Newspaper revenues are shifting away from an advertising dominance

How much a publication costs on the newsstand or with a subscription fee could determine whether it is a good fit for your message.

In an article by MediaPost, a recent trend has been emerging regarding newspapers’ revenues. It no longer comes from advertising primarily but a more even split between advertising and newsstand prices/subscription fees.

This trend is supported by top newspapers, which list circulation revenues as a growing part of the profits. The New York Times, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Wall Street Journal have all raised the newsstand prices since last year. The prices have all increased by at least 25 cents.

While it sounds like the increase may not be drastic, the percentages between advertising and circulation proceeds have evened out over the last few years. The New York Times stated that, for the second quarter of 2009, 54% of the revenues were from advertising with 39% from circulation. According to the paper, this is a large increase compared to five years ago. At that time advertising accounted for 67% of the total takings and circulation was only 27%.

As newspapers try to offset the shrinking readership in a down economy, it is smart to know to what degree papers are changing. A publication that has multiple rate increases in a relatively short amount of time may be a venue to really re-evaluate its value to a campaign. On the other hand, a newspaper that makes changes to cost, format, circulation, etc. could garner attention and make people eager to peruse it.

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