tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post3301787061363938693..comments2023-11-05T06:26:51.316-05:00Comments on Gannett Blog: USA Today forecasts big plunge in retail sales with doubling of cover price, company documents sayJim Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712746705871119746noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-65205809341416028822014-01-02T01:59:50.847-05:002014-01-02T01:59:50.847-05:00Need to do some strategic means to
increase sales ...Need to do some strategic means to<br /><a href="http://www.reelezdisplay.com/blog/effective-retail-signage-affects-sales-business/" rel="nofollow">increase sales</a> and attract buyers.Hannahnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-3308650077689412532013-11-06T14:02:21.496-05:002013-11-06T14:02:21.496-05:00Talk about the world of price gouging. I won't...Talk about the world of price gouging. I won't buy the USA Today anymore.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-58525618072572052282013-10-13T18:01:59.664-04:002013-10-13T18:01:59.664-04:00During a recent stay at a Radisson hotel, I picked...During a recent stay at a Radisson hotel, I picked up a free copy of USAT from a stack in the lobby. (My only other choice was the local paper.)<br /><br />This was a weekend edition, so it had more pages than you'd find in a weekday edition. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to see a fair number of paid ads throughout the sections -- paid as opposed to public service or trade ads.<br /><br />Jim Hopkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16712746705871119746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-62808987882203474962013-10-13T16:49:26.929-04:002013-10-13T16:49:26.929-04:00I read USA at breakfast when I traveled for busine...I read USA at breakfast when I traveled for business, and frequently after retiring when I would eat breakfast out, but I never really enjoyed the paper because it came across as too liberal, and I am a conservative. However, after that 100% price increase I have never purchased another copy. I just learned to use my wife's iPAD instead, and frankly, I now enjoy it more than I did USAT in Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-77061605237742383292013-10-10T13:55:24.180-04:002013-10-10T13:55:24.180-04:00I enjoyed the paper since its introduction. No mor...I enjoyed the paper since its introduction. No more. The price increase is insulting. Newspapers have been swirling in a death spiral since ownership changed from families to corporate shareholders.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-34011617355510823992013-09-30T22:44:20.392-04:002013-09-30T22:44:20.392-04:00USA Today was a great constant , wherever you trav...USA Today was a great constant , wherever you travelled in the US it was a good read , especially for someone who had no real interest in local news..... but today , well money I will save can go to paying the data usage on the smartphone ... goodbye USA TodayAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-45456969680200811352013-09-30T20:36:28.214-04:002013-09-30T20:36:28.214-04:00Well, the good news is instead of costing myself a...Well, the good news is instead of costing myself an additional dollar each day, i'll just quit it and actually save myself a dollar each day. I'll just daydream over lunch I guess. It's kind of a rag anyway. Bye bye now!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-25561255602737408952013-09-30T15:52:33.626-04:002013-09-30T15:52:33.626-04:00Today is the day USAT died.Today is the day USAT died.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-63808072659858468322013-09-29T22:09:22.461-04:002013-09-29T22:09:22.461-04:00I've bought USAToday nearly everyday since day...I've bought USAToday nearly everyday since day one. Effective tomorrow I am done. $1 to $2 you've gotta be kidding.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-3325329319862177422013-09-18T23:44:20.107-04:002013-09-18T23:44:20.107-04:00there will be "MORE" local content, stay...there will be "MORE" local content, stay tunedAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-59775931002486045982013-09-18T15:11:28.323-04:002013-09-18T15:11:28.323-04:00People have already stopped buying the local produ...People have already stopped buying the local product since USAT material has shown up more and more. Maybe a distinctly different USAT section would help if it meant the local content could grow back.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-39121193136485028482013-09-18T12:01:13.846-04:002013-09-18T12:01:13.846-04:00Just because Kramer "sits on a pile of dough&...Just because Kramer "sits on a pile of dough" and doesn't need this job doesn't mean he isn't surrounded by many, many people who don't have a pile of cash and actually need this job.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-46427158389290603482013-09-18T11:54:57.290-04:002013-09-18T11:54:57.290-04:003:42,
I didn't explain myself properly. It wo...3:42,<br />I didn't explain myself properly. It won't mitigate PAID circulation losses, but advertisers could in fact react positively to this if we market it right, which includes telling them exactly what this is and why it could benefit their brands. We will also have to price it properly so their ROI, and efficiencies, and other performance metrics are met. