Spending all this time working online has led me to a theory. All news – no matter the subject or how targeted its audience – should be free.
First of all, the goal of any newspaper or magazine is to educate the public about its coverage area. It’s not supposed to be about making money or satisfying share holders or any of that. It’s supposed to be about journalism. This role as a public servant conflicts with charging for access to the news.
Second of all, and more importantly, free is what the market demands. All over the globe, free newspapers and magazines are coming to life. Take London, for example.
Two free newspapers launched there in September, and Bloomberg News reports that in their first month the freebies exploded in popularity. “London Lite” distributed 359,389 copies, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, and “thelondonpaper” was slightly behind with 327,120 copies. Compare that to the traditional Evening Standard, which distributed just 289,254 paid copies, a 7.6 percent decrease from the previous month.
The advent of the freebies is the beginning of the last act for the Standard, unless it goes free. But the odds of the Standard going free are a long shot, especially since it’s actually increasing the cost per issue.
Why can’t newspaper companies do simple economics? We all agree that demand for newspapers is dropping everywhere. Think back to your collegiate economics class and that means maintaining current circulation levels requires reducing the price. Declining demand certainly shouldn’t trigger a price increase!
Yes, I used an exclamation point.
But this is so frustrating to me. Newspapers could recoup much of their dwindling circulation (or maybe even increase circulation) just be reducing the cost of a single-copy and subscription.
And what’s worse is that newspapers don’t even rely on the pocket money they make from circulation. Increased circulation means the publication can charge advertisers more to place ads. That’s where the real money is anyway.
Overcharging causes both depressed readership and ad rates. But newspapers are addicted to the paid model. As always, the first step is admitting it.
