep up with all the happenings in my old neigborhood, and with the candidates in the race for Mayor and City Council. Once a Houstonian, always a Houstonian. Besides, the Post folded. The Chronicle is all I have left, and I'll be darned if I let it die. If it does, they can't claim they weren't making money off suckers....er, people....like me.