Newspaper Prices Appear on Rise
Newspaper prices appear to be going up, as publishers pummeled by declining growth in advertising look to their readers for money to shore up profits.
Dow Jones & Co. provided the most prominent example of what appears to be a trend toward higher prices by boosting the cover price of its flagship newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, by 50% to 75 cents this month.
But judging from presentations made to the annual PaineWebber media outlook conference this past week, others may not be far behind.
Affiliated Publications Inc., for instance, plans to boost the price of copies of the Boston Globe sold more than 30 miles outside the city to 50 cents from 35 cents this spring.
Chairman William Taylor said prices on issues sold closer to the city may be increased if conditions warrant.
The Washington Post is boosting the price for delivery of the Sunday edition to $1.50 from $1.25 early next year.
Several Knight-Ridder Inc. newspapers are planning to boost cover prices.
Without identifying the papers by name, President P. Anthony Ridder said three of the company’s 29 newspapers will boost daily cover prices to 35 cents a copy from 25 cents, while three others will go to 50 cents from 35 cents.
This past Friday, The New York Times said it was boosting its home delivery price by 50 cents to $5 for Monday through Sunday delivery in the New York metropolitan area and the Northeast starting Jan. 1. Some other delivery rates also will go up.
Several other media companies told securities analysts that they intended to follow an aggressive circulation pricing policy.
Publishers generally shy away from boosting newspaper prices because they fear that increases will mean that fewer people will subscribe or pick up the paper at newsstands. Their concern is not only that they will lose out on some circulation revenue, but that advertisers will cut back because their sales pitches reach a smaller audience.
But J. Kendrick Noble Jr., media analyst for PaineWebber, said many newspapers may find that they can still keep a big audience after raising prices.
He said his examination of pricing trends suggests that newspapers that boost prices by no more than 2 1/2 percentage points above the inflation rate tend to lose less than 1% of their circulation.
The conditions that are driving many newspapers to consider circulation price increases include the weakest environment for advertising since the mid-70s and the prospect of newsprint price increases next year.
Major newsprint producers, meanwhile, have proposed 5% price increases for early next year.
Jack Butcher, circulation director at the Tampa (Fla.) Tribune, said he senses more movement toward higher prices.
He said he recently surveyed companies who make the coin-slot plates that are fitted on newspaper vending machines. They reported that they have had the highest level of orders for new plates in years.
