Monday, October 17, 2005
If Newspapers are Failing - It Ain't the Cost of the Newsprint
Jack Shafer, over at the online magazine SLATE, says of all the factors newspapers publishers may cite for cutting staff and slashing newsroom budgets, rising newsprint costs shouldn't be one of them. He reports that newsprint costs in constant dollars have been holding steady.
Shafer writes:
Shafer writes:
Dow Jones isn't the only publisher scapegoating "pricey" newsprint. This week, Knight Ridder, Media General, and the Tribune newspaper chains all sobbed about how increased newsprint costs are contributing to declining profits. Tribune, the New York Times Co., and Knight Ridder are using newsprint costs, along with falling circulation and advertising, as justifications for recent newsroom layoffs.
