Journal Sentinel Subscriptions

[Spotcheck Billy]

I have been a subscriber since the 90's. Started out as an everyday subscription then pulled back to Sunday's only when I realized the weekday paper was so thin it took me longer to walk to the mailbox to get it than it did to read it.

One year ago the subscription was $8.67/mo.  I received a letter yesterday that my rate is going up to $21/mo which is about the 3rd-4th increase in a year.  I plan to call this week to confirm I'm understanding it correctly, but wow. Assuming I did, I guess I will only be reading 3 Ben Steele articles a month which sucks.

My parents were daily subscribers since 1960 until this last May when the smaller paper/limited income  was the last straw and they canceled. They were at Costco last week and a vendor tried to get them to subscribe, his 1st offer was $160/year plus 2 - $20 Costco gift cards, he eventually raised that to 4 gift cards ($80). when asked if he would take a check, he declined, credit or debit cards only. Just so you get renewed at full price in a year or what?

[Benny B]

My parents were daily subscribers since 1960 until this last May when the smaller paper/limited income  was the last straw and they canceled. They were at Costco last week and a vendor tried to get them to subscribe, his 1st offer was $160/year plus 2 - $20 Costco gift cards, he eventually raised that to 4 gift cards ($80). when asked if he would take a check, he declined, credit or debit cards only. Just so you get renewed at full price in a year or what?

Exactly.

[Pakuni]

My parents were daily subscribers since 1960 until this last May when the smaller paper/limited income  was the last straw and they canceled. They were at Costco last week and a vendor tried to get them to subscribe, his 1st offer was $160/year plus 2 - $20 Costco gift cards, he eventually raised that to 4 gift cards ($80). when asked if he would take a check, he declined, credit or debit cards only. Just so you get renewed at full price in a year or what?

Or  the MJS doesn't want independent contractors, which those vendors are, taking checks or cash from customers.

[GooooMarquette]

ND sucks.

[MUEng92]

So some of the in-depth reporting I'm being asked to pay more for includes a story about what a satirical newspaper is reporting on?  This "journalist" reports to an "editor" who said, I think people who pay for our newspaper need to know what the free fake newspaper is writing about. 

This has to be either an Onion article within an Onion article or a Twilight Zone episode.

[rocket surgeon]

the thing is, they have to raise their prices because no one wants to buy ad time in something that everyone and their uncles are reporting on the same way with the same stories.  nothing new.  i don't even want to steal it like some here.  remember, approx. 50% of this country doesn't agree with most of the garbage these rags are reporting or how they are reporting it

[GGGG]

the thing is, they have to raise their prices because no one wants to buy ad time in something that everyone and their uncles are reporting on the same way with the same stories.  nothing new.  i don't even want to steal it like some here.  remember, approx. 50% of this country doesn't agree with most of the garbage these rags are reporting or how they are reporting it

The vast majority of what newspapers report isn't political and isn't reported in a political manner.  You just never get past that do you>

[rocket surgeon]

The vast majority of what newspapers report isn't political and isn't reported in a political manner.  You just never get past that do you>

wait a minute pigeon-hawk-haven't you said, frequently, that EVERYTHING is political?  even the pontiff can forget his occasional stances on things eyn'a?  what size flip-flops ya wear anyhow?

  oh, i get past it alright, i don't even bother try stealing the chit either.  i just leave it alone.  i'm one the reasons their ad revenue is down buddy

[GGGG]

wait a minute pigeon-hawk-haven't you said, frequently, that EVERYTHING is political?  even the pontiff can forget his occasional stances on things eyn'a?  what size flip-flops ya wear anyhow?

  oh, i get past it alright, i don't even bother try stealing the chit either.  i just leave it alone.  i'm one the reasons their ad revenue is down buddy

<sigh>

Yeah you don't get what I said with "everything's political."  Context matters.

And if you think that ad revenue is down because of a political bent, that shows an ignorance of history. Newspapers used to be *much* more political than they are now. The problem now is lack of content and technology is usurping their readership.

Educate thyself rocket.

[mu_hilltopper]

Can someone explain .. how do small newspapers survive?  I mean, if the MJS is struggling with 1m population base .. how does, for example, the Beloit Daily News survive?   

