The No Kings protests on June 14 crystallized that something has gone missing in a great many Sunday print editions lately — breaking news.
Of course, you could read all about it in a timely fashion on the digital site of your local newspaper outlet later that Saturday. But many of those looking for a crowd estimate and the flavor of hometown rallies as they relaxed with the Sunday paper would come up dry.
No big deal, you may say. Audiences have mostly moved on to digital news. Those who haven’t yet would be smart to do so soon. Digital is not only more up-to-the-minute, it’s better in other dimensions — the number of photos accommodated, for instance, and the quality of their reproduction.
From a business perspective, though, in a notoriously challenging climate, consider:
Despite deep declines in print audience and advertising, the old-style presentation is a significant contributor to revenue and profits (if any). Only in recent years has digital financially pulled even or passed print at regional newspapers. Outlets’ commitment to digital transformation is no longer mere lip service, as it was for several decades. Best case, though, transformation has proven to be very slow work for legacy outlets. In the meantime, the print edition — especially Sunday’s — is key to keeping the lights on.
Two cost-saving moves have led to ever earlier deadlines. Many newspapers eliminated their pressrooms and now contract with remote printers. That leads to longish or really long (i.e, 200 miles) shipping routes to distribution points. Plus, capacity issues at the surviving plants can create a traffic jam for desirable press times. Early newsroom closings on Saturday are the norm for that group of papers.
A second economizing strategy catching on fast has an even more drastic effect on what does and doesn’t go in Sunday print editions — switching entirely to U.S. Postal Service delivery. Throwing papers in driveways in the middle of the night is no longer the attractive part-time gig it once was, so getting them to readers that way has become both expensive and unreliable.
A big downside is that switching to mail means what was Sunday’s big paper has now become a weekend edition. It’s targeted for Saturday delivery, though sometimes that rolls into Monday. Saturday breaking news is off the table. The weekend package closes midday Friday.
Sunday print newspapers are inching toward becoming more like magazines in content if not format; timely but not tightly pegged to anything that just happened. That editorial strategy can be done well or not so well. I’m fortunate that my hometown Tampa Bay Times (owned by Poynter) is clearly in the first category, with a weekly diet of investigations and other in-depth pieces. And it is not alone.
But a thin, weak product — also typically priced much higher than before — is a formula for trouble. It sets up a dynamic that one of my mentors, Phil Meyer of the University of North Carolina, identified two decades ago and, borrowing an aviation term, called “the death spiral.” Bargain basement content leads to falling circulation numbers; the smaller audience is less valuable to advertisers and commands lower rates; falling revenues lead to more newsroom reductions, further compromising quality. Then the cycle repeats.
One more reason to watch the health of Sunday editions closely: As the industry transitions gradually to all digital, Sunday print will be the last to go. Insert advertising — the standalone ads physically placed inside newspapers — still has some vitality, generating meaningful revenue.
Looping back to the question of whether events like No Kings can find a place on Sundays, the results of June 14 and 15 were mixed. I checked with Gannett, the largest regional chain, with more than 200 daily newspapers. Some, like the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York, once Gannett’s flagship, had full print coverage of a rally in the small city of Canandaigua, 30 miles southeast of Rochester.
At the other extreme, a spokesperson told me, 125 Gannett newspapers are now being delivered by the postal service. Chief communications officer Lark-Marie Antón added, “As we embrace our digital evolution, breaking news can be found on our websites, apps and social media platforms. Our readers and subscribers understand the print product provides additional context.”
At the Tampa Bay Times, coverage of national and local protests was combined into one story on an inside page.
Some of the Tampa Bay Times’ “No Kings” coverage. (Courtesy)
Even the mighty New York Times faced a version of the deadline dilemma for its national first edition story. The rallies turned up in the front page lead position, combining Trump’s military parade and the rallies under the headline and subhead “MILITARY MIGHT, PROTEST POWER; Two Visions of U.S. Take to the Streets.” On close inspection, almost everything daily in the article was artfully couched in language like “was planned” or “was expected.”
A week later, Saturday’s breaking story was even bigger but also later — the U.S. bombing of Iran. Except out on the West Coast, that one was made for digital first and live TV.
