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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
CURRENT POLL - Daily newspaper delivered to home?
Alex Diaz, Photographer, Assistant
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Dallas | TX | USA | Posted: 9:56 AM on 04.01.09 |
->> I was checking on the results of the Current Poll question and was not surprised by the results so far.
Although only 308 members have voted, the majority are not receiving a daily newspaper.
I received a feel-good letter yesterday about the Dallas Morning News' commitment to me and my commitment to them as a subscriber.
Then the whammy!
All the way at the bottom of the page the notice that the renewal price for my subscription is going to $28.50.
I called their customer service number and was told that $28,50 would be the new monthly rate as a 7-day/week subscriber up from $20/month.
I wanted to know what other Sportsshooter.com members are paying for their daily newspaper subscriptions. I know some may have a discount if it is through their employer.
Seriously thinking of canceling my subscription... |
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Bob Ford, Photographer
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Lehighton | Pa | USA | Posted: 10:19 AM on 04.01.09 |
->> There are basically two papers available in my area. The one that I work for, which is delivered to employees for free, and one that has a circulation about 10x our paper.
I used to get the other paper on Sundays, but recently canceled after they closed their office in our area and stopped reporting local news. They also recently boosted their subsription cost. |
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Dave Prelosky, Photographer
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Lower Burrell | Pa | US | Posted: 10:20 AM on 04.01.09 |
->> Alex,
I'll have to check with the chairman of the Bar Tab Settling and Bill Paying Committee, but I believe we're currently enjoying a Pgh Post-Gazette promo rate of $53. Annually. That's right - just over $1 weekly. |
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Clark Brooks, Photo Editor, Photographer
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Urbana | IL | USA | Posted: 10:50 AM on 04.01.09 |
| ->> Yep, daily deliver for the past 10 years, both before they were a client, while and now that they no longer are. |
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Scott A. Schneider, Photographer
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Minneapolis | MN | USA | Posted: 10:55 AM on 04.01.09 |
| ->> 55% of the members that voted do not get daily delivery of a newspaper? And we're lamenting the demise of newspapers? |
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Alan Look, Photographer
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Bloomington | IL | United States | Posted: 11:03 AM on 04.01.09 |
->> I don't work for them, never have but I've had a subscription to the local daily for about 32 years. It now costs more annually than the Wall Street Journal.
About 2 weeks ago, they narrowed the width and enlarged the type (in the name of customer service - it's supposed to be better on the eyes). This after the pages have become fewer, and having combined many of the sections. It really all spells less news for the same money. Kind of like putting ice cream in a smaller container, charging the same price and hoping no one notices...
On Monday, I think there was a total of about 24 pages. The last three were all one page advertisements. I guess that's good for making a buck, but it sure limits the amount of space for news. |
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David Brooks, Photographer
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San Diego | CA | USA | Posted: 11:08 AM on 04.01.09 |
| ->> I have a subscription but I get it sent to my Mother's. We get the "slightly off-register" copies for free at the office. |
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Kevin Leas, Photographer, Assistant
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Rochester | NY | USA | Posted: 11:14 AM on 04.01.09 |
->> For anyone who is thinking of canceling their newspaper subscription based on a price, let me ask you this - do you get cable/satellite? What are you paying for that? Is that more important to you than a newspaper? Just something to think about.
Alex, as far as the poll numbers go - I'm willing to bet that a number of people here get free newspapers at their place of employment, eliminating the need to subscribe at home. Just a hunch. |
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Andrew Scott, Photo Editor, Photographer
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McLean | VA | United States | Posted: 11:25 AM on 04.01.09 |
->> WSJ daily - $100/year for 6 day home delivery (I had to haggle with them at renewal time to keep the $100/year new subscriber promo rate that I have had for a couple years.)
Washington Post - $125/year for 7 day home delivery
USA TODAY - employee discount rate, 5 day delivery. |
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Craig Mitchelldyer, Photographer, Assistant
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Portland | OR | USA | Posted: 11:33 AM on 04.01.09 |
| ->> I pay $24 a month for 7 day delivery of the Oregonian. |
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Jason Jump, Photographer
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Humble | TX | USA | Posted: 11:38 AM on 04.01.09 |
->> We actually get two weeklies thrown for free, and I don't read either one of them, and actually used to work part-time for one of them.
I used to subscribe to the Chronicle when we first moved down here, but haven't taken it in about 3-4 years. Everything I need I can find online and it doesn't leave ink marks on my fingers when I'm done :). |
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N. Scott Trimble, Photographer
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Lake Oswego | OR | USA | Posted: 12:11 PM on 04.01.09 |
| ->> Every newspaper I care about: Free. Online. Oh God! I am contributing to the apocalypse! Sorry! |
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Shelly Castellano, Photographer
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Huntington Beach | CA | USA | Posted: 12:21 PM on 04.01.09 |
| ->> Yes, I upgraded my LA Times subscription and get it at home and online for $75/year. |
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Scott A. Schneider, Photographer
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Minneapolis | MN | USA | Posted: 12:27 PM on 04.01.09 |
| ->> I think reading a newspaper online is an incomplete experience, especially from an information gathering perspective. By turning the printed page, the reader sees many articles that wouldn't be noticed while "reading" the paper online. Unless you know the story is available and search for it, it will be missed. In fact, on a couple of occasions, after seeing an article in print and going online to send it to a friend, I've had difficulty finding it. If you really want to read the newspaper, you can't beat the real thing. |
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Brad Mangin, Photographer
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Pleasanton | CA | USA | Posted: 12:48 PM on 04.01.09 |
->> I am a freak. I will keep getting the local papers till they are gone. I pay for all FIVE daily papers that circulate in my area to be thrown into my driveway:
1. San Francisco Chronicle
2. San Jose Mercury News
3. Valley Times (CC Times)
4. Tri Valley Herald (Oakland Tribune)
5. USA TODAY
I also have a Sunday subscription to the New York Times.
I am 44 years old and not in the cool demographic anymore. I learned to read and love newspapers by scouring the afternoon Oakland Tribune for Ralph Wiley's Giants gamers in the mid-1970's. |
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Mark Buffalo, Photographer
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Lonoke | AR | USA | Posted: 12:54 PM on 04.01.09 |
| ->> I pay $15 a month for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. I got a letter from them last week saying the rate had gone up. I was paying like $12.50 per month before it went up to $15. I still love my paper. |
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Mark Loundy, Photo Editor
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San Jose | CA | USA | Posted: 2:57 PM on 04.01.09 |
->> San Jose Merc and Sunday NY Times.
--Mark |
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William Maner, Photographer
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Biloxi | MS | USA | Posted: 3:24 PM on 04.01.09 |
->> If Brad is not in the cool demographic category anymore, then I'm in the ancient history category..
I get the local newspaper delivered to my house. It's a longtime habit.
I find reading the paper to be better than scrolling around a computer screen and then having to wait for pages to appear.
A lot of newspaper photographers probably don't have a home subscription because they can pick up a paper at work. In all the years I worked at a multiple-weekly operation, I took copies of the papers home with me every week. |
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Jeff Keacher, Photographer
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Stanford | CA | USA | Posted: 6:35 PM on 04.01.09 |
->> Through a series of freak "points" deals with my credit card, I've been getting the WSJ for the past 3 years for the equivalent of about $40 per year.
I enjoy having a physical newspaper in front of me because of the serendipitous discovery of stories it enables. Kind of like a dead-tree version of Digg or Reddit, but for business news (at least with the WSJ). |
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Juliann Tallino, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Port Townsend/Seattle | WA | USA | Posted: 7:28 PM on 04.01.09 |
| ->> first thing I do when I move to a new city (and I have moved a lot) is get the local paper delivered. Right now it's the Seattle Times. I start every day with a cup of tea and the newspaper. |
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Ronnie Montgomery, Photographer
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Houston | TX | USA | Posted: 9:31 PM on 04.01.09 |
| ->> The Houston Chronicle runs me $18 a month. I would gladly pay twice as much if I had to. |
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Al Santos, Photographer
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Silver Spring | MD | USA | Posted: 10:07 PM on 04.01.09 |
->> The Washington Post cost me $33.58 for 8 weeks.
