I’m not picking on the NY Times. I just think that they will be one of the last to give up on printed editions of their newspaper.
Are there really any under 30 year old subscribers to the printed edition that have it delivered to there home? How many under 40 year olds, or under 50 year olds for that matter.
Who are these companies that actual buy advertising in a printed newspaper?
Personally, we are down to the Sunday edition of the LA Times. My wife swears that she uses enough of the “cents of” coupons that come with it so that we aren’t really paying for the paper. And because we subscribe to the Sunday paper, they deliver the Thursday paper free.
Each time I call to cancel the paper altogether, they cut the price to get us to continue. I think we are paying less that a dollar each for the Sunday edition.
I don’t think there will be any “national” or even large city printed papers in 5 years.
If there aren’t any print newspapers will there be any traditional newspapers at all? Newspapers get very little revenue from digital editions–in contrast to a substantial amount of revenue from print editions.
I get the Times delivered on weekends (Friday, Saturday, Sunday). But I’m over 50. My wife reads it too, though, and she’s not over 50. Barely over 40.
The advertisers are companies that have very expensive, high-end stuff for sale, from real estate to watches that cost more than my car. They must be getting some return on their advertising dollar, I guess, otherwise they wouldn’t keep buying the space.
I don’t think they’ll quit publishing a paper-and-ink newspaper in my lifetime. Even if they’re losing money, there’s a lot of prestige that comes with publishing the “newspaper of record.”
Print ads are still required to document recruitment for the labor certification portion of the employment-based green card process. When was the last time you, or anyone you know, looked for a job in the print edition of a newspaper? And yet the damn ads can cost thousands of dollars depending on the paper (and length of the ad). Two Sunday ads are required.
I agree - Sunday-only reader here. 7-day is too expensive here, and the local city paper is worthless during the week, so we get both on Sunday and dawdle over them. Even as a techie, I can’t really get used to reading my comics and morning news on a screen…
Most cities and regions have “notice only” papers, usually called something like the Record or Recorder, that are nothing but this boilerplate and at a lower rate than the standard newspapers. I suspect they’ll last longer than the dailies for just this archaic reason.
I have a feeling that we’ll see print newspapers for at least another decade; pretty much everyone I know over about 50-60 religiously reads their printed paper, even if they’re otherwise technologically savvy, and use smartphones, etc…
Similarly, most people in their forties that I know tend to read the online editions of the local papers, and sometimes papers in other cities as well.
I’m not sure if anyone under about 40 really reads newspapers as such though; I think they get their day-to-day news from a set of online resources which include newspapers, television stations and online-only sources, as there’s not really much difference overall between say… CNN and the NY Times as far as day-to-day news goes. The real meat is in the analysis-oriented articles.
My three children (one just over 50 and the other two in their 40s) all subscribe to the Sunday Times. I think that will last a long time. I subscribe 7 days a week (at considerable cost, but I really like it). Our daily paper is really almost worthless; I like the funnies and the bridge column. And the news delivery guy. That last is probably why I haven’t given up on it.
I expect the Times will outlive me, but maybe not by much.
If they sold them cheaply enough, I’d vastly prefer a newspaper subscription to internet/TV “news”. But even filled with ads they cost ~$50/month. I can go back to cable for that price.
$.50/day = $3.50/week = $14/month. That’s the most I’d want to pay to read the paper.
I’m 55 and subscribed to both the Seattle Times and the New York Times for years I certainly enjoyed a Sunday morning with the paper. I let both go years ago, and honestly don’t miss it.
To the OP’s question, however, I think we’re 25 years away from losing the printed New York Times.
No idea of the answer to the OP’s question, but just chiming in as another 50-something who reads a printed paper every day. On weekdays I take it to work with me and read it over lunch. Weekends I sit in my recliner and read it while drinking my morning coffee.
I get news from other sources, but still enjoy the ritual of the morning paper. Get up, take the dog out, grab the paper from the end of the drive - the day has begun. If I let my subscription lapse there is no guarantee that the sun would continue to rise…
I’m 54 and had to give up reading the printed paper about 10 years ago because I developed an allergy to the ink. Touching it makes my hands itch and eventually crack, and breathing in the scent of it triggers a near asthma attack. :mad: I live in fear of being trapped in a small space, like a plane, next to someone reading a paper.
I turned 61 today, and I really can’t do without a printed newspaper. It’s the puzzles I really love, and I want them on paper. Plus it’s the best way for me to keep up with local news and events.
It’s a good question. I think we find from this thread that 50s and above read print newspapers quite a bit, but being in my 30s, I don’t know anyone my age group that has a print newspaper subscription (I have an online subscription to the NY Times). So I’d imagine maybe in 20-30 years, most print papers will try to find a way to almost solely focus on electronic news delivery.
55 yrs old, 7-day a week subscriber to the Chicago Trib.
I have a friend who has written a column for them for 20 yrs, and I asked him when they will no longer issue print copies. His opinion was that Thurs (I think) thru Sun weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. He did not envision a future when there wouldn’t be a Sunday paper.
(Apparently the beginning of the week has much lower circulation.)
I STRONGLY prefer my newspapers, magazines, and books in paper form.
