Yesterday I had to pay $1.50 for my single copy of The New York Times.
A little box on the front page explained the increase and told subscribers that their rates will remain the same.
Wrong twice.
The reasons?
First:
European newspapers have been charging a dollar for many years, and now they are heading for the two dollar mark… for newspapers with half the pages of any U.S. daily.
And don’t tell me that U.S. newspapers get their money from advertising.
I know.
But keep in mind that U.S. newspaper advertising rates are also quite a bit cheaper than European ones.
Second:
When you read stories like this one in yesterday’s edition, you realize that The New York Times is what INNOVATION calls a necessary newspaper and, like Starbucks or Target, an “affordable luxury.”
This fantastic piece of real journalism was done with Helene Cooper reporting from Washington, C. J. Chivers from Georgia and Clifford J. Levy from Moscow.
Reporting was contributed by Anne Barnard and Ellen Barry from Moscow; Andrew E. Kramer from Tbilisi, Georgia; Sabrina Tavernise and Matt Siegel from Tskhinvali, Georgia; and Thom Shanker from Washington.
A dollar fifty?
Let’s get serious.
You cannot keep this level of reporting at this price.
So, my suggestions are:
Charge five dollars and increase subscription rates.
Quality information and caviar journalism is not free.
A short latte cannot cost more than The New York Times!
(Picture by Gregory Brown/Flickr)