"If You Don't Get It, You Don't Get It." :^) |
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Michael Fischer, Photographer
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Spencer | Ia | USA | Posted: 10:37 PM on 04.01.09 |
->> Spencer Daily Reporter
Wall Street Journal
Des Moines Register Sunday only |
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Jim Owens, Photographer
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Cincinnati | OH | usa | Posted: 8:50 AM on 04.02.09 |
->> Yes.
Cincinnati Enquirer -7 days a week. |
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Daniel Putz, Photographer
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Jefferson | MD | USA | Posted: 9:17 AM on 04.02.09 |
| ->> Frederick Post now 6 days a week (no more Mondays!) and Washington Post on Sundays. Also get The Gazette local edition. :) |
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David Harpe, Photographer
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Louisville | KY | USA | Posted: 10:32 AM on 04.02.09 |
->> We get it at home, but my better half reads it far more consistently than I do. Most of the time when she's reading through it in the morning I've already read most of the stories online the night before. For free. In a one-newspaper town.
I shouldn't be able to do that, you know? Not for free.
The Sunday newspaper used to be a nice ritual, now it arrives in kit form. They don't assemble the paper into a nice, immediately browsable stack anymore. Instead it shows up in two large wads - the timely stuff they printed a few hours prior, and the rest that they printed Thursday or Friday. A huge pile of advertising mixed into everything with absolutely no rhyme or reason...just a big wad of paper. No structure whatsoever. It's generally a mess to deal with...to the point where I just don't bother most of the time anymore.
It's a shame because when I do bother to plow through the crud I find some great content produced by my friends at the paper. It's sad that the content is so minimized by sloppy production. |
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Steve Violette, Photographer
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Gulf Breeze | FL | USA | Posted: 10:48 AM on 04.02.09 |
| ->> Pensacola New Journal 7 days and Gulf Breeze News Weekly both purchased. I face the same issues as Dave Harpe with the Sunday paper - also - delivery times vary by as much as an hour and I'm an early riser....... |
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Robert Seale, Photographer
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Houston | TX | USA | Posted: 11:40 AM on 04.02.09 |
->> I get the Houston Chronicle and the Sunday New York Times.
I find it unbelievable that people wouldn't subscribe to and support their local newspapers. I don't care if you can get it for free online, I believe in supporting it, and I'll pay for one until they quit printing it.
I buy albums from bands that I like, too....if you believe in something or a group, business, or institution, you should do your part to support it.
Call me old school, but I also buy products whenever possible from the clients that hire me. What goes around comes around.
David-Every Sunday paper I've ever received in every city I've lived in was a mess. It takes 30 seconds to separate and lay out the sections and prioritize your reading....it's really not a big deal. It's part of the ritual for me. |
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John Germ, Photographer
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Wadsworth | Oh | USA | Posted: 12:08 PM on 04.02.09 |
->> "I find it unbelievable that people wouldn't subscribe to and support their local newspapers. I don't care if you can get it for free online, I believe in supporting it, and I'll pay for one until they quit printing it. "
Robert - I respectfully disagree. I am a big proponent of the capitalist model. Produce a product the consumer wants and they'll buy it. That's the thought process that did so much damage to the American Auto industry in the 80s - "buy American..." (even though the product is worse than the import). If the product being produced isn't something worth the money I'm not going to throw $30 away every month on it. Parents don't buy my photos just to support me if my photos are bad. Why should people buy newspapers if that product doesn't meet their needs? If I set up a booth somewhere and take polaroid photos of people and try to sell it to them should they buy them just to support me? Or because 30 years ago a polaroid photo was a great invention and they didn't have cameras of their own? Or should I adapt my business model to meet the needs of the customer of today instead of the customer of 30-40 years ago? The burden is, and should be, on the supplier's side to produce a product people want to buy. Solidarity is a poor way to try to sustain a non viable product. Again, just my personal opinion, not a statement of fact. |
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Jason Jump, Photographer
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Humble | TX | USA | Posted: 12:25 PM on 04.02.09 |
->> "I find it unbelievable that people wouldn't subscribe to and support their local newspapers."
