Many US papers to raise cover prices for Thursday

Posted by Betsey Reinsborough on November 25, 2009 at 5:38 PM

There are exceptions to every rule, even in regards to the current epidemic of declining advertisement revenue. The United States' busiest shopping day, commonly called Black Friday, is the day after Thanksgiving. The day leading up to it is also the largest selling day for newspapers. This trend has caused many newspapers to decide to take advantage of shoppers' lust for the sale pamphlets stuffed into the Thanksgiving editions. Thus, many papers will be charging the Sunday price for the Thursday edition.

It is indeed a rarity that a business is able to charge a larger fee due to an increase in advertising, but for many consumers, the sale inserts pay for themselves many times over.

Tribune Co., which declared bankruptcy last December, will raise the price of all of its papers on Thursday. According to a spokesperson for the company, the Chicago Tribune is projected to see an increase of four times its regular sales. This will cause a drastic in crease in revenue, since the cover price will more than double from 75 cents to $1.99 for one day.

Tribune Co. raised its prices on Thanksgiving Day last year as well.

E.W. Scripps will have all of its Cincinnati-based papers charge the Sunday price, anywhere between 1-2$, for their Thursday editions. Scripps' sales on that day are typically more than double the usual.

The Washington Post will sell its Thanksgiving edition for its regular $1.50 Sunday price.

The Kansas City Star, which is owned by McClatchy Co. and was recently released in a Kindle edition, will be selling for $2 rather than 75 cents; however, it will also charge regular weekday subscribers $1.25 for Thursday.

Source: Bloomberg