Google/Wikipedia tells me the BDN has 40 staff writers .. circulation of 14,000, 6 days a week, delivery to homes.   How in hell does that survive?

I found a list with 26 (wow) daily newspapers in Wisconsin.   How does Marshfield have a daily?  Portage?  Shawano?  Wisconsin Rapids?  Baraboo?  Ashland? 

[warriorchick]

Can someone explain .. how do small newspapers survive?  I mean, if the MJS is struggling with 1m population base .. how does, for example, the Beloit Daily News survive?   

Google/Wikipedia tells me the BDN has 40 staff writers .. circulation of 14,000, 6 days a week, delivery to homes.   How in hell does that survive?

I found a list with 26 (wow) daily newspapers in Wisconsin.   How does Marshfield have a daily?  Portage?  Shawano?  Wisconsin Rapids?  Baraboo?  Ashland?

I think if I lived in a small town, I would actually be more likely to subscribe to the paper, because their news isn't covered as well by other sources.

Plus, the  people in the news are more likely to be folks you know personally.  And when your kids make the honor roll or participate in high school sports, it's pretty hard to put a web page in your scrap book.   

[GGGG]

Can someone explain .. how do small newspapers survive?  I mean, if the MJS is struggling with 1m population base .. how does, for example, the Beloit Daily News survive?   

Google/Wikipedia tells me the BDN has 40 staff writers .. circulation of 14,000, 6 days a week, delivery to homes.   How in hell does that survive?

I found a list with 26 (wow) daily newspapers in Wisconsin.   How does Marshfield have a daily?  Portage?  Shawano?  Wisconsin Rapids?  Baraboo?  Ashland? 

Because they do very local news. Where else can the citizens of Beloit find out about their local stuff?  Like high school sports. (Parents like to read about their kids.)

That being said their readership is aging and many of these papers won't be around in a generation or so.

[mu_hilltopper]

The MJS does "local" news too.  Has a weekly section with a suburb focus (sadly very small now) .. doesn't the same thing apply?   Don't Milwaukee people want to read about their kids' sports too?

Indeed, we used to have the Herald in my suburb of 14000 people, then the NOW, then the Patch.  All died off.   Maybe small town people have a higher urge to be "connected" versus city folk who have multiple sources and .. don't care so much about what is happening in their village (???).   

[warriorchick]

The MJS does "local" news too.  Has a weekly section with a suburb focus (sadly very small now) .. doesn't the same thing apply?   Don't Milwaukee people want to read about their kids' sports too?

Indeed, we used to have the Herald in my suburb of 14000 people, then the NOW, then the Patch.  All died off.   Maybe small town people have a higher urge to be "connected" versus city folk who have multiple sources and .. don't care so much about what is happening in their village (???).

We have a very small weekly paper in our town that is more of a mom-and-pop operation. Local kids (mostly middle-schoolers) deliver it, and once a month, they come around and collect (I think it's $2).  Everyone hands the kid at least a fiver.  I would subscribe to that paper even if I didn't read it to support the paper carriers.

[GGGG]

Maybe I'm wrong here, but my intuitive guess is that people in smaller towns trend older and less educated. And perhaps their relative lack of technology adoption is helping those local papers?

[Benny B]

Can someone explain .. how do small newspapers survive?  I mean, if the MJS is struggling with 1m population base .. how does, for example, the Beloit Daily News survive?   

Google/Wikipedia tells me the BDN has 40 staff writers .. circulation of 14,000, 6 days a week, delivery to homes.   How in hell does that survive?

I found a list with 26 (wow) daily newspapers in Wisconsin.   How does Marshfield have a daily?  Portage?  Shawano?  Wisconsin Rapids?  Baraboo?  Ashland?

All of the dailies in Sauk & Columbia counties - Portage, Baraboo, Wisconsin Dells, Reedsburg, Sauk Prairie, Columbus and Beaver Dam - are all owned by the same group... in other words, most of the overhead for the paper is being shared, and if each paper only has a staff of 5 and circulation of 1,500, collectively, any one of those papers can report a staff of 35 and circulation of 10,000.

Perhaps Beloit is probably in a similar situation, at least with respect to ownership (i.e. is there a daily in Janesville and/or Rockford that might own Beloit)?

