Tribune Will be Free!

Sources confirm that the Tribune is going to start just throwing the paper into driveways and not bother charging for it.  Well, I guess that's one way to address the circulation issue. 

Comments

[Timothy]

Hmmm, they just sent me a renewal notice, postmarked Aug 22, and I was about to renew for 52 weeks for $108. I finally found a way to save money reading Greg's blog.

[Travis]

Do I get a pro-rated refund?

[Gee]

Timothy, I think it's only right to pay Mr. Greg a finder's fee of 20%.

[Timothy]

I would, but what would people say, that he chronicled the demise of print media for (gasp!) personal profit? On the issue at hand, what is the relationship between subscription income and advertising income? To simplify: If the Republic grosses $450 million a year off 450,000 readers, that's $1,000 per reader per year in ad income. So of course they'd print more, encourage readership somehow, and the advertisers would be left trying to decide whether radio, mail, billboards or tv was a better deal. We tend to think of them, on Greg's blog, as a news outlet first and advertising company second. Perhaps the tail is wagging the dog, and always has been, which explains why the "mass" in mass media is the problem, because what they write every day has to be popular and easy to understand in order for them to get paid. At least politicians only have to justfy their existence every few years.

[John Kavanagh]

What next, pay to read???

[Le Templar]

Don't cancel your Tribune subscriptions just yet. Greg's "sources" aren't all that reliable on this one.

[Greg Here]

Greg Here: So Le, tell us the full story.

[Michael Marizco]

So? what's the word on this?

[SonoranSam]

The beauty of a blog is that you can post thinly-sourced(but interesting) items that you pick up.

Greg's Jihad against the AZ media is sometimes over the top, but he raises excellent points.

As a recovering ink-stained wretch myself, to use an old cliche, I doubt seriously that the Trib will give up subscription revenue. There are also ramifications that could hurt their advertising rates.

From what I remember about the business side of journalism this just doesn't make sense.

But keep digging Greg. You turn up more truffles than, well, something that begins with a "T" and rhymes with bird.

[BobH]

Advertisers question free-circ numbers, because people who are paying are, obviously, more likely to actually read the paper (and therefore see the ads).

Some papers get around this by offering extreme discounts -- I have a friend who is paying something like $50/year for the SF Chronicle (which, as a former San Franciscan, I can attest is still over-paying).

Still, the free-circ model is attracting a lot of interest (e.g., Anschutz's Examiners), so I wouldn't rule out the possibility that the Tribune is thinking about it.

As I understand it, Anschutz has trademarked the Examiner name in a bunch of cities, so maybe they're worried he might come into the Phoenix area (of course, he may wait a long time to see if the existing papers make money).

[SonoranSam]

BobH:

How does Anschutz deal with the Audit Bureau of Curculation, which advertisers treat as the Bible when they're measuring the number of readers?

It's been a while, but I recall that any publication lacking ABC numbers had a tough time selling ads.

[Happy]

Well, now, I remember a while back Greg said that the Tribune was moving to a tabloid-size newspaper, and while I got quite a few nasty looks when I asked the Trib about it, turns out he was right. But Le, corporate laddie that he is, is not known to tell a blatant lie. He says the Trib will not be a freebie. Wonder if Greg will be right this time? Can anyone besides a lone anonymous "source" confirm?

[BobH]

Sam: They use CAC (Certified Audit of Circulation) -- the free-circ equivalent of ABC. Advertisers accept CAC numbers.

Your question got me looking a few things up. Here's a measure of the difference in value of free-circ versus paid:

The Washington Examiner has a circ of 261,000 and the Post has 752,000 (all these numbers are two years old, but still good for comparative purposes). So the ratio is about 3:1.

The Examiner's open rate (the high end of the rate card) was $66.51/inch on weekdays, while the Post was $746.00 -- an 11:1 ratio.

[SonoranSam]

BobH: The ad rates -and ratios - you cite explain why I have my doubts that the Trib will go to free circulation.

I will mention this, in response to Happy.

I had a conversation with a Trib staffer, who chuckled nerviously when asked, and declined to discuss the matter further because...well, he and his mortgage company sure do like those regular paychecks. He did allow, however, that it was a source of discussion.

The newspaper business is in a free-fall, as Greg has repeatedly noted. People are pulling all kinds of wild ideas out of their butts. I just don't think this pig will fly - but I may be wrong.

[BobH]

I have my doubts, too -- but I certainly can't blame anybody for giving it some thought. As you note, when the established model is collapsing, why not try something new?

Giving away the content and living totally off advertising has worked well for their cousins in radio and TV.

[thesnakeguy]

I had a free paper on my driveway this morning. Oddly enough I canceled a while back when they raise my rates (we were getting multiple papers for a coupon club). At least now maybe they will quit calling asking us to subscribe. We did use a coupon we found in the paper, so maybe it can survive just off of advertisers.