Detroit newspapers losing "daily" tag?

I don't subscribe to my OWN paper, a weekly, because we're mail-only delivery. Why would I do that with a daily?

 

There are markets where home delivery isn't important.

The NY tabs circulate almost entirely by newstand.

I live in Southeast Michigan. When I walk my kids to the school bus, I pass about 40 houses in my tight little subdivision. I've noticed that one of them gets home delivery of a morning paper (plus my house).

Maybe the numbers have dwindled to the point it just isn't worth it for the Freep/News.

 

Home delivery is important in NYC. This is why even in its heyday with more than 2 million daily circ and 3 million on Sundays -- the largest circ in American history -- the Daily News never had more than a fringe chunk of the advertising share. Advertisers want to know where their audience lives, not where their office is or where they walk through on their way to someplace else. Even the classifieds section was a mere shell of the much smaller-circ Times'.

 

At least they are giving a lot of options; coulda been worse.



1. Home delivery of print edition Thursday, Friday and Sunday with access to Electronic Edition every day.
2. Home delivery of print edition Sunday only with access to Electronic Edition everyday
3. Home delivery of print edition Thursday, Friday & Sunday- No Electronic Edition (Available for current subscribers only)
4. Home delivery of print edition on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Postal mail delivery of print edition on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.

and also at these retailers

* 7-11
* bp
* caribou
* citgo
* cvs
* dollar tree
* dunkin donuts
* kroger
* marathon
* meijer
* mobil
* panera
* rite aid
* shell
* speed way
* starbucks
* sunoco
* valero
* walgreens
* wal-mart

 

is the entire web site going to be pay only?

 

Another question...

Freep has already said the print product on non-delivery days will be 32 pages. Chintzy, especially for a city the size of Detroit. Will the e-edition be an exact replica or will there be more content?

I'm thinking along the lines of Sporting News Today here. How much would it cost to produce extra PDF pages for the e-edition with photos and such, to make those early-week editions thicker in content?

Also on Mondays during NFL season (yes, it's the Lions, but bear with me)... people would like to see expanded sports sections with more content.

I like the concept, but there's some things that could turn readers away.

 

They've had a story up on their web site, specifically inviting comments, for about three hours now.

No comments are visible.

It's pretty safe to assume what the overwheming consensus of these comments are: "Go fuck yourselves. Cancel my subscription and ad buys, immediately."

 

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081216/FREEPRESS/81216032&s=d&page=51#pluckcomments

there's 51 pages of comments....

 

Just showed up on my screen.

I'm reasonably computer-competent, much much more so than the average Joe Schmoe. It ain't my job to figure out how to find them, it's the Freep's job to make them easily accessible to the readers.

Undoubtedly somebody at the Freep offices finally said, "if we're going to invite comments, we have to display some of them, or else we look like complete knobs," and clicked the "enable" button.

 

I assume they're going to cut the subscription price right? And good luck finding carriers for three days a week. Will it really be worth their while?
This reminds me of NBCs move with Leno. If I were Detroit I would have had each paper print on alternating days Monday, Wednesday, Friday; and Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and a joint edition on Sunday. But that's just me.

 

Ummmm, no. I was reading them this morning while listening to the presser at the DAC...