[reinko]

We have a very small weekly paper in our town that is more of a mom-and-pop operation. Local kids (mostly middle-schoolers) deliver it, and once a month, they come around and collect (I think it's $2).  Everyone hands the kid at least a fiver.  I would subscribe to that paper even if I didn't read it to support the paper carriers.

In Sultan's world, he would take a fiver from the kid who doesn't properly secure the money, because it's not Sultan's fault the kid didn't set up the proper security protocols.   

[Benny B]

In Sultan's world, he would take a fiver from the kid who doesn't properly secure the money, because it's not Sultan's fault the kid didn't set up the proper security protocols.   

Now I know who stole my wallet at the BC several years back.  I guess it was just "there."

[GGGG]

HA!!

[Pakuni]

Regarding small newspapers ...
- A lot of them aren't surviving, but those that are do so mostly because they're good at what they do (i.e. covering local news) and have built somewhat of a legacy customer base in the communities they cover.

- Benny's correct that many benefit from shared resources. This isn't necessarily anything new, as chain ownership has always been a thing in small town newspapers, but consolidation and taking advantage of economies of scale definitely has increased. FWIW, this isn't just happening in small towns. In Chicago, for example, Chicago Tribune delivery drivers also deliver the Daily Herald. And the Daily Herald prints the Northwest Herald, Kane County Chronicle and other Shaw newspapers. And the Daily Herald shares content with the Chicago Sun-Times, and vice-versa.

- small town papers also benefit a bit from being one of the few options for local advertisers. A car dealership in suburban Chicago has far more ways to spend its advertising dollars than one in Dixon or Taylorville or Effingham.

- Lastly, and this goes for all newspaper sizes, newspapers aren't failing/struggling because "nobody reads newspapers" or "newspaper readers are all old and dying" (and certainly not nonsense like rocket suggests).
Newspaper readership has always skewed older and that's likely to never change. And many, if not most, newspapers have more readers than ever before. The problem is, a dwindling number of those readers actually pay for the content ... they're cancling their print subscriptions and reading online either until they hit the paywall or using Sultan mode. Back in the day, it didn't really matter whether the consumer paid, because newspapers were making the vast majority of their revenues from display and classified advertising. But now classified is dead, and display advertising dollars are fragmented across far more media options. And that's what creates an unsustainable situation for many publications. I wish I knew what the solution.

[GGGG]

Regarding small newspapers ...
- A lot of them aren't surviving, but those that are do so mostly because they're good at what they do (i.e. covering local news) and have built somewhat of a legacy customer base in the communities they cover.

- Benny's correct that many benefit from shared resources. This isn't necessarily anything new, as chain ownership has always been a thing in small town newspapers, but consolidation and taking advantage of economies of scale definitely has increased. FWIW, this isn't just happening in small towns. In Chicago, for example, Chicago Tribune delivery drivers also deliver the Daily Herald. And the Daily Herald prints the Northwest Herald, Kane County Chronicle and other Shaw newspapers. And the Daily Herald shares content with the Chicago Sun-Times, and vice-versa.

- small town papers also benefit a bit from being one of the few options for local advertisers. A car dealership in suburban Chicago has far more ways to spend its advertising dollars than one in Dixon or Taylorville or Effingham.

- Lastly, and this goes for all newspaper sizes, newspapers aren't failing/struggling because "nobody reads newspapers" or "newspaper readers are all old and dying" (and certainly not nonsense like rocket suggests).
Newspaper readership has always skewed older and that's likely to never change. And many, if not most, newspapers have more readers than ever before. The problem is, a dwindling number of those readers actually pay for the content ... they're cancling their print subscriptions and reading online either until they hit the paywall or using Sultan mode. Back in the day, it didn't really matter whether the consumer paid, because newspapers were making the vast majority of their revenues from display and classified advertising. But now classified is dead, and display advertising dollars are fragmented across far more media options. And that's what creates an unsustainable situation for many publications. I wish I knew what the solution.

Thank you for this.

[Dish]

We have a very small weekly paper in our town that is more of a mom-and-pop operation. Local kids (mostly middle-schoolers) deliver it, and once a month, they come around and collect (I think it's $2).  Everyone hands the kid at least a fiver.  I would subscribe to that paper even if I didn't read it to support the paper carriers.