I'm in a bit of a different situation than most photogs in that while I am a photographer, I am also in the information business, and I have a hard enough time supporting my own business much less my competition's :). |
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Michael Fischer, Photographer
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Spencer | Ia | USA | Posted: 1:42 PM on 04.02.09 |
->> John;
Sorry, I respectfully disagree with your assertion that supporting a product or company is automatically not good capitalism.
In your response to Robert, you used the word "needs". Most people view a need as a physical thing; food, shelter and clothing come to mind.
In marketing, the usual phrase is wants or needs. What is the difference? It is simply this: A want is a mental need. I, like Robert, support some things simply because it makes me feel good to do so. That need is important to me for whatever reason.
Capitalism may be the survival of the fittest, but most buying decisions are anything but analytical. The old rule in selling is that people buying emotionally and rationalize their purchases intellectually. If Robert, or Michael want to support a particular band, newspaper, or whatever because it makes them feel good; then they are filling a need.
It's not cut and dried. And it is how marketing in a capitalistic society works.
'Nuff said.
Michael |
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David Harpe, Photographer
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Louisville | KY | USA | Posted: 1:45 PM on 04.02.09 |
->> David-Every Sunday paper I've ever received in every city I've lived in was a mess. It takes 30 seconds to separate and lay out the sections and prioritize your reading....it's really not a big deal. It's part of the ritual for me.
Maybe so, but the reality is newspapers (for now) aren't charities. They are for-profit entities competing in a free market. As such, they need to serve the needs of their customers. Part of that service needs to include packaging the product in a manageable form.
If you just throw a pile of mess at your paying customers, it's arrogant and disrespectful. Not only is it disrespectful to the audience (here - you'll take what we give you AND LIKE IT), it's also disrespectful to the people who sweat to make sure every word and photo in the paper is produced correctly.
This attitude won't help with the whole loyalty thing. The message it sends is: If they can't take the time to put the thing together properly, why should I spend money on it? If they show that little respect for their own finished product, how can it have much worth?
People won't pay $10k for a Rolex in a blister pack. Packaging matters. |
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Bradly J. Boner, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Jackson | WY | USA | Posted: 1:48 PM on 04.02.09 |
| ->> $35 bucks a year for our weekly delivered to our mailbox! |
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Louis Lopez, Photographer
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Fontana | CA | USA | Posted: 1:53 PM on 04.02.09 |
->> I used to get all the papers in my area a few years ago, now I only get the Sunday L.A. Times.
All the newspapers all had the same AP story and the same AP pictures, made no sense to subscribe to all of them for the same product.
it's about putting out an original quality product, not just reprinting the same AP stuff.
The web sites are not much better, sometimes it is a week before the L.A. Times updates the high school section on their website. |
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Michael Fischer, Photographer
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Spencer | Ia | USA | Posted: 2:56 PM on 04.02.09 |
->> David and Alex,
Both of you are right on. As a marketer, I want my product to be different. The packaging makes a difference. The content makes a difference.
This is where corporate media giants blew it. They took a product that should be niche, and tried to turn it out to look the same. The results are always the same. |
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Steve King, Photographer
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Ann Arbor | MI | USA | Posted: 8:37 PM on 04.02.09 |
| ->> I'm paying $45 for three months of 7 days a week coverage by the Ann Arbor News. I've been a subscriber for over 30 years, and sadly when my current 3 month subscription runs out so does the AA News, publication ceases in July. I know some very fine 'togs and other people working there too. After this I don't know that I'll have a paper delivered any longer. :-( |
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