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-40157188234162177812013-09-17T22:58:38.838-04:002013-09-17T22:58:38.838-04:00You increase the price when the product gets bette...You increase the price when the product gets better, not when it gets prettier, but smaller. Ask the American auto industry how well that approach worked in the 80's and 90's while Honda and Toyoda decimated them with good product that people wanted. (and we're willing to pay for.) <br /> What USAT is doing (and Gannett by virtue of the Butterfly project) is to try and sell a wateredButterflies in my stomachnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-38980995624249716762013-09-17T18:09:38.462-04:002013-09-17T18:09:38.462-04:00Heard this rumor from a former wholesaler last wee...Heard this rumor from a former wholesaler last week, this is the first I've seen it. Is there truth to the rumor that large chains like Walmart and Speedway are refusing to carry single copy now. Good luck removing thousands of vending boxes in areas with no USA Today rep now due to partnerships. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-44968898493347100172013-09-17T18:02:20.078-04:002013-09-17T18:02:20.078-04:00I'm stunned that you can make these blanket cl...I'm stunned that you can make these blanket claims without actually working here and without running into Kramer, who is often in the newsroom and is quite open about his plans for turning USAT around. Nobody here is naive about Gannett and layoffs. But, Kramer has been protective of us. And he sits on a pile of dough from selling MarketWatch. He doesn't need the job. He doesn't need Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-77378537335421444202013-09-17T17:20:28.623-04:002013-09-17T17:20:28.623-04:00First, nice job of reporting, Jim. Good analysis a...First, nice job of reporting, Jim. Good analysis and congrats on breaking this story. Watching those racks go away will be both sad and satisfying for many of us who once loved USAT but haven't agreed with much of anything that's gone on at the nation's newspaper in the last 5-6 years.<br /><br />Also, if anyone thinks USAT's top managers' priorities include keeping people Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-66955337820575033852013-09-17T16:04:52.258-04:002013-09-17T16:04:52.258-04:00This is a vital question, one surely of interest t...This is a vital question, one surely of interest to AP HQ as well. USAT itself publishes AP copy, and presumably pays AP a rate calculated, in part, on USAT's circulation -- though USAT is such a unique animal that it's conceivable its AP rate structure is a one-off.<br /><br />Local Gannett publishers may be salivating at the prospect of eliminating their annual AP bill, but AP will Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-73787229090363094602013-09-17T15:42:39.186-04:002013-09-17T15:42:39.186-04:00@3:24 – If you can’t count USAT’s Butterfly insert...@3:24 – If you can’t count USAT’s Butterfly inserts as paid, then how will increasing distribution through it mitigate losses on USAT’s circ side? <br /><br />It can’t.<br /><br />So let’s be honest and open about that change as well as how attempting to offset USAT’s fast paid decline with advertisers via Butterfly appears to be one of the few things left in Gannett's shrinking quiver of Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-28394122087906857122013-09-17T15:33:19.522-04:002013-09-17T15:33:19.522-04:00WSJ circ up 12% to 2.4 million
NY Times up 18% to ...WSJ circ up 12% to 2.4 million<br />NY Times up 18% to 1.9 million<br />USAT circ down 8% to 1.7 million<br /><br />The first two have digital subscriptions and arguably more distinct, unique content. The third doesn’t and is fast readying to double its print price to a shrinking audience that continues to prove it doesn’t want it.<br /><br />Gannett’s problem is obvious to all but those at its Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-47922146715919653422013-09-17T15:25:04.463-04:002013-09-17T15:25:04.463-04:00@2:25 p.m. said "It is rather clear that this...@2:25 p.m. said "It is rather clear that this company is sunsetting its print operations in the most financially lucrative way possible."<br /><br />Yes. Precisely. This is the most succinct and best description I've seen of what I believe GCI's real (i.e. unwritten) long-term strategic plan is. Much consternation and ink spilled at Jim's site (which I like and approve of) Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-81545475944189989502013-09-17T15:24:16.725-04:002013-09-17T15:24:16.725-04:00I don't think we'll be able to count those...I don't think we'll be able to count those local copies as paid circulation, but the increased distribution will mitigate the losses on the circulation side. If we are honest and open with advertisers AND price this right, this could work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-86110402164047722352013-09-17T15:04:53.947-04:002013-09-17T15:04:53.947-04:00In an e-mail, a reader asks whether the USAT secti...In an e-mail, a reader asks whether the USAT section would mean the participating community papers would have to drop the Associated Press and other wire services. Jim Hopkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16712746705871119746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-24919072143827736622013-09-17T14:25:08.975-04:002013-09-17T14:25:08.975-04:00I have asked this before and will do so again. It ...I have asked this before and will do so again. It is rather clear that this company is sunsetting its print operations in the most financially lucrative way possible. Instead of continuing to add a nationalized page here and another there, wouldn't it just make sense to completely turn the apple cart upside down and produce one major paper that is distributed 81 separate ways? The Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-64995742941152210342013-09-17T13:48:40.094-04:002013-09-17T13:48:40.094-04:00Before the the sideliners and the plain old haters...Before the the sideliners and the plain old haters pile on here, I give props to Kramer for trying to turn USAT around and keep us employed here (and no, I'm not an executive). Print is in decline everywhere. Maybe you disagree with his plan. But at least he's not blindly flailing around like the incompetent suits who preceded him. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com