Are the days of Sun Media newspaper deliveries to areas beyond their community borders coming to an end?
Could readers beyond the GTA soon lose the option of buying the Toronto Sun print edition at a premium price in local retail outlets?
News this week that the Peterborough Examiner is eliminating delivery to retail outlets in Port Hope, Cobourg and beyond could be a new trend in Sun Media penny-pinching.
The Examiner has advised Port Hope retailers:
"Thank you for your support of The Peterborough Examiner throughout the years.
"Due to rising costs of distribution, gas and car maintenance, we will no longer be servicing your area.
"As of Monday January 31, 2011, you will no longer receive The Peterborough Examiner in your store."
A TSF tipster says readers of the daily beyond the Peterborough distribution area can still order it by mail. Same day delivery? Doubt it.
Or they can pocket the $1.25 per printed edition and read the limited online version for free.
Another tipster says the Lindsay Post has also reduced its daily retail distribution area.
So there could come a day when the convenience of picking up the Toronto Sun's print edition beyond the GTA will be a memory.
Ditto for all of the other Sun Media newspapers across the chain.
Readers who do not find online newspapers their cup of tea won't be happy, but keeping the print customer satisfied isn't a Sun Media priority.
Meanwhile, advertisers face reduced exposure in tough economic times.
Actually "the Lindsay Post ... reduced its daily retail distribution area" nearly four years ago. It was in May 2007 that the Post killed the daily and went twice weekly after 150 years. We used to be able to get the Star, Globe and National Post and the two local dailies delivered to our farm between Lindsay and Peterborough 10 years ago. Plus a handful of weeklies and monthlies. Now nada. If we want a paper we can drive 10 k to Omemee or 20+ to P or L. We read online and publishers wonder why their readership is in the outhouse along with their revenue. When I was at the Globe in the mid-'80s Roy Megarry made an executive decision to cut back the content of the national edition and the circulation area. After he wiped the flying crap out of his eyes, he didn't wait to make a reversal as fast as he could. Too bad nobody else paid attention.
ReplyDeleteSimon Wickens
Even the big assed papers like the Toronto Star seem to be having distribution issues.
ReplyDeleteI'm moving to London, and tried to have my Globe and Star subscriptions changed to the new address for a certain date. No problem for Canada's National Newspaper, the Globe and Mail, but the Star doesn't do home delivery in London, only weekend service.
You also can't get the Toronto Daily Sun in a lot of places in London. One outlet told me they can't carry it. I did find a few copies this week in a Shoppers Drug.
Bill Sandford
Wow! That is really sad. I feel sorry for all of the seniors in rural areas who don't know how to use the computer. They grew up feeling the printed word between their finger tips as they flipped from news, to war news to sports. Now, all they'll have to rely on is the radio and TV, which will also receive all of the ad revenue. Seniors in rural areas are already fed up trying to deal with people in India as they try and tell them their word ad over the phone. What happened to treating the elderly with respect?
ReplyDelete