As a youngster, I used to deliver that Carol Stream Examiner, which I'm assuming is what you speak of. I used to go door to door asking for (literally) $1 at the time, and was always hopeful for an extra buck to be thrown my way.

[warriorchick]

As a youngster, I used to deliver that Carol Stream Examiner, which I'm assuming is what you speak of. I used to go door to door asking for (literally) $1 at the time, and was always hopeful for an extra buck to be thrown my way.

Seriously?  That is the paper I am talking about.  I didn't know you were a Carol Stream guy!

[MU82]

Regarding small newspapers ...
- A lot of them aren't surviving, but those that are do so mostly because they're good at what they do (i.e. covering local news) and have built somewhat of a legacy customer base in the communities they cover.

- Benny's correct that many benefit from shared resources. This isn't necessarily anything new, as chain ownership has always been a thing in small town newspapers, but consolidation and taking advantage of economies of scale definitely has increased. FWIW, this isn't just happening in small towns. In Chicago, for example, Chicago Tribune delivery drivers also deliver the Daily Herald. And the Daily Herald prints the Northwest Herald, Kane County Chronicle and other Shaw newspapers. And the Daily Herald shares content with the Chicago Sun-Times, and vice-versa.

- small town papers also benefit a bit from being one of the few options for local advertisers. A car dealership in suburban Chicago has far more ways to spend its advertising dollars than one in Dixon or Taylorville or Effingham.

- Lastly, and this goes for all newspaper sizes, newspapers aren't failing/struggling because "nobody reads newspapers" or "newspaper readers are all old and dying" (and certainly not nonsense like rocket suggests).
Newspaper readership has always skewed older and that's likely to never change. And many, if not most, newspapers have more readers than ever before. The problem is, a dwindling number of those readers actually pay for the content ... they're cancling their print subscriptions and reading online either until they hit the paywall or using Sultan mode. Back in the day, it didn't really matter whether the consumer paid, because newspapers were making the vast majority of their revenues from display and classified advertising. But now classified is dead, and display advertising dollars are fragmented across far more media options. And that's what creates an unsustainable situation for many publications. I wish I knew what the solution.

Outstanding presentation, Pakuni, especially your "Lastly" section.

In the olden days, newspapers didn't even need to charge readers; anything they got from subscribers or from folks who bought it on the corner was a bonus. They made their money -- big, big money -- through advertising, especially classifieds.

I said "olden days," but it really wasn't all that long ago that a newspaper (especially the Sunday paper) was filled with pages and pages and pages of ads, especially classified. When my wife and I were looking for a condo in 2004, the Tribune still had several sections of the Sunday paper dedicated to house-selling ads. Not several pages, but several SECTIONS. That was less than 15 years ago. But by the time we sold that condo only 3 years later, the Tribune had just one such section. And by the time we moved out of Chicago only 3 years after that, the Trib was down to only a few such pages.

Craigslist changed the way newspapers could make money ("changed" being a synonym for "killed"), and other services followed. Realtors no longer need to buy big ads in newspapers when they can advertise them better and to a larger audience on their own sites and on sites like Trulia and realtor.com. Landlords don't need to advertise in newspapers because they have Craigslist, etc.

Same thing with car ads. The Saturday paper used to have 2-3 sections filled only with ads from dealers. Now ... zippo (or close to it).

I support my newspaper because I think it is important and vital to our democratic republic. But I don't blame others for opting against overpaying for a declining product. Each of us must prioritize how we spend our disposable income.

Anyhoo, nicely done Pakuni.

[jsglow]

As a youngster, I used to deliver that Carol Stream Examiner, which I'm assuming is what you speak of. I used to go door to door asking for (literally) $1 at the time, and was always hopeful for an extra buck to be thrown my way.

That is so cool.  We've loved and appreciated our paperboys/girls through the years.  Always great kids just trying to earn some spending money.  We also get Oberweis delivered and have had our same delivery driver for decades.  When our kids were young, they would go out to greet Mr. Julius and see if he had any extra chocolate milk on the truck and more often than not he was able to oblige.