Detroit newspapers suffer damaging blow to journalism: will stop 7-day delivery

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Chad Rubel

There is a lot of news coming from Detroit these days, mostly about the auto bailout and the ramifications if the Big Three don't get some help. We have relied primarily on the Detroit Free Press, though the Detroit News is the other major daily paper in the Motor City.

But now, two newspapers that have taken on more problems than your typical daily newspaper are about to take on yet a big blow. As part of the Detroit newspapers plan to cut 9 percent of their workforce, Detroit area residents will no longer be able to get 7-day delivery service of the paper.

The Free Press will be delivered Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays starting in March, while The News will be delivered Thursdays and Fridays. The papers still will be printed and sold at newsstands.

While newspapers across the country have suffered giant blows over classified advertising losses, among other problems, the papers really suffered as a result of a 30-month strike, starting in July 1995. A few months later, approximately 40 percent of staffers had crossed the picket line (in a very heavily union city).

Circulation numbers have reflected declining interest: the Free Press is down 15 percent and 22 percent for the News over the past five years, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

But this isn't just about Detroit, not by a long shot. The Christian Science Monitor is going Web-only. The Oregonian in Portland has stopped delivering to home and retail outlets in the Eugene-Springfield area, about 100 miles from Portland.

There is the Tribune Company Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and National Public Radio laid off 7 percent of its staff.

Newspapers have been de-emphasizing 7 day delivery in its appeals, concentrating more on days with special features, usually Wednesday and Friday and, of course, Sunday. Soon, in Detroit, you literally have to go out for the paper if you want to hold the paper in your hands.

The premise of the whack against your front door every early morning is starting to disappear. And though the Detroit newspapers will save money by lowering their costs, discouraging 7-day reading will just lead to fewer people reading the paper overall. Habits are built, and part-time reading isn't an easily built habit.

The Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News have been under a JOA, or joint operating agreement, since 1987. JOAs allow some sharing of non-editorial expenses, and in the case of the Detroit papers, offered joint weekend editions with separate editorial decisions. JOAs have been criticized as not serving either papers well in a market nor the readers, even if they do keep two daily titles going.

The other odd quirk in the market happened on August 3, 2005, when Knight Ridder, owners of the Free Press since 1940, sold the newspaper to Gannett, owners of the News. The News was sold to MediaNews Group. Criticism of each paper has increased with the ownership transfers.

The newspaper world, and quite frankly, the world of news will be watching to see how well this "experiment" goes. Can consumers develop a part-time habit, especially those who are home-bound or not easily mobile? And if they do develop this part-time habit, will it be good for journalism, especially in a city such as Detroit?

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS